Shaler girls take more aggressive approach

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, August 27, 2017 | 11:00 PM

Olivia Deleonibus felt the chemistry with Claire Schreiber after the two Shaler girls soccer players were paired together in the midfield.

It's a partnership that started last week and is one the Titans hope pays dividends as they look for a turnaround.

Shaler lost its last 10 games in 2016, all of which were against Section 1-AAAA foes. The Titans scored eight goals in their 10 section games and were shut out seven times.

Shaler coach Chris Catanese said the Titans show more punch on offense. What they are working toward is being more sophisticated on offense to keep up with their section rivals.

“They play off each other,” Catanese said of Deleonibus and Schreiber. “How to move the ball to support each other. How to get in better position to make passes. Knowing how to make a run, knowing you may not get the ball, but dragging defenders with them.”

Deleonibus, a senior, believes Shaler's past experiences will play an important role in their improvement. In the past few seasons, the Titans have had a myriad of struggles.

The hope is those experiences materialize into improvement through learning.

“I think it helps to have experience and learn from our mistakes,” Deleonibus said. “From each team, we learn more mistakes we can improve on. That's a main focus going into this season, practicing those things we thought were our bigger mistakes so we can have a bigger outcome this season.”

Schreiber, a junior, and Deleonibus learned how to work together in the midfield last season. The pairing was successful from the beginning.

“I think we understand how to work off each other and support each other,” Deleonibus said. “We have good communication overall. That's a big part of it.”

Capitalizing on that relationship will be important for Shaler.

Being more dynamic on offense is vital for the Titans. Catanese believes with nine returning starters, the Titans are hoping to have a run like North Hills last season. The Indians finished fourth in the section to grab the final playoff spot.

Shaler has to find the right mindset.

“I think we need to be more aggressive,” Catanese said. “When you play NA, Seneca Valley and Pine-Richland, they have skillful players, and they control the ball possession-wise more than we do. We are going to have to be more aggressive getting those balls. Our No. 1 goal will have to be a lot more aggressive and not allowing them to dictate the play as often.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shaler