Resurgent Westmoreland County soccer teams reaching rebound goals

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 | 1:29 PM

An energetic group jogs onto the field as one practice ends and another begins at Russ Grimm Field.

Body language is a giveaway that the Southmoreland’s boys soccer players can’t wait to get to work, so the football guys can’t exit soon enough.

The Scotties get even more pumped up for game days — something that wasn’t the case in recent years.

“The vibe around the team is positive,” Scotties soccer coach Brad Smith said. “Going from a team that hadn’t won in two years to one that had five wins last year gave the boys some belief in themselves and the culture we’re building.”

Southmoreland has a 7-4 record this season, including a 5-2 mark in section. Why is that impressive? Because the team won four games combined over the last three seasons.

The Scotties aren’t the only Westmoreland County team making strides toward a turnaround.

• The Hempfield boys are 3-7 (1-4) but have broken a pair of losing streaks that dated back several years.

The Spartans, who had back-to-back winless seasons in 2022 and ’23, snapped a 41-game overall losing streak, then snapped a 46-game section losing skid.

• Following a similar trajectory are the Hempfield girls, who broke a 46-game losing streak last season and finally ended a string of 49 straight section losses this year.

The Lady Spartans (3-8, 1-4) have 10 goals this year, which might seem like a low number to the casual observer, but it stands out when you consider the team had only three goals in 18 games last season and zero the season before in 18 outings.

• Yough’s girls struggled with low roster numbers, but that area has improved and so have the Cougars.

Yough is 7-4, 2-3 after finishing 5-14 a year ago. Granted, they still made the WPIAL playoffs to stretch their postseason streak to 14 years, but the team lacked the usual Yough punch.

The Cougars always have found ways to compete with the top teams and give those teams trouble on the defensive side of the ball.

Yough made the WPIAL finals in 2019 and also made the semifinals in 2014, ’17 and ’20.

Scotties showing signs

Smith said he expected Southmoreland to start trending in a different direction. The Scotties took perennial playoff contender Mt. Pleasant to double overtime last week before falling, 3-2.

That is borderline amazing when you figure Mt. Pleasant had shut out the Scotties in 10 of their previous 11 meetings, outscoring them 49-1.

Mt. Pleasant, which played a man down for nearly 80 minutes, posted a pair of one-sided shutouts over the Scotties last year, both by a 7-0 score.

“While we have a lot of the season left,” Smith said, “the results we’ve earned to this point are in line with the expectations we’ve had for the program this year.”

The coach said players are comfortable with the expectations set for them. Two key sophomores returned from injury, which has spurred the Scotties.

Jack Smith played in just four games last season but still earned all-section accolades, and Landon Delara missed the entirety of last season.

“Having them both healthy this year has helped significantly,” Brad Smith said.

Sophomore forward Hunter Ryan was leading the team with eight goals. Another sophomore, Liam Smith, has become a “shutdown center back,” his coach said, who “sparks distribution for the team.” Senior Ethan Kenney is one of the few seniors who provides leadership for a young team.

The Scotties, who had reached third place in Section 4-2A, last made the playoffs in 2020. Their last winning season, though, was in 2015, the year before the WPIAL went to four classifications, when they finished 10-6.

Winning fun for Spartans

Hempfield’s boys went winless in three of the last four seasons and have not registered a winning season since 2015. The seemingly infinite loop of defeats was finally silenced, giving the program a sense of calm again.

“I have always strived to keep a fun, energetic atmosphere in our program,” coach Mike Crowe said. “I feel that is something that has been foundational to building over the last couple years. This year, we still have that same vibe, but now the boys are getting a taste of success. That success has brought some additional focus and belief to the locker room and the training ground.

“The boys are still having fun, but they are finally understanding that they belong at this level and are believing that they can compete at this level.”

Hempfield had such a solid training session and on-field performance recently that Crowe offered them take a Saturday morning off.

“I was fully expecting a group of teenage boys to want to sleep in and cancel the practice,” Crowe said, “but instead they chose to have practice and then have a team lunch at a local buffet restaurant.”

The Spartans do not have enough players to field a junior varsity team, but Crowe believes the cultivation of talent at the middle school level can change that in the future.

Hempfield has more cup and academy players that in past years, so soccer has become a year-round venture for many players.

Crowe said the melding of experienced players and upperclassmen has not been a chore.

“It has been a slow building process, and will continue to be, but I think the consistency over the last three years is driving us forward,” Crowe said. “We have stressed that the hard work, the offseason training and the tireless commitment to the program will pay off, and I think we are reaping the benefits of that work.”

Hempfield’s last line of defense is a freshman. Goalkeeper Nick Harden has played well in his first season, and junior Braden Crowe and sophomore Sawyer Leuthold have led the offense in what coach Crowe calls “a total team effort.”

Belief grows at Hempfield

The Hempfield girls fell into disrepair in 2020 after the team made the WPIAL playoffs six times in seven years, the last in 2019 with a 5-9 mark.

From 2020-23, the Lady Spartans were 1-62.

“They believe we can be competitive in our section and with nonsection games,” coach James Jones said. “We are keeping each other accountable.”

Jones said he put a stronger emphasis on strength and conditioning in the offseason, which is paying dividends.

“We wanted them to come into the season stronger and more fit,” he said, “hopefully to reduce injuries that we sustained in the past.”

With a roster of 28 girls, Hempfield has been afforded the opportunity to field a junior varsity team again.

Junior Jiana Patterson, a transfer from Greensburg Central Catholic, has added an abundance of skill and experience to the lineup.

“Jiana was a nice surprise,” Jones said. “She has definitely helped generate opportunities in the attacking third. We have always had a good defense and a good midfield. Adding her to the other forwards we have makes us more dynamic.”

Senior defenders Jaden Vargo, Mckenzie Little and Madi Deyo form the back line for Hempfield, and seniors Jessi Jury, Danylle Aukerman and third-year goalkeeper Lila Clark bring experience.

“The core of the team has been through a lot in previous seasons,” Jones said. “I think it has made them tougher, and they know how hard we have to work.”

Three freshmen also have played well in backer Caitlyn Buehner, midfielder Madison Black and forward Sydney Pritts. Jones said better connecting the youth levels to the high school program is making a difference.

Numbers up for Cougars

At Yough, the vibe also is upbeat. The Cougars last week were leading the WPIAL with 52 goals — from 13 goal scorers.

“Everyone is excited and has a lot of energy for what is and what’s to come,” coach Rob Broadwater said.

A team that struggled to field a full lineup two years ago — but remained highly competitive — now has 26 girls on the roster, with a greater reach to the youth levels.

Broadwater joined the program last year after Mike Veycheck resigned. But he wasn’t named head coach until two months before the start of the season.

“It didn’t provide time to get organized as we tried to fill a roster,” he said. “Last season, we had 15 players on the roster, with five players never playing soccer before.”

The Cougars followed the aforementioned script: better offseason work, more attention to conditioning and getting talented underclassmen on the field earlier.

Former standout Kendalyn Umbel, a Youngstown State commit who would be a senior this season, opted out of high school soccer for what would have been her final two seasons.

“These girls are motivated and have the desire to continue on with Yough’s winning tradition,” Broadwater said. “However, it all starts with my veteran leadership. I’m proud of how these girls were able to bring both returning players and new players together as one team.”

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

Tags: Hempfield, Southmoreland, Yough