Plum girls soccer rolls in regular season, but improvement is key to reach playoff goals

By: Ted Sarneso
Saturday, October 4, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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After last season’s 3-0 loss in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals to Fox Chapel, Plum girls soccer coach Jamie Stewart knew his team needed to face more quality opponents.

The one school that came to mind was Norwin out of Class 4A.

“We wanted to see where we stacked up with a team like Norwin,” Stewart said. “They’re a great team, have been playing very well and haven’t lost a section game.”

On Sept. 27, the Mustangs took on the Knights and lost 2-1 in double overtime. Despite the loss, Stewart liked what he saw from his team.

“It was a great game, and I thought it was an even match on both sides,” Stewart said. “Our girls played well, and that’s what I wanted to see. Just unfortunate we gave up that overtime goal.”

The game against Norwin capped off a three-game stretch in six days that started with a contest against Franklin Regional on Sept. 22 and featured a matchup with Elizabeth Forward on Sept. 24.

Plum won those section games 2-0 and 2-1.

“Those games began our second time through the section and were quality matchups,” Stewart said. “We went into the half tied with Franklin and coach (Sotiri) Tsourekis at Elizabeth Forward put a great gameplan together that forced us to work hard to get the win.”

Those two victories gave the Mustangs (10-1, 9-0) a 33-game winning streak in section play that dates to 2023.

It’s been a balanced attack that has led Plum to the top of Section 4-3A.

Unlike years past when the Mustangs relied on one scorer to provide a scoring spark, this year’s team has plenty of depth scoring up and down the roster.

“We roll a number of players through our offense,” Stewart said. “Only having one scorer made it easy for our opponents to shut us down, but now if they try to shut one person down, we have a lot of girls who can step up and take care of things. It’s been fun.”

Plum leads its section with 51 goals.

Leading the way for the Mustangs has been junior forward Emily Grubich, who has produced 11 goals and four assists. Right behind her is senior midfielder Gianna Revetta, who has buried 10 goals and dished out four assists.

Senior forward Olivia Bigger leads the team with seven assists and has found the back of the net five times.

Sophomore Ali Joyce has contributed six goals, and junior defender Brenna McLaughlin has deposited five into the net. Keirstin Curry has four goals while Allison Porter and Carley Campbell each have two goals. Six other Mustangs have also scored.

What has truly brought balance is how well the back end has played through 11 games. Plum also leads its section in goals allowed, surrendering just five goals so far.

“Our defense is a group that locks it down for us each and every night,” Stewart said. “We also have enough depth where I can bring a few girls off the bench and there is no dropoff.”

Senior Malayna Smith can be credited for the majority of stops as she has played the majority of the season in net.

As things continue to roll in a positive direction for Plum, Stewart knows there is still more that can be done to sharpen areas of the team’s play in the final games of the regular season.

“In our game against Norwin, though we played well, there were things we didn’t do the way we all expect ourselves to execute,” Stewart said.

Not wanting to give too much in the way of detail, Stewart did mention that even though the team is playing well defensively, “there are some things we can do offensively to generate more shots on frame.”

One fact remains clear: The Mustangs must continue to build and get better as the playoffs approach.

Class 3A is stacked with tough opponents with each section having two or three quality teams.

Fox Chapel (11-1) heads up Section 1, where Mars (9-3), Shaler (7-3-1) and Hampton (7-4) are all tough opponents.

Moon (11-1) and Montour (9-2) sit atop Section 2 while South Fayette (10-1-1) and Thomas Jefferson (8-6) lead Section 3.

Then there’s Section 4, where Plum leads, but second-place Franklin Regional (10-3) will pose a threat to anyone while Kiski Area (6-5) and Elizabeth Forward (5-5) will be tough outs.

“When you get to the playoffs, every game is a difficult contest,” Stewart said. “I think every round will be a challenge in 3A. Our girls realized what it was like to lose to a team like Fox Chapel last year, and they want to continue to improve and be ready for whoever we face in the postseason.”

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