Norwin remains in boys soccer section title hunt with gritty win over Gateway

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, October 3, 2024 | 10:40 PM

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It has been said sophomore Chase Molinaro has a nose for the soccer ball.

The Norwin sophomore showed it in a Section 1-4A game Thursday night, using his face to score an insurance goal as the Knights got control of a slow start and held back Gateway, 4-2, in Monroeville.

With Norwin (9-4, 7-1) leading by a goal with just over 22 minutes to play, senior Daniel Maddock sent a cross in front. Molinaro crashed the net at full speed and, just as a defender booted the ball upward to try to clear it, caught the ricochet squarely to his face.

Fortunately for the midfielder, the ball caromed directly into the back of the net, and the violent header made it 4-2.

Molinaro couldn’t celebrate the goal because he fell to the ground, a combination of shock and pain setting in as teammates gathered around him.

Eventually, when everything stopped spinning, he cracked a smile.

“The ball bounced, I ran in and it hit me in the face,” Molinaro said. “I didn’t look back. Daniel comes over to and says, ‘You just scored, dude.’

“That was the luckiest goal I ever scored in my life.”

Gateway (7-6, 4-4) scored with just under nine minutes to go in the first half on a goal by senior James LoCoco to close the gap to 3-2.

Defending WPIAL champion Norwin kept building offensive chances and came through again to gain some breathing room after halftime.

Senior George Bunovich set up the fourth goal, sending a through ball to Maddock in the near corner. His send-in found Molinaro.

“We had a good build-up there, and we broke the line,” Norwin coach Scott Schuchert said. “Chase is a tough kid. It wasn’t the smoothest goal, but they don’t have to be pretty. Sometimes you need those gritty, dirty goals.”

Norwin has won seven of its past eight games as it looks forward to a likely section title match next Thursday at home against first-place Plum.

“We showed some resiliency tonight,” Schuchert said. “We won an OT game against Central (Catholic) the other day. We didn’t get rattled tonight. The kids keep growing as the season goes on.”

Gateway, which had won five of six coming in, scored first in the 14th minute.

Sophomore Camden Simon put back a deflection after a long blast from LoCoco. Norwin senior goalkeeper Ryan Dooen made the initial save, but the ball bounced in front of the cage and Simon closed in for the finish.

After Simon nearly scored again, Norwin tied it. Maddock, who didn’t start and shifted in and out of the lineup because of a minor injury, dribbled wide and sent a shot wide of Gators freshman keeper Maximo Estremera to make it 1-1 in the 17th minute.

Senior back-liner Dylan Moyer gave Norwin a 2-1 edge two minutes later. Senior Ryan Schiller threw the ball in, and it bounced out to Moye, who one-timed a shot from 25 yards.

It was 3-1 in the 27th minute after Norwin sophomore Ryan Schoemer finished with a high shot over Esremera from just inside 20 yards.

The Gators didn’t bend, cutting the lead in half on LoCoco’s 25-yard, free-kick rip that sailed over a Norwin wall and bent toward the left post past Dooen for a 3-2 halftime score.

“(Gateway) played us tough,” Molinaro said. “It’s always good to get that extra goal.”

Dooen and Estremera made three saves each. Maddock had two assists, and Schoemer had one

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway, Norwin