Added skill vaults high-scoring Greensburg Central Catholic girls soccer to strong start

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, September 25, 2018 | 6:27 PM

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There’s some good news and some bad news for WPIAL Class A girls soccer teams.

The good news is Greensburg Central Catholic lost four starters from last season’s championship team. The bad news is the Centurions could be even better in their pursuit of back-to-back WPIAL titles.

“We have a lot of good players all over the field,” senior midfielder and captain Sara Orndoff said. “This year, I feel like more people can score goals; it’s not going to be the same two girls. Everyone can score goals on the team this year.”

Class A No. 1-ranked Greensburg Central Catholic (5-0, 5-0) is winning games an entirely different way this season. On top of a strong defense, GCC has all of the pieces up front to score and put games away early.

“Last year, we just had to grind out each game,” said coach Ashley Davis, who is in her second season as the Centurions’ coach. “I think we’re a little more skilled and refined than last year.”

The days of scoring a few goals, playing defense and holding on for dear life are over. There’s a lot less stress and drama this season for the players, coaches and even the fans.

Greensburg Central Catholic is lighting up scoreboards like a football team. The Centurions have found the back of the net 42 times through five games. To put that goal total into perspective, Greensburg Central Catholic scored just 17 goals over the first five games last season.

The Centurions have even outscored 30 WPIAL football teams through the first five weeks of football season.

“They have a ton of soccer knowledge, and they just move the ball so well,” Davis said. “They make it look so easy; when in fact, it’s not.”

Freshman Tatum Gretz has lived up to all the hype surrounding her when she made the jump from middle school to varsity soccer. With her foot skills and vision, Gretz has become a force on the pitch. She leads the Centurions with 12 goals from her attacking midfielder spot.

“It been an honor to play and to start as a freshman,” said Gretz, who has also tallied four assists. “We have a lot of good attacking players, and we all work together and find the back of the net really well.”

Davis had her “a-ha moment” regarding her team’s potential during the second game of the season against rival Shady Side Academy. Starting a backup goalkeeper and coming off of a game against Serra Catholic just the day before, the Centurions built a 4-1 lead against their postseason nemesis before the Indians added two late goals to make it a 4-3 final.

“We can have a key player out, still put it together and win; it was awesome,” Davis said.

After being moved around the pitch last season, sophomore midfielder Samantha Felder has found a home up front as an attacker, where she has found a knack for scoring goals. Felder ranks second on the team with nine goals and five assists, including two goals in Monday’s 11-1 win over Section 1-A rival Jeannette.

“Felder is so sneaky and quick,” Davis said. “Teams will put their best defender on her and it doesn’t matter, she finds a way.

Junior midfielder Samantha Nemeth added three goals in the win over the Jayhawks.

“There’s too many girls on the team to make up for one girl getting marked (by a defense),” Orndoff said.

The Centurions are much faster, and little bit smaller, than they were last season. Greensburg Central Catholic was more physical last year; the Centurions lost a little size in favor of gaining a ton of speed.

“We got some speed with (Bethany) Winnor, (Sam) Felder, (Brenna) Springer and Tatum (Gretz),“ Orndoff said. “I think last year we did have a little more size because of the seniors we had; our speed makes up for that (loss).”

And yes while things are going well and the Centurions are putting up pinball-like numbers on the scoreboard, Orndoff cautions against getting used to that style of game. She’d like to see a few close games so that the team will know how to react to a close game come playoff time.

“It’s very reassuring and it’s nice to put up a lot of goals in games,” she said, “but I do think that it would be helpful to have some closer games and to play in that environment because the playoffs can be stressful.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Greensburg C.C.