Surprises await Bethel Park soccer opponents
Although Bethel Park returns nine starters from last year’s 10-5-4 playoff soccer club, the Lady Hawks are young. Only three of those veterans are seniors.
Despite their youth, the Lady Hawks anticipate battling Upper St. Clair, Baldwin and Mt. Lebanon for the Section 5-AAA banner and advancing in the WPIAL tournament. They lost, 5-1, last year to Moon in the first round of last year’s playoffs.
“We always look to contend for the section championship, make the playoffs and get passed the first round as that usually seems to be one of the toughest hurdles for us,” explained BP head coach Jon Gentile. “Though we may be young and inexperienced at the varsity level, I think we may shock some people with our determination for success. We are a hard-working group. The girls come in every day desiring to be better players.”
Though the Lady Hawks lost one of the better players in the WPIAL, not to mention the state, to Edinboro University, they desire to produce a playmaker like Halle Hammer as well as defenders like Meg Barr and Tara Nath, neither of whom are playing in college.
Molly Gorges and Marisa Johnson look to fill the void on the forward line and up their goal production. A senior, Gorges registered six goals and managed two assists last year. A junior, Johnson produced seven tallies and an assist.
Bailey Farabaugh returns with some fire power as well. The sophomore midfielder tallied seven goals and dished up four assists. Another veteran, Maria Winzek, will also help anchor the midfield. She is a junior.
Paige Schindehette returns to the nets. The junior recorded eight shutouts last year. Lauren Barr, Delaney Scott, Lindsey Hulbert and Jordan Mehalko also return to the defense. Scott and Hulbert are seniors while Barr is a junior and Mehalko, a sophomore.
Some newcomers who are expected to help the Hawks include: Katie Fertig, a junior in the midfield; as well as sophomore Savannah Popp and freshman Julia Mascaro on the forward line.
While Gorges and Hulbert are the team’s designated captains, the Hawks will benefit from the senior direction of Mia Wohlgemuth, Kristi Roth and Scott.
“We will mostly be a young team this year,” Gentile said. “We have a great group of seniors, though, who all display fantastic leadership on and off the field.
“If we continue to have a team-first mentality and play well as a collective unit, then we can achieve our expectations. We must also have that defense-first mentality.”