Springdale girls aim for improvement in Class AA

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, August 30, 2017 | 8:48 PM

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After the PIAA's and WPIAL's decision to expand to four classes in girls soccer, Springdale voluntarily made the bold decision to play up in Class AA instead of A to give the program a shot in the arm.

Instead, the Dynamos took a kick to the gut last season, missing out on the postseason for the first time in 10 seasons.

“The initial reasoning was to give a shot in the arm to our junior varsity program,” said Springdale coach Jerry Concannon, who is entering his 11th season as coach. “They liked the idea of a challenge. I don't think they knew how big of a challenge it was going to be.”

As the Dynamos found out, nothing is as it seems from the outside looking in. A year later, programs such as Highlands and Valley abandoned their junior varsity programs, leaving Springdale, once again, scrambling looking for competition at the junior varsity level.

“I think it served its purpose from the junior varsity side of things,” Concannon said. “It has always been our intention to drop back down; hopefully the plan works. Most of the single-A programs that I've come across don't have a junior varsity team.”

The Dynamos (3-13-1, 1-10-1) may have picked the wrong season to move up. With teams like Freeport, which reached the WPIAL final, and Highlands, which reached the semifinals, the section was loaded with championship-caliber teams.

The Dynamos' lone section win came in a 3-0 victory over East Allegheny in the second half of the season.

“It was just such a challenge,” Concannon said. “Obviously, I was little disappointed from the varsity side of things but by the end of the year we started to play better soccer. My plan has always been to come back to single-A. If we can come out of Class 2A, go into Class A and play like a Class AA team, I think we'll be all right.”

Going through a season like last year also forced Concannon to look at the way he was coaching. Midway through last season, he changed up his practices. Concannon made them more simple. Instead of spending time on drills, Concannon thought that the team would benefit more from scrimmages.

“We played a lot soccer, and we got into more game-like situations, and we did a lot more of shooting on goal,” Concannon said. “It got us more opportunities (to score). The other thing it did was make practice more enjoyable.”

With section rivals such as Highlands and Valley having lost several seniors off of last year's team, Springdale is just the opposite. The Dynamos return all but one player from last season. The situation figures to benefit the Dynamos, who were shut out in five of their 13 losses last season.

After their initiation-like first season in Class AA, the Dynamos not only return a team that is battle-tested but a team that has skill, depth and experience. It's a trifecta combination that no matter the level of soccer, should transfer into wins.

“(Our) depth will allow us, to a degree, to stay fresh,” Concannon said.

Concannon and the Dynamos have plenty of depth at goalkeeper with junior Rylie Patterson, sophomore Marina McCutcheon and freshman newcomer Madalyn Byrnes. The majority of the minutes between the poles will go to Patterson and McCutcheon.

“I suspect that I will use them all and with Byrnes we will give her experience,” Concannon said. “She'll get varsity minutes, but I'm not sure when and how.”

The Dynamos also return one of their top scorers from last year in junior forward Sydni Henley. Concannon welcomes back another key player who has the potential to make a difference on offense in sophomore forward Caitlyn Hughes. Hughes missed all of last season with a back injury.

“(Hughes) has a very good shot, very aggressive, very strong, and a good finisher, as well,” Concannon said.

The team depth comes in at the midfielder position, where juniors Anna Yaksich and Jade Vrabel will hold down the line. The Springdale defense will be led by senior captain Kathleen Marsili.

“We have a lot of returners and I'm really excited,” Concannon said.

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Springdale