Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Tournament honors late Mt. Pleasant grad

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, October 18, 2023 | 11:01 AM

The late Seth Menart was a three-time all-section player at Mt. Pleasant and went on to win a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tile at Cal (Pa.) as a walk-on.

The Mt. Pleasant community will continue to keep his memory alive with the 15th annual Seth Menart Memorial Soccer Tournament Nov. 11 at Bridgeport Dam Park in Mt. Pleasant.

The youth event is open to U8, U10, U12 and junior-high age divisions.

Menart, who died in a vehicle accident in 2009, began playing kinder soccer when he was 4. One of his sayings was, “Live for today.”

Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Seth Menart Scholarship Fund and the Mt. Pleasant Soccer Club.

Registration is $200 per team and $150 for each additional team in the same age, group and division.

Nov. 3 is the deadline to register.

More information: https://tshq.bluesombrero.com/mprsl.

Contacts: Floyd Snyder, fsnyder99@gmail.com; or Brandon Fetherlin, bfetherlin@gmail.com.

Taylor chasing second

Jeannette senior scoring sensation Jordan Taylor is closing in on the No. 2 spot on the WPIAL boys’ all-time goal scoring list.

Taylor has 159 goals going into the WPIAL playoffs.

A 2022 Charleroi graduate, Eben McIntyre is second with 167 career goals. Moon’s Sean Shapert (1984 graduate) has the No. 1 spot with 213.

Coach of the year

Latrobe’s Jake Rice is only in his second season with the Wildcats, but he has led a turnaround and is getting credit for it.

Rice was named the Section 4-3A Coach of the Year after guiding the Wildcats to a program-record 13 wins and a return to the WPIAL playoffs.

Remember me?

The last game of the regular season was like a reunion for Greensburg Central Catholic coach Ryan Kanner.

His team traveled to Kiski Area, the school Kanner graduated from in 2014. Kiski Area coach Ben Fiore and Kanner were high school teammates.

Kanner and Fiore have remained close since high school. They coached together at Ambridge.

One memory, in particular, stands out for Kanner: Fiore’s first goal for the Cavaliers.

“Me and a few other guys were on the bench watching the JV game before the varsity game later that night, and we just went crazy celebrating with him as he ran over to the bench,” Kanner said. “He was just a guy everyone had to root for and was definitely a member of our tightly knit group back then.”

Kiski Area won the game, 5-1.

Emery out

Jeannette senior Austin Emery, one of the top point producers on the team, will likely miss the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.

He injured his right (kicking) leg in a recent game. He also has missed time as the kicker of the football team.

Coach Steve Pons said it is unclear how much time Emery will miss.

Pitch shot

Belle Vernon’s Trevor Kovatch continues to make two sports work this season. And he plays both at a high level.

The 47-goal scorer had led the Leopards to a section title and a WPIAL 2A playoff spot, all while playing consistently for the WPIAL 2A championship golf team.

Last week, he played in the WPIAL final at Cedarbrook Golf Course, Belle Vernon’s home course, then collected two goals and an assist a couple hours later in a 4-0 win over McGuffey.

It has been common this fall for Kovatch to ping-pong between matches and practices.

While he was practicing a soccer drill this week, he took a quick phone call to let the golf team know he’d be there shortly for a quick session.

Literally, he dribbled, passed off and said, “All right, see you later,” tucking his phone into his hoodie pouch before returning to the play.

Kovatch joined the golf team Wednesday at Penn State for the PIAA Championships.

Kovatch was named the Section 3-AA player of the year for the second straight time.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Mt. Pleasant