South Fayette lacrosse looks to future after PIAA loss
South Fayette’s successful lacrosse season may have ended abruptly but the Lions are anxious to pick up the pieces after their 14-8 loss to Trinity on June 7 at Panzer Stadium in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs.
After bidding their 11 seniors the best in their future endeavors, the returning rostered players are preparing for a triumphant return to Penn State, possibly to vie for a coveted state championship in 2026.
In fact, summer workouts are scheduled to start in July.
“And they’ll want to get back on the horse,” said SF head coach Shawn Leydig.
Leydig added that the team is going to miss graduates: Noah Mathias, Carter DeWitt, Angelo Mariano, Ryan Mey, Brayden Reighard, Jack Bavaro, Joey Gubinsky, Cooper Hillebrand, Bryce Nagy, Dom Fincham and Owen Trahan.
However, the Lions have a “ton of talent” returning. “They learned the right way to prepare from the graduating class,”Leydig said.
Drew Welhorsky is perhaps SF’s most talented veteran. A junior, who also is a standout quarterback for the Lions, was recognized as the WPIAL’s Class 2A Player of the Year.
So far in his career, Welhorsky has amassed 205 goals to go along with 148 assists. This spring, he racked up 76 tallies and 67 assists. In the loss to Trinity, he scored four times and assisted on two other goals.
“Drew is a complete player…he’s had just as many assists as he has goals,” Leydig said. “His patience with the ball and ability to read a defense are incredible. He’s a really good lacrosse player and even better in the character department.”
Welhorsky comprised a junior class that included: Daniel Speca, Giffin Lukenich, Miles Duchess, Braydon Tiley, Logan Liberatore, Rylan Carney, Aiden Howarth and Gavin McCarty.
In addition to four freshmen – Andrew Burns, John Oravecz, Ben Putigano and Avery Robitaille – the roster boasted 15 sophomores. Among them were: Bryce Watkins, Pierce Hondru, Peter Fronmeyer, Vignish Manivannan, Eli Nagle, Dylan Mach, Mason Schultz, Luca Romanelli, Max Joseph, Monish Polimetla, Barry Miller, Jackson Stilley, Caden McShane, Landon Mendenhall and Nathaniel Keller.
The Lions captured an undefeated section banner (11-0) and grabbed the No. 1 seed in the district tournament. However, South Fayette suffered a tough loss to defending champion Mars, 7-5, and finished as the WPIAL runner-up for the third time.
After thumping Meadville, 23-2, in the state playoff opener, the Lions lost to Trinity, the undefeated District 3 champion.
“We lost to a very good school,” Leydig said. “Trinity made some big saves on us and had less penalties throughout the game as a whole. You have to tip your cap to them. They were the better team that day.”
The Lions finished 20-2 overall.
“It was an incredible season for so many reasons,” Leydig said, noting how the Lions were unbeaten until the WPIAL finals. “This team was the most unselfish and supportive team I’ve ever been around and we’ve had some good ones at South Fayette. Although the outcome (against Trinity) wasn’t what we had hoped for, we have fond memories of this season.”