Plum boys soccer clinches 7th straight section title after scoreless tie against Norwin
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Thursday, October 9, 2025 | 10:27 PM
Plum’s Austin Kolankowski works against Norwin’s Alex Cella during their game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
Plum goalkeeper Chase Eber makes a save over Norwin’s Jack Lepore during their game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
Norwin goalkeeper Reed Hoyle makes a save against Plum on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
Norwin’s Jack Lepore (26) and Joey Walton battle Plum’s Austin Kolankowski for possession during their game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
Norwin’s Maksim Miller battles Plum’s Landon Vasil for possession during their game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
Norwin’s Logan Plichta battles Plum’s Christian Alter for possession during their game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
Norwin’s Tyler Schultheis heads the ball away from Plum’s Kent Holmes in front of the Knights’ goal during their game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
Norwin goalkeeper Reed Hoyle makes a save over Plum’s Kent Holmes during their game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
Plum’s Austin Kolankowski works against Norwin’s Alex Cella during their game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
Plum’s Christian Alter controls the ball against Norwin during their game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, at Plum.
A section-championship boys soccer match didn’t get a victor, but it proved to be an ideal tune-up for the upcoming WPIAL playoffs.
Norwin and Plum settled on a 0-0 draw on a cold Thursday night at Mustang Stadium in their second Section 1-4A game of the season.
Even with the tie, Plum (14-2-2, 8-0-2) remained a force in section play.
The No. 5-ranked Mustangs earned the outright section title — their seventh straight — and increased their section unbeaten streak to 39 games.
It was 100 minutes of physical play, conservative offense and strong goalkeeper play, much like what will lie ahead in the postseason, which is scheduled to start next weekend.
“This was a playoff game,” Plum coach Raf Kolankowski said. “Norwin is a good team. They subbed a lot more than we did, so they were fresh. We knew it was going to be a game like this.”
The Mustangs have 13 shutouts in 18 games. They have allowed one goal in section and six all season.
Norwin (8-5-3, 7-1-2), which posted its fifth straight shutout, could have earned a share of the section championship with a victory but could not score against the Mustangs in 180 minutes this season.
“This was a lot of fun,” Norwin coach Scott Schuchert said. “It got us ready. These teams are as evenly matched as we’ve ever seen (in the series). I was proud of our guys. We didn’t get out of our style much, and they met the challenge of physicality.”
Plum won the teams’ first matchup 1-0 on a goal by Christian Alter in the 76th minute. It was the teams’ fifth consecutive one-goal finish.
In that game, Mustangs goalie Chase Eber made 10 saves. He made six this time, but they all were crucial.
“He’s given up five goals all year,” Kolankowski said. “He is hard to score on. We will go as he goes.”
Norwin has not beaten Plum since 2018.
“This was a hard-fought game,” Eber said. “Our defense was really sound today. We had some guys go out, and other kids stepped up.”
Plum was issued two yellow cards late in regulation, to Austin Kolankowski and Luke Hoburg. Both players returned for overtime.
Still, the Mustangs worked around the absence of two of their key players and kept the game even.
“We kind of fell apart the last five minutes (of regulation),” coach Kolankowski said. “We played defensive to get to (OT), then we got them back and reset for OT.”
Reed Hoyle had 11 saves for Norwin.
Raf Kolankowski said he expects the WPIAL to give his team the No. 3 seed for the playoffs.
Schuchert hopes Norwin gets a top-eight seed so it will join Plum with a first-round game at home.
“We have some young guys,” Schuchert said. “I hope we can find a string of luck, and it snowballs. Hopefully, we get a home game. We’ll probably be in the middle of the pack.”
The teams could see each other again.
“I just hopes it’s down the road, maybe in the WPIAL championship,” Kolankowski said. “There are eight or nine teams (in 4A) that if they played 10 times, they’d all be 5-5 against each other.”
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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