Plum boys rally from 2-goal deficit to avoid soccer upset vs. Latrobe

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 | 10:43 PM

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Everything seemed to be going right for Latrobe, until it wasn’t.

Visiting Plum erupted for three second-half goals to avoid an upset and overcome the Wildcats in a 3-2 Section 4-3A boys soccer victory Tuesday night.

Plum recovered nicely from its first 2-0 deficit of the season, staging a great escape at Rossi Field.

“Our guys did everything we wanted them to do tonight,” Plum coach Raf Kolankowski said. “We knew good things would happen if we kept playing the way we were. Good teams sometimes make their own luck.

“There was no panic and no pointing fingers.”

With a quick start, Latrobe (9-3, 8-3) was primed to stun Plum (13-1, 11-0), the No. 2 team in the WPIAL and No. 3 in the state.

But when Tristan Ralph dribbled up the near sideline and crossed to Zach Mauro for his second assist of the night, the Mustangs left the Wildcats feeling stunned.

Mauro finished with the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute as Plum completed the energized rally to stretch its winning streak to 13.

“We were a little sloppy early,” Mauro said. “Coach said at halftime, we’re going to bury three this half. Lo and behold, it happened. We didn’t give up tonight.”

Roman Agostoni scored both goals for Latrobe, which could not keep its collective foot on the accelerator with the two-goal lead.

Playing with an energy similar to that from its 3-0 victory over Franklin Regional on Sept. 26, the Wildcats put up early goals in each half but could not make them stand up as their five-game winning streak came to an end.

“Honestly, I didn’t think we played very well for much of the game,” Latrobe coach Jake Rice said. “We were lucky to be up two. We stopped defending.”

Latrobe caught the Mustangs off guard with an early goal as Agostoni scored in the seventh minute.

The slim lead held into halftime.

Just three minutes into the second half, Agostoni struck again. He took on three defenders from just inside the penalty mark and sent a low-lining left-footed shot past Owen Zalewski to make it 2-0.

“Latrobe is a good team,” Kolankowski said. “Their players are shifty. They can be a handful.”

Plum sliced the deficit in half when Brady French sent a deflection off a long free kick into the cage for a 2-1 score in the 49th minute.

“A 2-0 thing is a crappy thing in soccer,” Kolankowski said. “When the first goal went in, it changed everything.”

Later, after a set piece opportunity missed, Plum acted quickly to redirect the ball from the near sideline to the front of the net after Latrobe keeper Reece DiCasolo fell down.

Waiting was Tyler Yurisnec, who scooted a shot by DiCasolo to even it at 2-2 in the 58th.

“We have been grinding games out. That’s how we win,” Kolankowski said. “Everyone pitches in.”

Kolankowski was concerned about Latrobe’s midfield play and expected it to play a role in the game.

But the Mustangs played wide and used their quickness on the run-up to the winning score.

“If we won tonight, we knew we basically had the section on lock,” Mauro said. “We didn’t want to give that up.”

Said Rice: “Plum is a well-organized team, and they can beat you in a lot of ways. You give them a turnover and, one or two passes they’re set up for a score.”

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

Tags: Latrobe, Plum