High-scoring Gateway girls soccer team shooting for postseason berth

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

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Eight Gateway girls soccer players scored at least one goal in their season-opening wins over Penn Hills and Obama Academy.

Junior midfielder/forward Savannah Boden tallied a hat trick in the 8-1 win over Penn Hills and added five assists over the two victories.

Senior captain and forward Julia Beam also tallied three goals, while fellow senior captain Peyton Kyper, last year’s leading scorer (six goals), and sophomore midfielder Julia Deselich each put two in the back of the net.

Senior Piper Benson, sophomore Noelle Simon and freshmen Sienna Boden and Taylin Birckbichler each scored the first goals of their respective varsity careers.

Coach Caleb Kyper said the games with Penn Hills and Obama were productive starts to what he hopes turns out to be a fall playoff run for the Gators.

“With more girls ready to step up into varsity roles, we can hopefully start having a much more consistent lineup and position players,” he said.

“This should help immensely in allowing the girls to get much more comfortable playing more consistent positions rather than having to rotate them through the field as substitutions are needed.”

Seven starters returned from last year’s team which suffered a heartbreaking 3-0 loss to Shaler in a winner-take-all game late in the regular season for the fourth and final WPIAL playoff spot from Section 1-3A. The Gators finished 5-9-1 overall and 2-7-1 in section play.

Back as starters with Beam, Kyper and Savannah Boden are senior midfielder Meghan Marsh, senior defender Emily Werner, senior defender Zahara Myers and sophomore goalkeeper Ella Cepko.

“The drive from the freshmen and sophomore group, with an old-fashioned work ethic and competitive spirit that they are bringing to the team, they are really motivating the upperclassmen who have been hardened from playing a lot of minutes the past several years,” Kyper said.

“The seniors seem ready to make this final year their best yet. The energy and competition from both groups is blending very well. This season, we are going to have as balanced a team across all four classes as I’ve had since starting here at Gateway four years ago. I think we will see that contribution to varsity across the board. Through the summer and preseason, I saw more technical ability as a team than maybe in past years.”

Kyper said Cepko is a stalwart in goal who has made huge strides in her development from her first varsity season.

“Her technical skills are above and beyond, and she works on them consistently with the high school team and on her own,” Kyper said.

“It’s a real gift for us to have her back there and be able to use her as almost a sweeper keeper at times to play back to. Her distribution has been great as well.”

Kyper said he is looking forward to seeing what his players can do once they get through the first cycle of the section.

“It was agonizing to be that close to the playoffs last year,” Kyper said. “We don’t focus too much on how it played out, but we do keep it in our memories. We want to get there this year.”

Fox Chapel is the defending section champion. The Foxes advanced to the WPIAL championship game at Highmark Stadium before falling to South Fayette.

Mars and Hampton, second and third, respectively, in the section, also were playoff qualifiers.

“Just like last year, Mars and Fox Chapel are probably the teams to beat,” Kyper said.

“But Hampton beat Mars, 2-1 (Aug. 27), so that throws another top team in there. We were aware of that. Our goal is to find that third or fourth playoff spot, and Shaler and Hampton are going to be our litmus tests to see if we can get there.”

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.

Tags: Gateway