Thomas Jefferson boys soccer caps solid season with playoff success

By: Ray Fisher
Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 11:01 AM

The Thomas Jefferson boys soccer team strung together an 11-game unbeaten streak in the first half of this season.

“A lot of people, I believe, overlooked us coming into the season with the players we lost last year,” TJ coach Michael “Doc” Kulish said. “We had a lot of guys step up both offensively and defensively.

“I would say we had a very good season, making it to the WPIAL semifinals and qualifying for the PIAA state playoffs (for the first time since 2018). I’d like to thank my assistant coaches, Scott Graham, Derek Bakewell and my son Michael, who has been an assistant for 24 years.”

The Jaguars closed out the regular season with a 14-2-1 record and won five of their six games prior to the WPIAL playoffs.

TJ received the fifth seed in Class 3A and won back-to-back 1-0 decisions against No. 12 Shaler and No. 4 Moon in the first two rounds of the district playoffs.

The Jaguars lost to No. 8 West Allegheny by the same 1-0 score in the semifinals but bounced back two days later to defeat section rival Bethel Park, 3-2, in two overtimes in the third-place match. The Black Hawks were seeded second.

“I was happy with the way we played in the playoffs, especially the Moon game and the Bethel Park game,” Kulish said.

Thomas Jefferson lost to Conrad Weiser, 4-1, in the first round of the PIAA tournament to end up 18-4-1 overall. It marked the first time the Jaguars qualified for the state playoffs since 2018.

Thomas Jefferson’s starting lineup for the postseason included seniors Owen Householder (wing/forward), Logan Barron (wing) and Cody O’Hare (midfield), juniors Gavin Kery (forward/wing) and Jacob Surrena (midfield) and freshman Tyler Surrena (midfield) on the offensive end.

“I thought the team bounced back from last year’s performance,” Householder said. “While losing in the (WPIAL) quarterfinals the past three years had been tough, I thought our performance this season was the best we have had in my four years — making it to states and almost the WPIAL final.”

Householder was a virtual one-man show in the postseason. He netted the Jaguars’ only goals in their playoff wins against Shaler and Moon. He also was instrumental in the OT victory over Bethel Park, scoring both of his team’s goals as well as the game-winner that clinched a PIAA berth.

“The (WPIAL) playoffs is where I thought I really came alive, scoring in every game except the semifinal versus West Allegheny in the 1-0 loss,” Householder said. ”I also thought the whole team played amazing by taking down two powerhouses in my mind in Bethel Park and Moon.

“And although falling short in the state game was tough, we were tied 1-1 at the half, which really does say something for a team not qualifying for states in seven years.”

The TJ defensive corps was led by junior Benjamin Powell and seniors Will Moser, Enrique Ochoa and Jack Hilf in front of senior goalkeeper Sam Wessel.

“Andrew Callaghan (senior midfielder) and Evan Olson (junior forward) also got a lot of minutes in the playoffs,” Kulish said. ”Hilf did not play in the state playoff game; Aydin Hajiyev filled in for him.”

Householder racked up a team-high 22 goals and 13 assists this season and was voted as the team’s offensive player of the year. He also landed all-section and all-WPIAL plaudits and plans to continue his career at the next level.

“I look forward to playing college soccer and finding a school that is right for me,” he said. “My favorite soccer memories (at TJ) would have to be all the friends I have made, and my proudest moments were sending the team to states for the first time in seven years and scoring 22 goals, getting all-section and all-WPIAL honors in my senior year.”

Wessel, with 13 shutouts, received the coaches award. Like Householder, he was named all-section and all-WPIAL.

Moser was voted as the team’s defensive player of the year and received the United Soccer Coaches Association Senior Excellence Award.

“I’m incredibly proud of our performance this season,” Moser said. “While we faced a few setbacks throughout the year, we always seemed to bounce back stronger. We fell short of our overall goal of winning a WPIAL championship but still had a lot of good successes and memories to look back on. One of our main goals this year was to make a run in the playoffs, and we achieved that.

“We believed we had the talent to compete across 3A but also knew that road would be tough as there were a number of good teams (in 3A). Beating Moon in the second round was a huge accomplishment for us. It had been a long time since TJ made it past that stage, and Moon was a really good team, so that was a very rewarding win to move on to the semifinals.

“Our loss to West Allegheny in the semis was a tough one. We battled and really felt the game could have gone either way. With just a day in between that loss and the third-place game, I was incredibly proud of how we bounced back, defeating Bethel Park and securing a spot in the state playoffs for the first time since 2018.

“In that game, we got to see No. 1-ranked and eventual 3A state runner-up Conrad Weiser on their home field and competed with them for a good portion of that game. Unfortunately, the 1-1 halftime score got away from us in the second half, but I couldn’t be happier with the way the entire team battled and pushed not only in that game but the entire season.”

There were 44 athletes in TJ’s soccer program in 2025, including 33 underclassmen (10 juniors, 14 sophomores, nine freshmen). Moser was one of 11 seniors on the team.

“My fondest memories of TJ soccer are the team bonding experiences,” Moser said. “We had a team dinner almost every week that really helped build a trust within the team both on and off the field. Even though the season is over, these are friendships that will last a lifetime.”

Kern, with 13 goals and nine assists, Surrena (9 goals, 6 assists) and Powell joined Householder and Wessel as all-section selections this season. Powell landed honorable mention status.

Other leading contributors offensively included Barron (8 goals, 8 assists), Olson (6 goals, 1 assist) and O’Hare (5 goals, 5 assists).

“Although we are disappointed with how this season ended, we are excited for what next season will bring,” Kulish said. “We have a very strong ninth grade class and a good core of returning players.”

Bethel Park won the Section 2-3A championship with a 12-0-2 record followed by TJ at 11-2-1 and Trinity at 10-3-1. The three teams staged a year-long battle for the top spot in the section.

“It will be interesting to see how the new alignment changes things with our section and Class 3A as a whole,” said Kulish, who owns a 465-192-41 career coaching record.

TJ allowed only seven goals in 14 section games, securing an impressive 54-7 scoring advantage in league play. The Jaguars also held a 76-16 advantage in goals-scored for the season.

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