Penn-Trafford girls soccer aiming for section title, bracing for rematch with Norwin

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 9, 2017 | 5:15 PM

Penn-Trafford girls soccer has put itself in an enviable spot atop the Section 4-AAAA standings entering the stretch run. The Warriors have done it by getting every aspect of their game working well.

Penn-Trafford is averaging nearly four goals a game on offense, while defensively it has six shutouts in its first 13 games. The Warriors have not allowed more than two goals in a game all season and have allowed one or fewer in 11 games.

The strong play all across the field has put Penn-Trafford (11-2, 7-0) in position to win its first section title since 2013. Being atop the standings this late in the season is new territory for fourth-year coach Jaclyn Bartko, but she and her team are embracing the moment.

“It's a huge opportunity for us,” Bartko said. “We actually had a talk at the end of practice (Tuesday) reiterating what our goals are and how we are going to get there. It's definitely been exciting, but we have to keep working to show that we deserve to be there and keep our record strong for the rest of the season.”

The game that best showed how the Warriors have harmonized on the field was their 1-0 upset of Westmoreland County rival Norwin on Sept. 25. In the second half, Hannah Nguyen connected on a corner kick with Lauren Stovar, who scored, and from there the Warriors defense and goaltending kept Norwin at bay. Warriors goalie Megan Giesey stopped 20 shots.

The loss ended Norwin's reign as Top Drawer Soccer's top-ranked team in the country and its 43-game winning streak against section opponents. Bartko was proud of how her team stuck together in the final minutes, which made for some tense moments on the sidelines.

“Once we scored, the last 10 minutes was like a wild kickball game between the two teams,” Bartko said. “Norwin had so many chances the last 10 minutes. We kind of lost our form, but every time a ball was coming in late, one of our girls was there diving to make sure it stayed out. It would've been a lot easier if we had stayed in our system, but nonetheless they rose to the challenge and kept the ball out of the net.”

Penn-Trafford was set to travel to Norwin on Wednesday for the rematch. The game ended too late for this edition, but could decide if the Warriors win the section title outright or if they have to share it with the Knights. The Warriors are well aware that Norwin will be eager to get payback in Round 2.

“Norwin is a fantastic team, so I'm sure we're going to have to prepare for an even harder game the next time we play them,” Bartko said.

Nguyen has 11 goals and 18 assists entering Saturday and is the Warriors' top scorer. Stovar has 10 goals. Kiley Dugan and Jordan Lawrence have eight goals each.

Erin Brady and Sarah Nguyen have been the anchors of the defense, with Giesey backing them up in goal.

“Erin Brady and Sarah Nguyen are doing a good job back there supporting each other and bringing along two new starters,” Bartko said. “They've done a terrific job all around.”

The Warriors have five players committed to play in college: seniors Hannah Nguyen (Duquesne), Stovar (Army), Mackenzie Aunkst (West Virginia) and Brady Tramuta (Seton Hill) and junior Kiley Dugan (Valparaiso).

The four seniors have plenty of unfinished business left season before they leave to play at the next level.

“They definitely have big goals,” Bartko said. “If they play the way I know they can and play, the style that they can, I think they have a chance to do extremely well the rest of the way. We all want to go very far, and we hope this is the year that we can do that.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn-Trafford