Gateway boys soccer working to find identity in early going

By: Michael Love
Sunday, August 31, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The Gateway boys soccer team held a 2-1 lead with 32 minutes left in its season-opener at perennial Class 2A power Deer Lakes on Aug. 23.

But the Gators were not able to hold on as the Lancers rallied and pulled away for an 8-2 victory.

It wasn’t the start Gateway coach Mike Rugh and his players had hoped for, but Rugh said there still were a lot of good things he saw in the game, things, he said, that were improved upon in their matchup with Butler three days later.

“We knew it was going to be a great test even before we went there,” said Rugh, who saw his team, last fall, qualify for the WPIAL playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

“(Deer Lakes) had a lot of great juniors last year, and they went to the (Class 3A) semifinals and made the state playoffs. They are a year more seasoned, and we’re still a pretty young team. There were four or five guys making their first varsity start for us. It was encouraging that we were 2-1 up with 32 minutes left. But the wheels kind of fell off for us. One goal led to two, and two led to three, and so on. It was an eye-opening experience for the guys. With a lot of the younger players, it was about getting that game experience. We did a lot of great work in the summer and in the preseason, but getting used to everything with the pace and speed of a game is the big thing.”

Freshman Konrad Wierzchowski scored both goals against Deer Lakes.

Sophomore midfielder Ryan Helman played Wierzchowski through on the first goal. He was taken out by the goalkeeper for a penalty, and he buried the penalty kick to get Gateway on the board.

The second goal started with a long free kick from sophomore Liam Stravers, and Wierzchowski got on the end of it and headed the ball into the goal.

“For Konrad to get two goals in his first varsity game, it’s a promising look for his future and the future of this team,” Rugh said.

“A lot of people know who Konrad is as a soccer player. At the end of the day, Konrad is a player who will score goals.”

Rugh said the first couple of games with their pace and speed helped his players get into the flow where they can only advance so far in practice setting.

“We had a long talk in the next practice about what we did well against Deer Lakes and what we needed to work on,” Rugh said.

“The season goes fast, and you are quickly on to the next game.”

Butler scored the lone goal of the Aug. 26 matchup about five minutes into the second half.

“They scored on a loose ball that popped out,” Rugh said. “They were able to finish it off the post and in. We had a few quality opportunities of our own that we just weren’t able to cash in on. That is the name of the game.

“But I think we were still able to take a step forward and play some good soccer. We’re still trying to figure out our identity as a team. We have a lot of guys who haven’t played together. The more games they get under their belts, the better off we are going to be.”

Gateway is slated to play its first four games on the road before its home opener next Tuesday (Sept. 9) against Section 1-4A rival Plum.

The Mustangs advanced to last year’s WPIAL Class 4A title game at Highmark Stadium and qualified for the WPIAL playoffs.

“Plum is going to be a strong team again for as much as they did lose a lot of starters and talent to graduation,” Rugh said.

“They have plenty of people to fill roles for them. We’re well aware of that. The kids know each other well, and it’s going to be a true test.”

Gateway opens section play Thursday at Penn Hills. The Gators swept the Indians in dominating fashion last year en route to a 5-5 section record and a tie for third place with Central Catholic behind Plum and Norwin.

But Rugh said Penn Hills is a team on the rise and the game is not one his team can look past.

“Our schedule this year is heavy on away games,” Rugh said.

“We just have the five home games. That is how the schedule fell to us. Last year, we were home a lot. The schedule is not doing us any favors. The guys will definitely be challenged with it. We have a lot of quality teams in and out of the section. It’s going to be a great feeling when we get to be home against Plum.”

A core of returnees — Helman, junior forward Cam Simon, junior Max Fry, sophomore Seungkyu Park, junior Amar Murrell-Merriweather and sophomore goalkeeper Max Estremera — are helping lead the way for the Gators.

Senior defender Grant Karstetter, a captain along with Simon, is helping secure a strong and experienced backfield, and freshman goalkeeper Jackson Mikulandrich is making his mark in time shared with Estremera.

“We saw a lot of improvement between Deer Lakes and Butler,” Karstetter said.

“Our communication got a lot better. We had good chances to win both games. We saw the mistakes we made and what we needed to do to correct them in practice. We are here to compete. We have a pretty good team, and everyone is excited. We’re all in.”

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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