Latrobe boys soccer team turning into overnight success

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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It’s going on 10 p.m., and the lights are still on at Rossi Field.

There is a chill in the air, and the players can see their breath. But nobody is complaining.

The boys soccer team at Latrobe likes its night practices as much as it does a signature win.

One might not be possible without the other.

These Wildcats prefer the night shift.

“There is more focus at practice. We get our homework done, then come to practice. We’re not distracted, we’re focused and ready to work,” junior forward Roman Agostoni said. “We’re more focused, and we’re a lot closer as a team.

“And we all want to win. We’re tired of losing.”

Latrobe is experiencing a turnaround type of season under Jake Rice, the team’s 25-year-old second-year coach.

“Last year, when a team scored first on us, we were done,” Agostoni said. “Now, we always feel like we have a chance to win.”

After nearly upsetting Plum, the No. 6-ranked team in the state, in a 2-1 overtime loss, the Wildcats (7-2) did what was once unthinkable: They shut out Franklin Regional, 3-0.

Plum scored with about 30 seconds left to edge the Wildcats. An hour-long weather delay disrupted the flow for both teams.

The Franklin Regional win was pure and sound. The Panthers had no answer for Latrobe’s offense in the surprising setback.

Agostoni, Ben Bigi and John Massaro all scored, and Reece DiCasolo made five saves in goal.

As Franklin Regional coach Lukas Petersen conducted a postgame interview after the Latrobe loss, he could hear fans shouting and horns beeping above the bleachers.

“You can see how much this win means to them,” Petersen said. “They’re a team that is unified and they play for each other. They had a game plan, and it worked against us. We didn’t adjust or try to build anything.”

Rice has seen his team mature each game.

“We had a letdown against Gateway,” he said. “We missed two (penalty kicks). You do that, and you’re asking to lose a game.

“We’re learning to play to our strengths.”

Rice, a former Connellsville standout who played briefly at Malone before leg injuries ended his career, has brought youthful energy to a talented group.

“There’s a different mentality,” Rice said. “There was a losing mentality before. Actually, win or lose, it was like, ‘Who cares?’ Last year we were a work in progress. Our guys believe they can go and beat anybody.”

Latrobe is not a hotbed for postseason soccer.

It last made the playoffs in 2020 but lost in the first round. In 2018, the Wildcats set a program mark for wins with 11.

When longtime coach Tom Kennedy took over in 2014, the team made the playoffs for the first time in at least 25 years.

School records do not indicate a playoff win in that time.

“We want to get the first one,” Agostoni said.

As for the night practices, they are to accommodate Rice’s work schedule. He works as an audit and assurance associate for H2R CPA in Pittsburgh.

After work, he heads to Connellsville to coach his Riverhounds East (2010-11) team. Then, it’s off to Latrobe to work with his Wildcats before a long ride home to Plum.

“It’s a lot, but we make it work,” Rice said. “The kids like to be here.”

There aren’t any secrets to the way Latrobe plays. The Wildcats stack the midfield and get to their spots on defense.

“We really don’t have a formation,” Rice said. “You play with what you have, and we have a lot of center mids. We outnumber teams in the midfield. We try to win the middle of the field.”

Rice said the team is playing smarter on defense, particularly by avoiding cheap fouls.

Agostoni and his freshman brother, Warren, were the top goal scorers on the team, each with nine goals.

“He has probably assisted five or six of mine,” Roman Agostoni said. “And I have assisted one or two of his. He’s the playmaker. We have that speed connection.”

They also have been sharing more high-fives with their teammates, another sign of the times at Latrobe.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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