Plum girls soccer team reflects on another rewarding season

By: Michael Love
Saturday, November 9, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The Mars and Plum girls soccer teams met to decide the WPIAL Class 3A championship three straight years from 2019-21.

The Fightin’ Planets won all three meetings, two at Highmark Stadium and a third at North Allegheny.

The teams reunited at North Allegheny on Oct. 31 to decide this year’s third-place team in Class 3A, and the Mustangs hoped for a different outcome from what they faced in the three title-game encounters.

But Mars again prevailed.

A goal in overtime on a header off a corner kick spelled a sudden end to a season Plum hoped would’ve continued in the PIAA playoffs.

“Mars, with their game plan, they are going to get the ball deep and get corners,” Mustangs coach Jamie Stewart said. “We knew going in that we had to defend their corners really well. For most of the night, we did. On that specific corner, the wind was really coming from their goal towards our goal, so the balls kicked were going to (bend) back towards the goal.

“They hit a really good ball right along the line, and they had someone crashing toward that back post. She was able to get a head on it, and it went in. There were some things we probably could’ve done differently on that play, but it was well executed on their side.”

Plum, which capped its season at 17-3 overall, returned to the field at North Allegheny just two days after suffering a 3-0 loss to Fox Chapel in a WPIAL semifinal contest at North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium.

“It was frustrating to lose in overtime (to Mars) the way we did, but the girls left it all out on the field. They played so well,” Stewart said. “Mars is a good team, and they played really well, too. We were prepared. The girls came out strong. Even though we left that field frustrated we didn’t get the win, I couldn’t have been prouder of the effort they gave for close to 90 minutes.

“With some time gone by since that game, we can start to take a look back and see how rewarding a season it was. We did a lot of really good things. Looking back to where we started in August, we really grew as a team. From that first scrimmage against Latrobe, and you compare that to our game against Mars, it was a completely different team. That is just a testament to the hard work these girls put in and to the leadership on this team.”

Plum lost just once in the regular season, a 1-0 nonsection setback to Montour on Sept. 19. The Mustangs won their first seven games, all by shutout, and the defense surrendered only five goals in the regular season.

Plum again went undefeated in Section 4 play en route to its sixth consecutive section title. The Mustangs are 70-2 in section matches the past six seasons.

Plum secured a return to the WPIAL semifinals with a 3-0 first-round win over Shaler followed by a 2-1 victory over Moon which saw freshman Keirstin Curry become a team hero with the game-winning goal in double overtime.

The end to the 2024 season also saw the end to the varsity careers for five seniors: midfielder Serena Carnahan, forward Mia Nardo, defender Catie Weiss, goalkeeper McKenna Anderson and forward Gia Babilon.

“It’s always bittersweet to see a group of seniors move on,” Stewart said. “I am excited to see them move on to the next phase of their lives, but I am also sad to see them go. All five of them left an indelible mark on this program.

“McKenna has been our goalie for the past three years, and she was really big for us going through the playoff run. Serena again made such an impact and logged a lot of minutes for us over the years. Catie really stepped up in the back and was a key component to our defense as we went through the season. Mia was such an important part of what we wanted to do offensively. We asked a lot of Gia this year in terms of moving to a new position. Unfortunately, she had the injury that took her out halfway through the season.”

Stewart said he is looking forward to next season with the talent coming back which includes the likes of freshman midfielder Ali Joyce, junior midfielder Giana Revetta, junior forward midfielder Olivia Bigger, sophomore forward Emily Grubich, junior defender Meghan Stammer, junior defender Allison Porter and junior keeper Malayna Smith.

Carnahan and Grubich were honored with spots on the All-WPIAL team, and Anderson Nardo, Revetta, Stammer and Weiss were voted all-section.

“Everyone who is and who has been a part of this program understands what the goals and expectations are and what they want to achieve,” Stewart said. “They know the time, effort and persistence it takes to get there.

“This season is over, and we’ll start turning the page here in a little bit. A lot of the girls will leave and go join their classic (club) teams, and we wish them well while they do that. But when we get into the spring, they will realize what they have to do to get geared up for next year.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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