Quaker Valley notebook: Quakers prevail in rivalry showdown

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, October 16, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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It was a highly emotional and intense game, to say the least.

Quaker Valley’s boys soccer team defeated rival Sewickley Academy, 3-1, behind junior midfielder Nick Allan in a nonsection matchup Oct. 4 at Quaker Valley.

Allan netted two goals for the Quakers, who improved to 11-2 overall with their seventh consecutive victory. Junior forward Bennett Haas scored once while junior midfielders, Matteo Castellini, Cameron Diggins and Kiril Grin were credited with assists

“We just ensured that we played composed and not get stretched out to avoid gaps in our formation,” QV coach J.J. Veshio said. “That, along with not getting emotionally heated, helped in preserving the win.”

Although QV and SA are not section opponents, the intensity is riveting when the two teams meet; the schools are located less than 2 miles apart.

Quaker Valley and Sewickley played four times between 2016-2019 with the Quakers winning three games by scores of 3-0, 1-0 and 9-0. SA edged the Quakers, 3-2, in 2016.

“This is a big and long-standing rivalry,” Veshio said. ”We are just minutes away from each other.”

After going undefeated from Aug. 26-Sept. 29, Sewickley fell to 11-1 with the loss. Senior forward Adin Zorn knocked in his team’s lone goal.

“Considering we are a Single-A school playing against a 2A school, I think our performance was very good,” SA coach Alessandro Moreira said. “Our boys started by leading 1-0, but we have had a very heavy schedule with multiple challenging opponents and other nonsection games, so inevitably fatigue becomes a factor.

“Overall, our team has played hard, tenaciously and quite well and, of course, I am proud of their effort. For much of the game, our team possessed the ball well, passed well and played in our opponents’ half of the field with some occasional lapses primarily due to fatigue.”

Both teams have maintained first place in their respective sections all season, the Quakers in Section 4-2A and the Panthers in 1-A.

QV and SA were ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and A in the Trib HSSN WPIAL boys soccer rankings for the week ending Oct. 9.

Allan had three goals and two assists Oct. 6 to lead Quaker Valley to a 6-0 victory over Mohawk, clinching the 27th section title in school history for the Quakers.

3 golfers make states

Four Quaker Valley golfers — sophomore Nolan Wagoner, freshman Jonah Schollaert, senior Jackson Bould and sophomore Ethan Dai — advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A boys championships with scores of 74, 77, 78 and 79 at the section qualifier at Fort Cherry Golf Course.

“The course was playing very hard with strong winds and very tough pins,” Schoellert said following the qualifier. “I didn’t necessarily have my best game with my irons in particular, but I grinded out a good score of 78 with a good short game.”

Three Quakers advanced to the PIAA championships at Penn State. Bould (80-80—160) and Dai (78-82—160) tied for fifth place at the WPIAL final; Schoellaert tied for 13th (87-78—165).

Schoellaert was one of five freshmen who advanced to the WPIAL 2A championships at prestigious Oakmont Country Club. Schoellaert started out with four consecutive pars on the 6,600-yard, par-71 course and finished with nine pars on the day.

Bould and Dai both carded three birdies and seven pars.

Keepers form bond

Goalkeeping has been a focal point on the Quaker Valley girls soccer team, especially since senior Anjo Pagbeleguem is sitting out the season with an injury.

The Quakers’ starting goalkeeper in 2022 is 5-foot-4 junior Grace Waller.

“Our goalkeepers always seem to form a special bond,” coach Maggie Behun said. “It just seems to naturally happen that the upperclassman keeper takes the younger, upcoming keeper under her wing.

“Grace is paying it forward and has really stepped up as a leader this year doing just that for Clara Herrman, our freshman JV starting keeper. Grace runs Clara through her keeper warm-up before each JV game, getting Clara pumped and ready to play and offers advice and coaching during practice.”

QV co-head coach Rachel Loudermilk said Waller has progressed significantly since her freshman season.

“It has been fun watching her grow these past three years as a player and as a person,” Loudermilk said. “Grace has a fun, quirky personality that can always make us crack a smile.

“Ironically, she is a goalkeeper who loves to run. As a team, we do a running game where the objective is to catch the team in front of you. Grace is honestly the best at this game and all the players want her on their team. She sets her eyes on the person in front of her and just goes full force, always closing in on them, and earning the nickname ‘El Tigre.’”

Grace’s older brother, Isaac Waller, a senior goalkeeper on the QV boys soccer team, also has picked up a moniker. He’s known as Isaac “Stone” Waller.

Defensive corps well-stocked

Isaac Waller, who will graduate in the spring, has been surrounded by a dogged defensive corps in 2022.

The starters on defense are seniors Colin Wood and Spencer Wiehe, junior Kiril Grin and sophomore Andrew Veshio.

“I’m also extremely optimistic about the defense in the near future,” Waller said, “as many younger players have stepped up to keep our back line competitive and consistent.”

Top defenders on the QV girls team include senior Nora Johns, sophomore Mia Modrovich, juniors Mia Strelec and Megan Campbell and freshmen Emma Currier and Lucy Roig.

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