Guerrini a consistent scoring threat for Burrell boys soccer

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, September 10, 2018 | 8:12 PM

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Jake Guerrini didn’t exactly shoot for Burrell’s freshman scoring record, but the Bucs’ speedy forward knew what he needed to do to get there — and he shot enough to accomplish it.

Now comes the hard part: following up on it.

Having already proven his scoring ability, Guerrini hopes to help a young Burrell team reach the WPIAL Class AA playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“We want to win the section and stuff, make it to playoffs, because last year we didn’t win as many games,” Guerrini said. “We want to build off that and win this season.”

Burrell (0-1-2, 0-1 Section 2-AA) won five games last season as Guerrini scored 16 of the team’s 36 goals, becoming the focal point of the offense almost immediately.

Like former Burrell players Corey Mazary and the Spagnolo brothers — Pete and Tom — Guerrini provides a consistent scoring threat on the field.

“I didn’t know it’d be that much, but once I was doing good, I kept playing a lot and building off of that and winning games,” said Guerrini, who said he experienced his “I belong” moment midway through his freshman campaign.

Although standing well below 6 feet, Guerrini prepared for his freshman season by hitting the weight room five days a week and going through conditioning, both of which he still does.

“He’s not the biggest kid, but he has a big heart,” Burrell coach Andrew Kariotis said. “He doesn’t give up on any ball. He makes life miserable for defenders. I think they take him kind of lightly when they first see his size, but he quickly dispels any misconception that he’s not going to win a ball.”

Guerrini combats any size disadvantage he might have with his speed: He has straight-line speed to run past defenders and change-of-direction quickness necessary to operate in tight spaces.

“For his size, he has a nice, long stride,” Kariotis said. “He’s not just fast, he’s also quick, so he’s able to change directions faster than the bigger kids. They’ve usually got to foul him to stop him. He’s so quick that it’s hard to keep up with him. I’m not talking over long distances, I’m saying just little stuff, side to side. He gets them leaning the wrong way and gets his chances that way.”

Guerrini said he knew of his high-scoring Burrell predecessors, having seen some of them play while he grew up.

Mazary set Burrell’s single-game scoring record with six goals in 2014, his junior season, then tallied 28 as a senior. Pete and Tom Spagnolo, both high-scoring forwards in their time at Burrell, played together at La Roche; their older brother Phil, a stalwart in the midfield and defense, played at Mount Union. Chad Trozzi, a 2010 graduate, scored 30 goals in a season and 71 for his career. Pete Kariotis, the current coach’s brother, holds the single-season (40) and career (100) marks.

“I always wanted to be like them, and I just couldn’t wait to get to high school,” Guerrini said.

Guerrini has his eyes on setting some of Burrell’s scoring records one day. Of his freshman mark, he said, “I wasn’t going to be a ball hog to get it, but I wanted to.”

The sophomore figured into all four Burrell goals in the team’s first three games, scoring two and assisting on the other two.

“We’re hoping by spreading out some offense this year … (teams are) either going to have to stay on him and leave other people open or spread out, and that kind of opens him up more,” Kariotis said.

Kariotis, who coached Guerrini and many of his teammates as they grew up in the Tri-City Association, said he’s seeing signs of Guerrini maturing, not letting extra defensive attention faze him.

The Bucs still have plenty of youth, with eight starters who are sophomores or younger. Though they still have room to grow, they’re hoping for a breakthrough this season.

“We have an idea of how we want to play,” Kariotis said. “A lot of times it’s more of a physical thing where the more mature teams have an advantage that we just can’t do anything about until we catch them in age. Against teams our age, I’d put them against any team, any day.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Burrell