Westmoreland County soccer notebook: Mt. Pleasant girls tackle rematch head on

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, October 24, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Mt. Pleasant girls soccer players remember that sinking, helpless feeling that overtook them as Burrell’s golden goal hit the twine a year ago.

The Vikings were shocked by the Buccaneers in the WPIAL 2A quarterfinals, 2-1, ending their hopes of a return trip to the district finals.

Burrell was the No. 6 seed and Mt. Pleasant No. 3.

Mt. Pleasant can make amends with a rematch looming Saturday on the same field. Now the No. 1 seed, Mt. Pleasant (15-1) will welcome the No. 9 Bucs (12-5-1) to Viking Stadium for another quarterfinal clash.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Mt. Pleasant coach Rich Garland said he was anxious but not nervous about the rematch.

“It’s good for the game to have this,” Garland said. “It’s a great storyline with the matchup. Everyone will have a chip on their shoulder.”

Mt. Pleasant, in search of its first WPIAL title in girls soccer, has scored 100 goals this season while only allowing six.

Burrell also has never won a WPIAL championship in the sport. Last year’s semifinal trip was its first.

In last year’s quarterfinal win, Makiah Buchak scored with 7:32 left in overtime to lift the Bucs, who trailed 1-0 at halftime.

Burrell has beaten Mt. Pleasant three straight times, with other playoff wins coming in 2019 and ‘20.

Upset special

Franklin Regional’s boys are making a habit out of upsetting teams in the WPIAL playoffs.

The seventh-seeded Panthers (12-3-2) did it again in the quarterfinals, clipping No. 2 Thomas Jefferson, 2-1, to reach the 3A semifinals for the sixth time in seven years.

Last year, they knocked off No. 6 Mars and No. 3 Moon to reach the final four.

Coaches have changed at Franklin Regional, but the upset mentality has not.

First-year coach Nick White was impressed with his team’s response after it fell behind, 1-0, against Thomas Jefferson.

“The ability of our boys to deal with the adversity and not blink,” White said. “We came down and scored 33 seconds later. That shows a lot of resilience. TJ is very good and very organized. They have their style and they play it well. It took us a while to gain our footing, but we grew into the game nicely once we did.”

Franklin Regional will face the No. 6 Mars (14-1-4) on Monday at a neutral site.

History made

The Latrobe boys pieced together their best season by capturing their first section title and notching their first playoff win.

That made it an easy vote for coaches in Section 3-3A for postseason honors.

Wildcats’ senior midfielder Roman Agostoni was tabbed the section’s player of the year, while Jake Rice, the team’s third-year leader, was named coach of the year.

Latrobe also had four all-section players in Agostoni, midfielder Warren Agostoni, defender Brady Kring, and keeper Reece DiCasolo.

Latrobe finished 13-5-1, setting a program record for wins in a season.

Roman Agostoni became the career leader for goals.

Boys soccer began at Latrobe in 1984.

“We wish it could have gone a little farther,” Rice said. “Making the semifinals would have been nice because the guys would have had two more games. It was a great run.”

Rockin Robin

Latrobe senior Robin Reilly is finished with her high school career and will soon embark on college soccer.

Reilly plans to graduate early, in January, and begin classes right away at West Virginia.

Reilly finished as the Latrobe girls’ all-time leader in goals (61) and assists (44).

All-WPIAL

Westmoreland County is well represented on the all-WPIAL girls soccer teams, which came out this week.

Mt. Pleasant and Peters Township tied for the most all-district players with five apiece. Latrobe had three.

County selections were:

Belle Vernon: Grace West, Sr., MF

Burrell: Miley Kariotis, Sr., MF; Maggie Nesko, Sr., MF

Franklin Regional: Abby Paterline, Sr., MF; Eden Williams, Sr., MF

Greensburg Central Catholic: Riley Kerr, Sr., F

Latrobe: Robin Reilly, Sr., MF; Maddy Petruzzi, Sr., MF; Annalyse Bauer, Jr., F

Mt. Pleasant: Morgan Gesinski, Jr., F; Rylin Bugosh, Sr., F; Maddie Barrick, Sr, F; Raygan Mizikar, Jr., D; Laurel Rummel, Jr., GK

Norwin: Julia Bursick, Sr., MF; Carmella Simco, Sr., MF

Penn-Trafford: Alexis Brown, Sr., MF; Rease Solomon, Sr., GK

Southmoreland: Aubrey Seder, Sr., MF; Lizzy Boone, Sr., D

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland