Penn-Trafford boys soccer team topples 1st-place Belle Vernon
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Thursday, September 25, 2025 | 10:57 PM
Penn-Trafford’s Cooper Geyer celebrates after scoring Thursday.
Penn-Trafford’s Cameron King battles Belle Vernon’s Chris Showman for a header during their game on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Harrison City.
Penn-Trafford’s Ryan Geyer battles Belle Vernon’s Tyler Perozzi for a header during their game on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Harrison City.
Penn-Trafford’s Noah Haslam heads the ball over Belle Vernon’s Landon Bell during their game on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Harrison City.
Penn-Trafford’s Cooper Geyer celebrates after scoring late in the second half against Belle Vernon on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Harrison City.
Penn-Trafford goalkeeper Jose Chaves makes a save against Belle Vernon on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Harrison City.
Belle Vernon goalkeeper Morgan Bunch makes a save in traffic against Penn-Trafford on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Harrison City.
Penn-Trafford’s Brennen Neubauer tackles Belle Vernon’s Jesse Sobczak on a break-away during their game on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Harrison City.
Penn-Trafford’s Cooper Geyer (19) celebrates with teammates after scoring late in the second half against Belle Vernon on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Harrison City.
Penn-Trafford is getting big goals after halftime and has an early handle on the back half of section play.
The Warriors are starting to look like a second-half soccer team, and that is just fine with senior midfielder Cooper Geyer. He, well, seconds that notion.
“We can be a second-half team all we want, as long as we’re rolling into the playoffs with momentum,” Geyer said after he netted the winning goal for the second time in three days, this time to give the Warriors a 1-0 victory over first-place Belle Vernon in a Section 3-3A game Thursday night at Warrior Stadium.
Penn-Trafford (7-4, 4-3) is in fourth place but gaining ground in a section that is getting messy.
Belle Vernon (7-6-1, 5-2) is now tied with Franklin Regional (10-2, 5-2), which lost 4-1 to third-place Latrobe (5-6, 4-2). The top four teams make the WPIAL playoffs.
Geyer scored in the 50th minute Tuesday in a 1-0 upset of No. 5 Franklin Regional.
“That’s two in one week,” Geyer said. “It’s a great feeling.”
Geyer finally broke through in an airtight matchup, taking a long send-in from senior midfielder Yuriy Bidochko in the goal area, touching the ball ahead between two defenders and scooping a shot over the head of goalie Morgan Bunch in the 76th minute.
Bidochko also assisted Geyer against Franklin Regional.
“Yuriy came down the wing and got it to me,” Geyer said. “It ricocheted off a defender, I got it to my right foot and scored.”
Senior keeper Jose Chaves made four saves as the Warriors posted their fifth shutout of the season.
“They didn’t get down and kept working and battling for 80 minutes,” Penn-Trafford coach Ryan Hankey said of his team. “They kept reorganizing and putting the ball in dangerous situations. They found a way to win.”
Belle Vernon, which had won three straight and had beaten Penn-Trafford earlier in the season 2-0, couldn’t get on the board in its eighth one-goal finish of the year. The Leopards are 5-3 in those games.
They have been outscored 22-17 and have managed only nine goals in seven section games.
“This was a super-even matchup,” Leopards’ coach Tyler Caterino said. “They would take it to us, and we would take it to them. We defended a little more in the second half than them. We couldn’t get shots on frame. We were waiting for the perfect moments.”
Hankey again credited a division of labor — his keeper and defenders — for limiting the Leopards’ transition game and making them work for shots.
“Jose took command of it,” the coach said. “Andy Baker helped our defense again, and Cam King was a monster out there. I think he had 30 headers in the midfield.”
Freshman Gavin Metzger nearly scored fresh out of halftime, but his shot sailed just wide.
Bunch, a sophomore, made 10 saves and faced 13 shots. He stopped an excellent chance by junior Noah Haslem late in the first half. Haslem then clanged one off the crossbar early in the second half.
Junior Ryan Geyer nearly sent a shot in off his back to punctuate a corner kick, but it sailed high.
“We pounded the net,” Hankey said. “The ball was skipping on a wet surface. Cooper came up big again. Two games, two goals, two first-place teams in a row.”
Caterino expects more of these types of games as the section schedule winds down.
“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “But that’s what you want. It’s good for the teams, and it’s good for the sport.”
Cooper Geyer finally breaks through for Penn-Trafford.
Warriors take a 1-0 lead over Belle Vernon in 76th minute.@ptwarriorboys @PTWarriors @BvasdAthletics @TribLiveHSSN #wpialsoccer pic.twitter.com/8gohwg17vZ
— Bill Beckner (@BillBeckner) September 26, 2025
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
Tags: Belle Vernon, Penn-Trafford
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