Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Penn-Trafford, Latrobe getting used to life in Class 4A

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, September 10, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Penn-Trafford and Latrobe are adjusting to life in WPIAL Class 4A.

Both were elevated a classification per the new WPIAL enrollment cycle, which lasts two years.

“There have been differences,” Penn-Trafford coach Jimmy Mastroianni said. “The pace of play is faster, and we are still adjusting to that.”

Penn-Trafford (4-2, 2-0) opened with nonsection games against Peters Township, Upper St. Clair and North Hills to prepare for the start of Section 1 play.

After losing the first two games, which proved to be more of a feeling-out experience, the Warriors beat North Hills and then Latrobe in the section opener.

While one might expect depth to be a plus in Class 4A, Latrobe (1-2-1, 1-1) only had 17 girls for the Penn-Trafford match.

“It’s tough with the numbers,” Wildcats coach Jamie Morrison-Campbell said. “We have to be cautious in how we approach playing time and recovery time.”

Dynamic duo

Mt. Pleasant has one of the top one-two scoring punches in the WPIAL.

The duo of senior Rylin Bugosh and junior Morgan Gesinski have been wreaking havoc on opposing defenses for the better part of three years.

Consider: They have combined for 142 goals and 87 assists for the Vikings.

Bugosh has 74 goals and 47 helpers, and Gesinski 68 and 40.

Jeannette plays

Jeannette took the field last Wednesday with eight players and finally played its first game of the season.

The Jayhawks fell to Ellis School, 8-1, with freshman Reece Brennan scoring the lone goal.

Ellis School opened the game with a full lineup of 11 girls but scaled back to eight after 10 minutes.

Light-rostered Jeannette was unable to play its second game of the season over the weekend because it only had seven girls.

Brown commits

Penn-Trafford senior Alexis Brown will continue her soccer career at Cal (Pa.).

Brown, a forward for the Warriors, came back from an injury she suffered last season.

She fractured her kneecap last September. She had four goals and two assists before her injury.

She also kicked for the football team.

Section only

Greensburg Central Catholic coach Derek Cuthbert said his team plans to play only section games until the postseason. “We have to be smart,” Cuthbert said.

As of Sunday, the Centurions had only 13 girls. They played with only 10 against Riverview.

Hello, world

Penn-Trafford freshman Tori Yurt has broken onto the scene in a hurry.

In two games last week — against Latrobe and Shaler — she scored five goals, including her first hat trick in the second game.

Team bonding

Belle Vernon coach Tracy Lovett took her girls to a college soccer game to support a former teammate.

The Leopards attended the Carlow at Saint Vincent game last week to watch SVC’s Kataira Rhodes play.

Rhodes didn’t disappoint. She scored her first college goal in a 4-1 win.

Top games

County section games to watch Wednesday involve all-local matchups with Norwin visiting Latrobe in Section 1-4A and Southmoreland taking on Yough in Section 4-2A.

Giesey coaching

Franklin Regional coach Scott Arnold added some goalkeeping knowledge to his staff this season by bringing on Megan Giesey as an assistant.

Giesey was an impressive shot-stopping presence at Penn-Trafford before a college career at Pitt-Johnstown.

Corner kicks

Riley Kerr of Greensburg Central Catholic scored a career-high eight goals in a 9-3 win over The Ellis School on Monday. … Mt. Pleasant has outscored is opponents 27-1 in five games. … Latrobe and Yough scored 15 goals each in wins Monday. Norwin scored eight that night, and Penn-Trafford had seven. … Norwin has three wins in six games this season. The Knights had four wins all of last season.

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