Family matters: Kiski Area boys soccer on a mission

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, August 26, 2017 | 9:09 PM

Kiski Area boys soccer coach Sean Arnold wants to start a family.

The 2015 Cavaliers, who as a No. 14 seed upset No. 3 North Allegheny and No. 6 Allderdice to advance to the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals, were a family.

For now, all Arnold has is a group.

“Two years ago, our motto was ‘family,' ” said Arnold, who is entering his fourth season as coach. “We start as individuals. Then we get into a group. You have a team, and then you have a family. These guys are calling themselves a group right now. Two years ago, we were a family, and we battled for each other.”

Coming back a year after losing a handful of standout players is no easy task, even for a school the size of Kiski Area. Without all-WPIAL goalkeeper Nick Bisceglia and high-scoring Drake Neumann, Arnold finds himself in an unfamiliar position by looking for talent and potential.

“Not only have we lost six seniors but they were all starters as well,” Arnold said. “We have six holes to fill on the field. All six of them now play a collegiate sport with three of them in soccer in Divisions I, II and III. There's always holes but when you try and fill those kinds of holes, it's tough, especially with a younger group and not an experienced group.”

If plugging inexperienced players into the starting lineup isn't enough to keep Arnold up at night, keeping the streak of nine consecutive trips to the WPIAL postseason intact likely will. Arnold acknowledged the pressure he feels to keep the streak going.

“I was here (as an assistant) when we started winning again,” Arnold said. “So, I take it personal and as a challenge.”

In 2016, Kiski Area (8-8-3, 6-4-2) finished fourth in Section 4-4A behind Penn-Trafford, Norwin and Franklin Regional. The Cavaliers clinched their spot in the WPIAL 4A bracket with a 3-0 win on the road against Hempfield and earned the No. 16 seed in the postseason. The Cavaliers couldn't rekindle the magic from the 2015 season and made a quick exit against No. 1 Seneca Valley, 2-1.

The Cavaliers will trot four seniors, three juniors and four sophomores onto the pitch when they open against North Allegheny at home in a nonconference matchup Sept. 1. Arnold said five starters have little or no starting experience at the varsity level.

“Especially our goalie (Nick Smith), and that is a position where (experience) is very important,” Arnold said. “Behind (Nick) Bisceglia, his time was sparingly.”

Smith's time as goalkeeper has been limited, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't up to the challenge when his number was called. He stepped in and played the final 60 minutes against North Allegheny in the 2015 postseason, recording five saves to fend off the heavily favored Tigers, 2-1, with a stunning first-round upset.

“(Smith) kind of saved us,” Arnold said. “He's got playoff experience, but he hasn't started a single game. He'll be important to watch, and he'll be a key part to our success. Right now, he looks good and, hopefully, he continues to grow.”

Arnold has a logjam at the midfielder positions where he has five players vying for three spots. Arnold seems content on letting competition play as long as it needs.

“The practices are more intense,” Arnold said. “It has to be that way when you have four guys fighting for one spot. Everybody is gone, and we're at square one. We're looking for someone to step up. We're looking for a guy to put the ball in the back of the net and for some guy to feed him.”

Arnold hopes senior forward Colin Joyner can be that guy. Joyner has been given the green light to create scoring chances. But outside of Joyner, Arnold has no idea who will step up.

“Our weakness, I guess you could say, is our scorers,” Arnold said. “We have the individual talent that can shoot and put the ball in the back of the net, but we have to get ourselves into the situation where we can utilize that talent. Tactically, I guess, we're still trying to figure that out.”

Junior Ronnie Coleman will be looked at to feed Joyner from his midfielder spot. Joyner, Coleman and senior defender Jeff Wilkinson have also been voted team captains.

Wilkinson's leadership at the back end is paramount. With Smith's inexperience at goalkeeper combined with the inexperience of his line mates, Wilkinson will need to be vocal when it comes to putting sophomores Ross Ziemianski and Tyler Cuica in the right spots.

“I'm looking for Jeff to step up,” Arnold said. “Jeff's going to have to keep them in line. The three of them together, I think, can be a good solid corps once we getting over the learning curve.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Kiski School