Plum boys soccer team ready for postseason

By: Michael Love
Saturday, October 15, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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It’s time for a postseason rumble, and the Plum boys soccer team is ready, coach Raf Kolankowski said.

The Mustangs again are a favorite to challenge for the WPIAL title in Class 3A, but Kolankowski said they will be entering a bracket with a stacked field.

“Obviously, it’s not going to be easy,” he said.

“The team we play in our first playoff game, it’s going to be a tough grind. We learned two years ago when we were the fourth seed and lost to a South Fayette team who was playing extremely well entering the playoffs. There are no guarantees. I would say the top 10 or so teams in triple-A can beat anybody on any given day.”

First-round games could begin as early as Saturday. Plum, as the No. 1 seed, made the Class 4A semifinals in 2019 before falling to Canon-McMillan, 3-2.

The Mustangs don’t need to be reminded of last year’s final game, a 2-1 penalty-kick loss to rival Franklin Regional in the third-place game where only the winner advanced to states.

Plum kept pace with Franklin Regional atop this year’s Section 4-3A standings with a 2-1 victory Tuesday (Oct. 11) at Penn-Trafford.

“Penn-Trafford played us hard and fought to the end,” Kolankowski said.

“We played really well. We only had a couple of mistakes, and overall, I was pleased with the way we attacked and the way we finished when we needed to. It was a really nice victory for us.”

The game was tied at halftime, 1-1. Senior Lucas Pittman scored, sophomore Aldi Flowers had the game-winner, fellow senior Ben Pittman added an assist, and junior Owen Zalewski picked up the victory in net.

“P-T was up 1-0, and we had to come from behind, which was good,” Kolankowski said. “It helps us prepare for the playoffs and the situations we could face.”

As expected, the season-long battle for the section title came down to the final night as Plum hosted Penn Hills and Franklin Regional visited Latrobe on Thursday.

The Mustangs and Panthers each entered the night 12-1 in the section. The teams split their season series with Plum winning at Franklin Regional on Sept. 1 and the Panthers returning the favor, 1-0, on Sept. 27.

Thursday also was designated senior night, and eight seniors — TJ Schrecongost, Lucas Pittman, Ethan Rose, Ben Pittman, Colin McKinley, Nathan Morrill, Nathaniel Yohman and Alex Taylor — were celebrated before the start of the game.

Plum was to conclude the regular season Saturday with a nonsection matchup against Class 2A power Shady Side Academy.

The Bulldogs were in a similar situation to Plum as their fight for a title in Section 2 with Deer Lakes came down to Thursday. Both teams were 12-1 and had split their season series.

“That is another good test to get us ready,” Kolankowski said.

After the game with SSA, Kolankowski said the time off before the playoffs will give his players a chance to rest and recover.”

“It’s been a grind, and we have a few kids beat up a little bit,” he said. “The practices will get a little more intense the closer we get to our first playoff game, but some rest will be good, too.”

Plum golf advances to WPIAL final

The Plum boys golf team wasn’t just happy to be a part of the WPIAL Class 3A team playoffs for the first time since 2013.

The Mustangs had plans to make an impact, and they did just that.

They were one of three teams from a semifinal-round event Oct. 11 at Beaver Valley Golf Club — Central Catholic and Upper St. Clair were the others — to advance to the WPIAL finals two days later at Cedarbrook Gold.

The six teams taht took part in the finals at Cedarbrook last Thursday — Mars, Moon and Peters Township also moved on from a semifinal at Duck Hollow Golf Cub in Uniontown — had to wait an extra hour to begin their rounds as rain showers moved through the area in the morning.

The WPIAL champion was scheduled to golf in the six team PIAA tournament at the Penn State White Golf Course on Wednesday.

Plum recorded a team score of 394 in the semifinals, second only to Central Catholic’s 375 and five strokes ahead of Upper St. Clair (399).

Three Mustangs shot in the 70s or better, with sophomore Wes Lorish carding a 69, second individually on the Beaver Valley course to only Central Catholic senior Rocco Salvitti’s 66.

Senior Jake Pedley carded 37s on both the front and back nines to complete a 74, while sophomore Tim Pease finished with a 79.

Also contributing to Plum’s final score was junior Carson Yocca with an 83, and freshman Dan Caruso with an 89.

While Lorish was helping his Plum team go after a top finish at the team finals, he also had Monday’s PIAA Class 3A boys individual tournament at the Penn State White Course on his mind.

Lorish advanced to states after tying for fifth at the WPIAL finals Oct. 6 at Allegheny Country Club in Sewickley.

He was one of just three sophomores out of the 14 from Class 3A who punched their tickets to Penn State.

Lorish carded a 74, going out in 40 before bringing it back in 34 (1 under).

Four Plum golfers — Lorish, Pedley, Yocca and freshman Tyler Pastor — competed in the WPIAL first round Sept. 27 at Champion Lakes Golf Club after achieving qualifying scores from the section qualifier on Plum’s home course, Willowbrook Country Club, on Sept. 19.

The top 36 and ties — 38 in all — advanced to the WPIAL finals, and Pedley came close to making the cut. He carded an 85, just one stroke behind the final qualifiers.

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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