Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Freshman comes out firing for Franklin Regional

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, August 26, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The Franklin Regional girls soccer program appears to have a bright future.

Need proof?

The Panthers (1-1) started three freshmen in their first two games, and one of them scored all of the goals so far.

Freshman Reese Regelski fired in her first career goal from 20 yards as Franklin Regional won 1-0 in the seventh annual Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic at Ringgold.

It was Franklin Regional’s first win in four appearances at the showcase.

Regelski, the daughter of former Westminster star Rich Regelski, now the director of special education at Franklin Regional, added another goal Monday in a 3-1 loss at Plum in the Section 3-4A opener.

Kate Silvis and Ella Copeland are the other ninth-grade starters.

“The girls are young, but each game is a learning experience,” Panthers coach Scott Arnold said. “We feel good about the younger girls. They have created competition.”

No matter how good the freshmen are, though, the upperclassmen will likely determine how far this team goes.

Against Thomas Jefferson, juniorJocelyn Bertagnaassisted the goal. Senior goalkeeper Addison Ayres made nine saves and earned player of the match. Ayres had 13 saves against Plum, which fired 16 shots at her.

More openers

Latrobe came up short in its season opener, falling 2-1 to North Catholic at the Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic at Ringgold.

Annalyse Bauer, an Eastern Michigan commit, was named the team’s player of the match.

Liv Ross scored, and Ellie Petruzzi assisted for the Wildcats.

• Camryn Kapr knocked a loose ball into the net in the first half as Class 2A No. 2 Mt. Pleasant shut out Class 3A West Allegheny, 1-0.

Draw for MP

It is no secret Mt. Pleasant has struggled with Burrell in the WPIAL postseason, falling to the Buccaneers four times in the last six postseasons.

The teams met in the regular season Monday, and neither side won. They played to a 0-0 draw.

Garland wins

It didn’t take Jessica Garland long to get her first win as the new head coach at Riverview.

Garland, a Franklin Regional alum and the daughter of Mt. Pleasant coach Rich Garland, guided the Raiders to a 9-1, season-opening win over Greensburg Central Catholic on Monday.

Jeannette starting late

Jeannette has battled low roster numbers in recent seasons, but the team could reach a high-water mark this year.

Athletic director Adrian Batts said 14 girls, some who joined late, signed up to play for first-year coach Derek Cuthbert.

A former Greensburg Central Catholic and Penn-Trafford coach who won a WPIAL title with the latter program, Cuthbert will lead Jeannette against GCC in two section games.

Jeannette will open the season later than most teams as the new girls get acclimated.

Its first game is set for Sept. 3 at home against Ellis School.

Games to watch

Local section games to keep an eye Wednesday include Indiana at Greensburg Salem and Kiski Area at Franklin Regional in Section 4-3A, and South Park at Belle Vernon in Section 1-A.

A strong schedule of nonsection matchups includes Latrobe at North Allegheny, North Hills at Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon at Norwin and Upper St. Clair at Penn-Trafford.

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, Jeannette, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford