Trio of captains leads young Sewickley Academy girls soccer roster to promising season

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, October 8, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The captain’s role on the Sewickley Academy girls soccer team has proven invaluable for the younger players this season.

Behind co-captains Libby Eannarino, Katherine Varghese and Quincy Sirko, the Panthers recently won four games in a row by a whopping 34-2 margin after an 0-2 start.

“I am very happy with our performance,” coach Dale Giovengo said. “We lost six senior starters from last year so we now have a young group. They are very talented and will show well for the academy into the future.

“I knew we had talented new players coming in. It was a matter of how we would come together, especially when competitions began, and they have done well.”

Eannarino, Varghese and Sirko have sparkled as team leaders.

“I expect all three to set an example for the rest of the players,” Giovengo said. “They set the tone for practices and games, and often a captain will make a point or take an individual player aside to provide pointers. This is a great asset to a coach, and I encourage it.

“As with all leaders, they each have a different style and personality. They are similar in that they are all driven to win, are very high achieving with fabulous goals, and they have great family support.”

Varghese and Sirko are juniors. Eannarino is the only senior on the squad.

“I am extremely proud of how our team has developed throughout the season,” Varghese said. “It has been so great to see the young players step up, hustle and contribute with positive attitudes and a willingness to learn.

“We were a little worried coming into the season as we’d lost six seniors from last year. There were some big shoes to fill. As soon as we saw the potential and athletic talent in some of our freshmen, we knew that these young players would be crucial to our success. I expect us to continue to play with a positive, team-oriented attitude and work hard to win important section games and make it far into playoffs.”

Sirko said the 2023 team is strong offensively. At the end of September, the Panthers had outscored the opposition by a 47-30 margin. Then, in their first game this month, the SA girls trounced South Side, 9-2.

Varghese had an impressive five-goal performance and was complemented by Sirko’s three goals.

“We have many new starters this year,” Sirko said, “but we are a fundamentally stronger team than in previous years and I know we have the means to succeed. I was apprehensive early in the season since there would be such significant changes to our lineup. I was concerned with the dynamic of the team as well.

“However, as a new and very young team, we’ve developed great chemistry and understanding of one another.”

Eannarino has been joined on the squad this year by her younger sister Emma, an athletic freshman who scored against South Side.

“Libby and Emma are both athletic and have great chemistry on and off the field,” said Varghese, who also is a dynamic athlete and a team leader in girls lacrosse.

Underclassmen dominate QV’s varsity roster, which has seven freshmen, five sophomores and four juniors.

Along with Varghese and Sirko, Marie Bigi and Jade Rychel are juniors. Varghese led the Panthers in scoring through nine games with 18 goals. She also scored 14 goals as a junior and five as a freshman.

The sophomore class is represented by Isabella Ballard, Makenzie Dice, Marin Edmunds, Herlynn Niepa and Raneem Wahdan.

Freshmen include Nalani Brayley, Josephine Courtney, Grazia Jardini, Sophia Khan, Bella Menzock, Olivia Stefanik and the younger Eannarino sibling.

The team’s starting lineup is comprised of Bigi at goalkeeper, Edmunds, Ballard, Courtney and Stefanik on defense, Libby Eannarino and Dice at midfield, Emma Eannarino and Jardini on the wing, and Varghese and Sirko at forward.

“I think it’s important to note that the positive energy our subs display really contributes to our overall success,” Varghese said, “and that we have a really fun team culture.”

The older Eannarino sister also will serve as a girls lacrosse captain in the spring. She plays a forward position and, after transferring to Sewickley Academy last fall, racked up 65 goals, was credited with 20-plus assists and won more than 65 draw controls for the Panthers.

She scored her 100th career goal in lacrosse April 13 against Peters Township.

“We started the year with many new faces and coaches, including me, but right off the bat we had a cohesive group,” Eannarino said in the spring. “Like any team, we faced some adversity, ranging from inclement weather to sudden injuries to a few subs. But we had a tight-knit group, and we worked to overcome those problems. We made a run in the playoffs, and we’d like to make it even further next year.

“And I’m so proud scoring my 100th goal while wearing a Sewickley jersey and representing the academy.”

Sewickley’s soccer team is aiming to secure a postseason berth in Section 3-A. The Panthers, at 5-5, 4-3 in the section, trailed Freedom (6-0) and Eden Chirstian (6-2) and were a half-game ahead of Riverside (4-4).

The Panthers closed out September by losing a pair of nailbiters, 2-1 to Eden Christian and 7-6 in overtime to nonsection foe Ambridge.

Varghese netted SA’s only goal against Eden Christian and scored twice against Ambridge. Libby Eannarino registered a hat trick against the Bridgers. Sirko rounded out the SA scoring with one goal.

“I expect to make it into the WPIAL playoffs and advance,” Giovengo said. “The goal is for each (team member) to become a better player and have an enjoyable experience.”

Sewickley is one of the top goal-scoring teams in Class A and, as of Oct. 2, was No. 1 offensively in its section.

“Although we lost in the first round of the playoffs last season, I’m confident we can advance further this year,” Sirko said. “We are a solid and dedicated team, and with every game we improve. I have very high expectations.

“The number of goals we’ve scored this year is unprecedented compared to my freshman and sophomore years. We’ve scored more goals than we did all of last season.”

Tags: Sewickley Academy