Mt. Pleasant boys show ‘blond ambition,’ edge Elizabeth Forward in WPIAL 1st round

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, October 20, 2025 | 10:14 PM

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With players’ and coaches’ hair dyed blond, Mt. Pleasant pushed on in its quest for soccer gold.

“That’s what we do at playoff time,” said Vikings coach Floyd Snyder, referring to a hair-coloring tradition that began years ago in the program.

The fifth-seeded Vikings kept their heads Monday night to grab a tight first-round win at Viking Stadium.

Tyke Snyder and Lukas Showman scored, and the defense did enough to hold back No. 12 Elizabeth Forward for a 2-1 victory in the WPIAL Class 2A opener, the Vikings’ first playoff win since 2020 and their eighth consecutive win overall.

Blond ambition is a powerful thing.

“We have a young, hungry team,” Floyd Snyder said. “Last year we had a bunch of freshmen when we lost to Shady Side (Academy) in the first round. Our boys learned from that experience.”

Mt. Pleasant (15-4) advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals to play at No. 4 Avonworth (16-2-1), which blanked McGuffey, 3-0, on Monday night.

“We came out a little nervous and needed to settle in” Snyder said. “EF is a tough side. They are one of the biggest and strongest teams we’ve seen.”

The Warriors (11-8) trailed 1-0 at halftime and 2-0 with 28 minutes to play when Nate Grimm cut the deficit in half with a highlight shot.

Grimm lined up at the 30-yard line and sent a heat-seeking direct kick over the head of Vikings keeper Grayson Gardner to make it 2-1.

“We knew EF was not going to give up until the end,” said Gardner, who made three saves. “We knew what we had to do to win tonight.”

In a physical game with a steady dose of whistles, Mt. Pleasant grinded to protect its one-goal advantage and hang on.

“We knew No. 13 (Grimm) was dangerous,” Floyd Snyder said. “I went and saw them play against Thomas Jefferson, and he was kicking it 65 yards. That is tough to simulate in practice.”

Mt. Pleasant took a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute on Tyke Snyder’s 17th goal of the season. Bryson Bankosh kept the ball from going over the end line and sent the ball to the front of the cage. After a redirect, Tyke Snyder touched the ball past Nick Moffa for the score.

“We created a few chances early, but couldn’t convert,” Warriors coach Doug Finke said.

Out of intermission, Mt. Pleasant showed deliberateness in its attack and struck again on a perfectly executed play. Grant Zahrobsky, ever the playmaker for the Vikings, took the ball wide and sent a cross in front to Showman, who buried it for a 2-0 lead.

“That was such a good cross,” Floyd Snyder said. “We work on that in practice all the time, and it never quite ends up going that well.”

Gardner was disappointed he didn’t get his 12th shutout of the season, but he will gladly take the win.

“This team is solid from head to toe,” he said. “We’re a good team that works hard, and we have good captains who lead us. We just have to keep up the same mentality. We know what we want to play for.”

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

Tags: Elizabeth Forward, Mt. Pleasant