Burrell girls soccer team finds consistency, ends section play on high note

By: Michael Love
Thursday, October 9, 2025 | 6:59 PM

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Burrell girls soccer coach Frank Nesko guided his team through a film session Thursday afternoon before the players took to the field at Buccaneers Stadium under sunny skies for a quick and efficient hourlong workout.

The Bucs had just come off a competitive 2-1 victory over Shady Side Academy on Wednesday to conclude Section 2-2A play. The win came on the heels of an 0-2-1 stretch in section matches that included Monday’s tough 1-0 loss to rival and section champion Freeport.

“We looked at clips from the Freeport game and last night looking for things we did well and things we can use to work on in practice,” Nesko said.

“At this point right before playoffs, we’re always looking for ways to be better, as all teams do. I think we feel pretty good about where we are and the week we had. We were battling some injuries through the middle of the season, and we’ve finally gotten healthy. We’ve started to put good halves together. We’ve always talked about whether we can string together a series of good halves. It can be easy sometimes in the middle of games to lose sight of the things you do well. They are feeling pretty good now about consistency and playing at the level we like to play at for a good number of minutes. Their spirits are pretty high at this point.”

Senior co-captain Mikayla Coury said there was extra energy in practice coming off the two games this week.

“We’re excited about a great win that we really wanted,” Coury said of Wednesday’s game with Shady Side that saw the Bucs break a tie with a second-half goal before holding off the Bulldogs down the stretch.

Burrell caps the regular season against a pair of ranked heavy hitters in Class 3A power Plum on Saturday and Class 4A title contender Peters Township on Wednesday.

“We’re ready for these challenging nonsection games that will continue to get us ready for the playoffs,” Coury said.

Burrell finished 6-3-1 in section play, third place by two points behind runner-up North Catholic.

The Bucs and Trojans split their season series, with North Catholic claiming the rematch 2-0 on Sept 29.

Knoch, which finished section play 2-7-1 (fifth place), forged a 2-2 overtime tie with Burrell on Oct. 1 and kept the Bucs from tying North Catholic for second.

In Wednesday’s win, junior Katie Kohler got Burrell on the board in the first half with a goal off a corner kick from fellow junior Eva Wilson.

“It was a really nice play where Eva delivered a good corner, and Katie was right there to put a finish on it,” Nesko said.

The tiebreaking tally in the second half came off a Wilson free kick. Junior McKenna Miller cleaned up a rebound in the box and put it past Bulldogs senior goalkeeper Maria Ravotti.

“The second half was really competitive,” Nesko said.

“Eva just struck a laser beam that McKenna ran on to finish. Maria Ravotti is just an unbelievable keeper. There’s a reason she is going Division I at Providence. We had to be perfect to beat her, and we were perfect for two plays.”

Freeport’s goal in Monday’s 1-0 final came from senior Peyton Los with four minutes left. Nesko said it was a typical game between the rivals.

“(Freeport coach) Steve (Kukic) and I talk about how much we love playing each other, but we hate it at the same time,” Nesko said.

“It just grinds on our nerves as coaches knowing that we can’t go out there and help affect the outcome. When it comes down to it, it’s the 11 girls between the lines on each side who will decide the winner. You look at (the players), and they are cool and collected and having fun while Steve and I, our nerves are shot with how intense and dramatic each play is.”

Nesko said the section grind with Freeport, North Catholic, Shady Side and Knoch has prepared his team well for the grind of playoff soccer that is expected to begin with games a week from Saturday.

“Iron sharpens iron is what we say,” Nesko said.

“There is not a night off in this section, and that doesn’t include some of the nonsection games we have played and will play over the next couple of days. Knoch is worthy of a spot in the playoffs, and I feel bad. They are just the odd team out, but they’ve played so well in section. We know we are going to be in a fight every time we line up against them. Games like the ones against them let us know that we will be ready for playoff soccer.”

Burrell, along with every other qualifying team in all four classifications, is looking forward to Wednesday afternoon when the WPIAL will release the playoff pairings.

The Bucs heard their name called as the No. 9 seed last year for a first-round matchup at Keystone Oaks.

Burrell passed that test against the Eagles, upended No. 1 Mt. Pleasant and then topped No. 4 South Park on a dramatic goal late in the second half to punch its ticket to the WPIAL title game at Highmark Stadium.

“We have a lot of excitement and anticipation for who will face in the playoffs,” Coury said.

“We feel we can compete with anyone we go up against.”

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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