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Heavyweight battles ahead in girls’ soccer

By Eleanor Bailey 8 min read
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(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series of stories previewing the soccer season.)

When the PIAA added classifications in every sport, girls’ soccer coaches around the WPIAL embraced the expansion. In Quad-A, Baldwin, Bethel Park, Canon-McMillan, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township and Upper St. Clair are back to playing each other on a regular basis.

“I love it,” said BP girls’ coach Jonathan Gentile. “I think the next section alignments are great. We play the best teams in Western Pennsylvania weekly. Every match will be competitive. Every match will have emotion.”

Pat Vereb, who guided Peters Township to a string of state championships from 2010-12, agreed about the realignment. “It will make every game have tremendous meaning.”

Cara Senger, who coaches at Mt. Lebanon, favors the fact that, like Bethel Park, her team will once again be playing natural rivals such as Upper St. Clair, which won last year’s state title, as well as the Lady Indians.

“Our team is very excited about the upcoming season in Class 4-A and looking forward to playing some teams that we traditionally play in our section and also some new teams.”

Canon-McMillan’s David Derrico, however, notes there are some drawbacks to adding classifications. His Lady Macs were state runners-up at the Class AAA level in 2014. He noted the realignment benefits smaller schools and programs, and believes the PIAA has adopted a “medals/trophies for all” climate for school athletics. With the new system, there now will be four WPIAL champions. And poorer programs in each classification will continue to be outclassed by better teams in their class.

Another inequity comes when postseason honors are distributed. Derrico noted that it is tougher to score goals against better competition and that often those players racking up the most stats aren’t necessarily the best because they play against less competent defenses and goalkeepers. Adding classifications makes it harder for the players from the larger schools to earn recognition.

Plus the strongest competition is concentrated in the South Hills.

“This will be a brutal season for those teams,” Derrico noted. “Every game will be as a playoff game. The reigning state champions and former state champions and state finalists are all together in one section. It might mean that teams from our section will be ready for the playoffs. On the other hand, it could mean that we will beat up on each other so badly that teams will go into the playoffs with critical players injured and unable to go the distance with the teams from the other sections.”

And each of the aforementioned South Hills Quad-A squads boasts its share of talented players.

Peters Township features veterans such as Mia Toscano, Bree Latsko, Emily Cottrill, Regan LaVigna, Andi McGinnis, Natalie Daube and Maggie Simon. The Indians lost key startMadeline LaVigna, who is now at Kent State, and Reilly McGlumphy, who is attending Cal U. They expect Ava Falcione, Payton Fremer, Laura Ehrenberger and Hannah Stuck to fill the gaps caused by graduation.

Regardless of the realignment, the Indians expect to be competitive.

“Our section is probably the toughest in the state,” said Vereb, noting the fact that the division has sent the last five western representatives to the PIAA final. “I expect USC, Canon-Mac and Lebo to be our toughest opponents as they are perennial powerhouses.

Nevertheless, Vereb anticipates the Indians will be playing “their best soccer” in mid-October. To accomplish the task of adding hardware to its already cluttered trophy case, Peters Township must “win when it matters,” Vereb said. “Nobody celebrates section titles or how high you’re ranked throughout the year. You either get a medal or you don’t.”

With seven returning starters, the Lady Macs will strive for the medal that didn’t come last season. After running the table during the regular season, Canon-McMillan was upset in the quarterfinals by Fox Chapel.

Among the key returnees are Megan Virgin, who posted 11 shutouts as goalie; Sabrina Bryan, who totaled 20 goals and 21 assists; Aideen O’Donoghue (20 goals, 11 assists); Cheyenne Trest (9 goals, 15 assists); Isabel Scheidenhelm (2 goals, 8 asssits); Riley O’Korn, a defender who shared in 13 shutouts and scored two goals; and Sydney Snyder, a sophomore defender, who scored a goal and had four assists last year.

C-M lost Allie Thomas (24 goals, 30 assists) to Wintrhop College in South Carolina; Courtney Finney, a defender to Washington and Jefferson College; and Ashlyn Whipple, another defender to Penn State-Behrend.

Madi Whipple (4 goals, 2 assists), Lexi Finney (2 goals, 5 assists), Liz Ross (1 goal, 2 assists) and Sidney Powell, a defender, are expected to fill the gaps created by matriculation. Alli Paxton, Addi Roman, who had five goals and five assists last year, and Samantha Germeyer are also expected to contributed to the Lady Macs’ success this fall.

“The team is cohesive and works together well,” said Derrico. “We have some strong, experienced players who are effective on the attacking end of the field. Defensively, we are younger and less experienced but we are working on that.”

By no means with that detract from C-M’s objectives.

“With the section the way it is stacked, we hope to make the playoffs and get deeper into the playoffs than we did last year,” said Derrico, who expects USC, Peters and Lebo to provide CM’s stiffest competition. “We must stay healthy and keep our fitness high to accomplish our goals. We must execute in games as we practice and we must finish our chances when they come.”

At Lebo, the opportunities will come to each player and it is up to them to step up and take advantage. “Every time our players step on the field they are working to become better individually and collectively as a team,” Senger said. “Our coaching staff challenges not just the newcomers but all the players to perform at their full potential.”

Expectations are for the seniors to provide leadership and for the group to play as a unit. “We will be driven to play together as a team,” Senger said. “Our goal is to focus on the upcoming game and ways to continually improve throughout the season. With the new realignment, we believe that everyone in our section will be very strong.”

Bethel Park anticipates a strong season because it returns many starters. Among them are: defender Lauren Barr, goalie Paige Schindehette (90% save on 207 shots on goal last year), midfielder Maria Winzek (1 goal last year), forward Katie Fertig (2 goals) and forward Marisa Johnson (1 goal). All are seniors. Midfielder Bailey Farabaugh, defender Jordan Mehalko, forward Savannah Popp (6 goals) defender Kelsey Thompson as well as Julia Mascaro are veterans. All but Mascaro, a sophomore, are juniors.

“They all have ample varsity experience and are healthy,” Gentile said. “If we can stay healthy, we could turn some heads this year.”

New additions to the club, looking to offset the graduation losses of Molly Gorges (West Virginia Wesleyan) and Delaney Scott (Grove City), are: juniors Rylee Pettigrew, Anna McLinden, Meredith Heh, Brooke Buehler; sophomore Natalie DiGiorno, and freshman defender Sophia Galietta.

“We need a couple of these girls to fill in spots right away,” Gentile said. “All are capable to fill the gaps which is a good problem to have.”

Even though the league promises to be competitive, the Lady Hawks have set their sights on capturing the section banner. That is the No. 1 priority. Next, the Lady Hawks consider challenging for the district and state titles.

“To be able to win a WPIAL or PIAA, we need to stay healthy and get some luck fall our way. We don’t have the top players in the area but we have players that play well with each other. I do know this group has potential to win some big games this year.”

Camaraderie, indeed, is key to success, says Gentile. “We have a strong senior class. Most of them have been starting or have at least two years of varsity experience. They’re great leaders on and off the field and they really bring our team together and increase our level of play. In high school soccer, having a solid senior class is key for a successful season, at least that has been my experience the past 10 years.”

Experience, also tells Gentile, that winning in Section 2-AAAA will be akin to a box match. “WPIAL and state appearance staples like Canon Mac, USC, and Peters are always tough. Baldwin and Mt. Lebo have been major rivals,” he said. “It’ll be a slugfest but we’re ready for the heavyweight bout.”

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