Latrobe boys have experienced senior class hoping to improve on 5-13 record

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, August 24, 2017 | 5:42 PM

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Soccer players who cross over to participate in football, specifically to kick on Friday nights, seem to be more common than ever.

And in most cases it works out for both parties. But last season for the Latrobe boys soccer team, it negatively affected them in a way that fourth-year coach Tom Kennedy has never dealt with before.

“Out of 18 games, 14 of them we didn't have the starters,” Kennedy said. “Hand, foot and mouth disease we got from football because I had a kicker for the football team. And that's the kind of disease that just hits you a couple at a time, a couple at a time.”

Latrobe finished 2016 with a 5-13 overall record and a 1-11 mark in Section 4-AAAA.

Kennedy said last year was really not indicative of who his team was, but in saying that, it allowed him to give his younger players more time on the pitch. The Wildcats graduated 12 players from last year's team.

“Those 12 seniors were not all starters,” Kennedy said. “We're pretty solid right now as far as people that know what they're doing.”

The Wildcats may surprise some teams this year, according to Kennedy. He described his 40-man roster as a question mark team — they can either be very good or underachieving like the year prior.

“A lot of our games we lost by one goal,” Kennedy said. “Or we were close enough to one goal, maybe we lost 6-4, but it was one of those back-and-forth games, and they got six after it was 5-4 in the last minute or something. Even I don't know how good they can be this year yet.”

One significant factor Latrobe has in its corner is past success with this senior class, which consists of nine players.

During their freshmen year (2014), Latrobe made the playoffs for the first time in 22 seasons; in their sophomore year (2015), the Wildcats had a winning record for the first time in 12 years, and in their junior year (2016), the team was riddled with injuries and sickness.

Needless to say, it's an advantage to get back to success after already tasting it.

“They know what it takes to win,” Kennedy said about the senior class. “They were frustrated last year, but they never gave up, and that was the good part. They know we've got to play as a team, otherwise why do you have 11 guys out there, and that's what we're pushing.”

Latrobe will complete its second week of practice Friday and has had one scrimmage thus far against Greensburg Central Catholic.

Kennedy, who doesn't want to give away any details about the Wildcats' formations, said everybody is playing different positions than there accustomed to.

“With our new formation, they're playing positions that fit their skills now,” Kennedy said, “instead of to fill in the holes from the other guys from before.”

Their four senior captains — Matt Byrd, Steve Carbone Robert Reed and Dylan Zupac — will lead the Wildcats.

Latrobe begins its regular season against Altoona on Sept. 2.

“This team has a great attitude, they have some good skill and we've got a new formation in that they like,” Kennedy said. “I'm kind of optimistic that a couple breaks, they take four teams, maybe we can squeeze into the playoffs and who knows.”

Tyler Handlan is a freelance writer.

Tags: Latrobe