Beadling team runner-up in the nation
The Beadling Soccer Club’s 2003 boys’ elite team had a season to remember. In addition to compiling a 26-4-3 record, the squad finished runner-up in the nation.
The feat marked the first time in the history of PA West that a Beadling team made it to the finals in the US Youth Soccer National Championships. The boys, whose team’s classification is determined by their birth year, lost to South Carolina, 2-1, in the title tilt played in Frisco, Texas. Anthony Difalco scored the lone goal. Ethan Sanders garnered the assist.
“It’s no fun to lose your final game but it says a lot about what this team accomplished,” head coach Rob Fabean said. “These players had a very successful year. The boys on the this team are very competitive. They set goals, not for the sake of setting them, but for a definitive end point. They worked extremely hard in practices and on their own to meet those goals.”
Last August, the Beadling boys set out to be the best. Some of them have played together on the squad since they had been 9 and they joined forces to win both the PA West Fall Classic and State Cup. They also won the Region I title and the ERL League Championship to qualify for the nationals.
After rolling through round robin action, winning by three identical, 4-0, scores, Beadling defeated Bethesda, 3-1, in the semifinals and the Philadelphia Ukranian Nationals, 3-2, in the finals. Jaxon Ervin led the squad in scoring, tallying seven goals, including the game-winner, during the regional tournament.
Beadling played four games in the national tournament. The boys edged Wisconsin on a goal by Joey Fonagy. They tied California and South Carolina, playing to scoreless ties, before reaching the finals. AJ Getsy tended the nets for Beadling, which recorded 18 shutouts and allowed 22 goals against during the entire season.
“It was an overwhelming experience. Unbelievable,” said Fabean of the national championships. “It was very satisfying for a group of guys to set out and do all that they set out to do.”
In addition to being national finalists, Beadling reached the finals in the Bethesda Tournament and the semifinals in the Lou Ramos Tournament. Beadling scored 104 goals.
Fabean cited camaraderie as one of the team’s secrets to success. While many of the players hail from different school districts, they meshed together as one unit.
“They were one of the best groups I have ever coached,” said Fabean, who has been with Beadling for seven years. “They are best friends. The players hang out together and they push each other in practices and in games. They care for each other.”
And, they care about sticking together. Fabean expects Beadling to keep the team intact.
“It’s one of the best boys teams that I have coached but it has a long way to go to secure its legacy,” he said. “Winning a national championship is their goal. The boys got a good taste of what that would be like and that is driving them to do the extra work necessary to give themselves a second chance to get there.”
In addition to Sanders and Fonagy, who hail from the South Fayette and Canon-McMillan School Districts respectively, Chad Eldridge and Owen Maher will be rising freshmen at those schools respectively.
Austin Marmol is a midfielder on the team and he hails from Peters Township. Jack Myers is a forward from Upper St. Clair.
Rob Eldridge, who coaches the boys’ varsity at South Fayette, assisted Fabean as did Matt Fonagy.
Other members of the team included: Cyrus Khani, Will Douglas, Mason Fabean, Zachary Panza, Joseph Pustover, Jake Sciorilli and Colby Thomas.