Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: As section title shows, ‘Norwin is back’

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Norwin has secured its first outright section championship since 2019, a sure sign the Knights (12-2) are back to being WPIAL title contenders again.

“Yes, Norwin is back,” junior Siena Ali said.

Senior Nicole Bown and her classmates on the team have seen both ends of the spectrum. When they were freshmen and sophomores, the team finished 5-11-2 and 4-14, an ultra rare two-year stretch for the program that it had not before encountered. Norwin missed the WPIAL playoffs both years.

Steadily, the girls have climbed back to the top, finishing 10-8-1 last year and returning to the postseason before this run that could land them a top-five seed in the playoffs.

All is right with world again at Norwin, which is riding an 11-game winning streak.

“For us seniors, it is a chance to leave a legacy and show how far the program has come,” Bown said of the section title. “When I was a freshman, nobody was really talking about us. But we stuck together, trusted our coaches and just kept working. To see the program turn around and be in this position now shows how much heart we have.

“Now we’re in the conversation, and that shows how much has changed.”

Bown said the return to prominence also affects the younger players. Yes, Norwin has 11 seniors, but it also shows seven juniors, nine sophomores and nine freshmen.

“The expectation has shifted,” Bown said. “Now we step on the field expecting to win.”

Coach Ashley DeVito, who remembers facing Norwin when she was coach at Penn Hills, said this group is maturing on and off the field.

“There has always been talented soccer players here,” she said. “But they are learning to play to their strengths and trust each other. It’s more the mental side of the game — a lot more than X’s and O’s.”

Belle Vernon peaking

Belle Vernon has been playing its best soccer of the season — at the right time.

The WPIAL playoffs are scheduled to begin next weekend, and the Leopards are lurking quietly behind No. 1-ranked South Park in Section 1-2A.

Belle Vernon (11-4-1, 8-2-1) lost 1-0 to South Park and dropped a 2-1 nonsection game against Baldwin before ripping off four straight shutouts over Ringgold, McGuffey, Yough and Keystone Oaks. The Leopards have eight clean sheets in all.

Their coach attributes the high-end play of late to the team’s harmony.

“We have a very cohesive and tight knit group of girls this season,” Leopards coach Tracy Lovett said. “We all get along so well. All of them are very competitive and work together so well to achieve the success we’ve been finding. We’ve had some very tight games, and they never lose focus, and they always lift each other up on and off the field.”

Lovett said the team has numerous activities together off the field and plays indoor tournaments in the winter as a run up to training in the spring.

Soon, they will be enjoying the WPIAL playoffs together.

“We have a very robust preseason summer program,” Lovett said. “And then during the season, we make sure that we do a lot of fun team bonding type of things as well. I really believe that has a lot to do with it. We’re having some really great practices, and everybody is giving 110%. Every single player, no matter what their role is on this team, is contributing.”

Lovett said exposing youth players to the goings on of the varsity program also plays a part in development.

“Once the season is over, I invite the sixth, seventh and eighth graders to join us in our offseason trainings and sessions and tournaments,” she said. “I believe in continuing to build this program, and our future is bright.”

The BVA middle school team had 23 players this year and did not lose a game.

Roll Vikes

Mt. Pleasant captured its fourth straight section title Monday with a 4-0 win over Southmoreland.

The Vikings have 38 straight section wins dating to 2022.

Ayres sets record

Franklin Regional senior goalkeeper Addison Ayres had big shoes to fill when she took over for Aris Lamanna, a talented shot stopper who took her game to Coastal Carolina.

Ayres pulled even with Lamanna in the program record book in one category. With Monday’s 3-0 win over Blackhawk, Ayres tied Lamanna’s record with 11 shutouts in a season. She broke Lamanna’s mark of 10 clean sheets in the regular season.

Playoff picture

Ten teams from Westmoreland County have clinched WPIAL playoff spots with less than two weeks to play in the regular season.

They are Norwin, Penn-Trafford and Latrobe in Class 4A, Franklin Regional and Kiski Area in 3A and Belle Vernon, Burrell, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland and Yough in 2A.

Rankings glance

Only two local girls teams are ranked this week.

Norwin remains at No. 5 in 4A, and Mt. Pleasant is No. 4 in 2A.

Burrell dropped out of the Class 2A top five.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin