Plum boys soccer team learns from early setback

By: Michael Love
Saturday, September 2, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The Plum boys soccer team had a most interesting, and exhausting, opening to its season Aug. 26.

Kiski Area pulled out of the Mustangs’ kickoff tournament which also featured West Allegheny and Upper St. Clair.

It created a void that the coaches of Plum, West A and USC worked to remedy.

As a result, West Allegheny and USC played a single game Aug. 25, with the Panthers winning 4-2. The Mustangs played a doubleheader Saturday evening, facing West Allegheny first and USC immediately after.

Plum defeated the Indians, 6-0, in its opener. The Mustangs players, many of them tiring as the second game went on, fell to the Panthers, 2-1.

“No excuses against Upper St. Clair,” coach Raf Kolankowski said.

“It was a great game. It came right down to the end. Their second goal was very nice. It didn’t matter if we were tired or whatever. It was a direct kick, and their guy ran on and headed it in. He made a nice play. We tied them in the second half, and it would’ve been nice to at least get the tie.

“But a positive thing was that I was able to get some younger guys some playing time to see what they could do. This wasn’t a conference game. We lost, but we learned from it. I will take that as we move down the road.”

Despite that circumstance, which saw several Plum players succumb to warm temperatures with leg cramps in the second half of the game with USC, Kolankowski said he was proud of the fight in his players.

“It was a tough situation, but the guys wanted to get out there and play,” Kolankowski said.

“We saw a lot of good things from the games, things we’ve been working on pretty hard in practices. We felt it wouldn’t have been fair for West Allegheny and Upper St. Clair to just have the one game, so we did the best we could for those teams.

“We also saw some things we need to work on. That is a case with playing pretty good teams early on.

With two days rest, Plum returned to the pitch Aug. 29 and rolled past McKeesport, 8-0, in the Section 4-3A opener.

“Coach always tells us to make sure we stay disciplined and focused and do the right things, no matter who we are playing,” senior forward and co-captain Tristan Ralph said.

“We were all at the top of our games and rotating throughout the field. We definitely took it serious as every game is very important if we are to win another section title.”

The Mustangs again have high expectations for not only play in Section 4 but also for the WPIAL playoffs.

Plum and Franklin Regional are favorites again in the section. The Mustangs and Panthers tied for the section championship last year at 13-1, splitting their season series.

Plum last year drew the No. 2 seed for the Class 3A playoffs and defeated North Catholic, 6-2, and South Fayette on penalty kicks before falling to No. 11 Ambridge in overtime in the semifinals.

The Mustangs bounced back with a clutch 2-1 win over Montour in the third-place game to secure a trip to the PIAA tournament.

Plum then saw its season come to an end at 19-3-1 with a 2-0 loss to District 10 champion Cathedral Prep.

The Mustangs said goodbye to several key contributors from last year’s team. That included an All-WPIAL and all-state selection in midfielder Lucas Pittman, All-WPIAL picks in defender Colin McKinley and midfielder TJ Schrecengost, and all-section performer in midfielder Ben Pittman.

Lucas Pittman and Schrecongost led the team in goals scored with 19 and 18, respectively.

In addition to the senior departures, junior forward Aldi Flowers, who scored 14 goals and added 10 assists a year ago, signed an academy contract with MLS side FC Cincinnati and is no longer at Plum.

“We wish Aldi was still with us, but at the same time, we are excited to see what he can do with (FC Cincinnati),” Kolankowski said.

“This is a great opportunity for him.”

Despite what left the team, Kolankowski said he’s excited for what is back, led by Ralph and three other captains in senior forward Brady French, senior defender Tyler Yurisinec and senior goalkeeper Owen Zalewski.

Ralph, an all-section selection last year, led the returning players with 16 goals and a team-best 15 assists.

French contributed seven goals in 23 games.

Zalewski manned the net in all but one game and surrendered just 14 goals in 1,657 minutes. He posted 10 clean sheets.

This week features section games against Obama Academy and Latrobe.

Plum hosts Gateway on Sept. 12 followed two days later by a road matchup against Penn-Trafford. Both the Gators and Warriors were playoff teams from the section last year.

“It might very well come down to the rivalry between us and Franklin Regional,” Ralph said.

“Games like that and ones against Gateway and Penn-Trafford really get you excited. That is what you work so hard for every day. We have to make sure we are at our best every time out.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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