Latrobe girls soccer forges tie for 2nd by beating Penn-Trafford

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 | 10:50 PM

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Latrobe needed one shining moment. Somehow, Emerson Shine delivered it.

The junior midfielder made something out of nothing with 3 minutes, 54 seconds to play in overtime, taking on three defenders and rocketing a shot past Penn-Trafford goalkeeper Alannah Hall to give the Wildcats a 1-0 victory Wednesday night at rain-soaked Rossi Field.

Her teammates told her in a postgame huddle they not only were shocked that she got the shot off, but that it went in.

“I just knew that ball needed to be in the net, and I found a way to get it there,” Shine said. “Jesus took the wheel on that one.”

Junior defender Alexa Yurko picked up the assist on the golden goal, and senior keeper Gianna Trunzo earned the shutout for Latrobe (5-5, 4-2), which has won four straight and five of six.

The teams are now tied for second place in Section 1-4A.

Shine earned her first hard hat as the team’s player of the match.

Not bad for a player who broke her collarbone last February.

“Tonight was about finding those little windows,” Latrobe coach Jamie Morrison-Campbell said. “Credit to Emerson. “She showed what she can do in those moments.”

Hall got her fingertips on Shine’s 20-yard, upper-90 rip but couldn’t stop it despite a diving effort for the Warriors (5-5-1, 4-2), who beat Latrobe, 4-3, earlier in the season.

“She made a great play,” Penn-Trafford coach Jimmy Mastroianni said of Shine. “I thought we were really good offensively, and for 87 minutes we moved the ball well. We had more chances in the second half, we just couldn’t get one in. It’s P-T/Latrobe. That’s how it can be.”

The Warriors’ five losses are all via shutout. They were coming off a 1-0 loss to Mt. Lebanon.

Latrobe had scored eight goals in three straight games, but offense was much harder to come by against Penn-Trafford in a steady rain that picked up in the second half.

Both teams had five shots, and Trunzo had four saves, including a leg save on a breakaway by sophomore Tori Yurt in the first half.

Defense took the stage in the teams’ rematch.

In the earlier meeting, Penn-Trafford had a 3-0 lead before settling on the one-goal win.

“When we played them earlier in the year, that loss lit a fire under our butts,” Shine said. “Tonight, we had that fire.”

Sophomore Ellie Petruzzi, senior Mackenzie Kubistek, junior Gabrielle Cunningham and Yurko helped prevent scoring chances as the unit slowed Warriors standouts Yurt, freshman Ellie Lebe and senior Emilie Oslosky.

Morrison-Campbell said her team played more soundly and didn’t have breakdowns that aided the Warriors in the first matchup.

“The girls were doing a really good job controlling and possessing,” the coach said. “Our defensive line did a phenomenal job. Offensively, we shifted some positions.

“We knew what was on the line. From the first whistle on, we took it right at them. We played more of our own game and controlled the tempo.”

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

Tags: Latrobe, Penn-Trafford