Rossi replicates family tradition at South Fayette
Silvi follows in father\\\'s winning footsteps
As a football coach, Joe Rossi etched his name in the history books at South Fayette High School. During his 17-year tenure, he guided the Lions to four WPIAL titles and two PIAA championships.
The winning tradition rubbed off on his family such that his offspring cannot help but replicate his achievements.
“Definitely, I want to carry on the legacy that he’s brought here,” said Silvianna Rossi. “I knew I wanted to keep our name alive with a state championship title.”
So Silvi did just that. On Nov. 15, she scored the game-winning goal in the PIAA Class 3A championship soccer match where South Fayette defeated Radnor, 3-1, at Northeastern High School in Manchester.
“This is just an amazing feeling,” Silvi enthused. “It was so fun to just finish a great ball and celebrate with my teammates.
“We made history for our school,” she continued of the program’s first-ever state soccer title. “This has never happened before and to do this with my best friends, my second family, it’s an incredible feeling.”
Silvi’s first family not only includes her father, it features her mother, Karley, brother, Charley, and two other sisters, Addy and Julianna. Silvi is just the latest sibling to have followed in their father’s winning footsteps.
Charley was an all-state receiver on South Fayette’s 2018 WPIAL championship football team. He scored the game-winning touchdown in a 31-24 victory over Thomas Jefferson at Heinz Field.
Julianna played on the South Fayette girls basketball team, which won its first state title in program history this past March. The Lady Lions had also captured three WPIAL championships in a row. Julianna played and scored a point on a free throw in the PIAA win, 45-37, against Archbishop Wood on March 29 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
“Jules was amazing and it’s really cool that she has some WPIAL medals and a state gold too and it’s cool to have scored the game-winning goal like Charley had that touchdown,” Silvi said. “To follow in their footsteps is incredible.”
For daughter and father, the PIAA soccer tournament was an incredible ride. It required a coordinated effort to bring home a championship.
Because of Charley’s playing career at Princeton, the family adopted a “divide and conquer” approach to attending Silvi’s soccer matches, including the championship contest.
While South Fayette came back from a 3-0 deficit to upset Cocalico, 4-3, in overtime of a PIAA quarterfinal match, the Rossi family was in New Hampshire watching Princeton fall to Dartmouth, 20-17.
“When it was 3-0, I told them to shut it off and pay attention to Charley’s game because it was one of his last few games,” said Mr. Rossi. “Then all of sudden somebody texted us and said they were back in it. We had given up at that point so that taught us to not give up on this team even though (Cocalico) was undefeated and everything.”
Mr. Rossi said the family had been bouncing back and forth attempting to cover everything but it was impossible to be in two places at one time.
On the Saturday Silvi was to play in the soccer final, Charley was scheduled to be feted during Senior Day activities for his final home game at Princeton. Flights had already been booked, but when the Lions breezed past Dubois, 6-1, in the state semifinals, Mr. Rossi looked at his wife and decreed, “I’m going to the state championship.”
Charley was in agreement. During a family phone conversation he told his father that he needed to be in Pennsylvania to support Silvi and the whole community because South Fayette was going to win. “It seems like they are a team of destiny,” he said.
So while Karley, Addy and Julianna went to see Charley play in Princeton’s 13-10 loss to Yale, Mr. Rossi traveled to Manchester for the PIAA final. It was a trip down memory lane for the 50-year-old former football skipper.
When Mr. Rossi woke up the morning of the game, he saw the South Fayette girls all eating breakfast together in the cafeteria and walked away in tears.
“This team reminds me of them,” Mr. Rossi said of his back-to-back state champions of 2013 and 2014. “They had such great senior leadership like the group we had. Obviously, they have a ton of talent but it’s the leadership piece of the older girls that really propelled Silvi to have an amazing year.”
From the start, Joe and Karley pushed their daughter towards greatness. Silvi, like her older sister, played basketball since third grade, but traded that sport for track this year to hone her soccer skills. Plus, her parents were supportive of her endeavors.
“My parents were just such great role models for us and they are always there to cheer for us. It’s just amazing to have them in the stands watching me.
“Honestly,” Silvi added, “My dad’s legacy helps me. It gives me a lot of confidence and something to strive for.”
Win or lose, Mr. Rossi was there for his daughter as both a former coach and a parent. He said playing in a state championship contest is “emotional” so he thought it was “important” for him to be there for Silvi.
“Either there are tears of joy or tears of sorrow,” he said. “I just wanted to be able to hug her either way. It’s such an emotional day because you just worked so hard and it’s such a long season. That’s why I made the decision to be here. To support Silvi,” Mr. Rossi said.
With the soccer season completed for 2025, the attention in the Rossi family turns to the future. There is a championship to be captured in lacrosse for Addy and more bling to secure for Silvi, who is only a freshman.
“We tease my third one because she’s the only one without a medal,” Mr. Rossi said. “My junior is my lacrosse player and she’s hooked. So we’re hoping she can do something this year with that.”
South Fayette girls soccer coach Nick Rosser chuckled about the family’s Midas touch. “That family’s got a lot of state champions. Silvi kind of had to come home with one. So, she’s already fulfilled the family requirement.
“As a freshman, she’s got a few more years to see what she can do as far as equaling or bettering her father,” Rosser continued. “There’s definitely that opportunity.”