Westmoreland County high school soccer notebook: Mt. Pleasant coach honored

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 | 6:23 PM

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Floyd Snyder is a humble coach who often deflects attention to his assistants and players.

But Snyder couldn’t hide from an unexpected and distinguished honor.

The 18th-year Mt. Pleasant boys soccer coach was named WPIAL Class 2A co-Coach of the Year by the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association.

He was joined by Jon Cantwell of South Park.

“I’m not sure if it was deserved or not, especially since my team is no longer playing, but it truly means a lot to be acknowledged by fellow coaches,” Snyder said. “There are so many great ones in 2A boys soccer to choose from.

“Our team’s success goes well beyond myself. It’s a reflection of the time our players dedicate to the game, especially in the offseason, and the effort put forth by my assistant coach, Brandon Fetherlin, our goalie coach, John Menefee, and our junior high head coach, Luke Domasky. They’ve all put in countless hours both during the season and in the offseason.”

Snyder guided Mt. Pleasant to its sixth straight WPIAL playoff appearance. The Vikings finished 15-5 and won their first section title since 2020.

Snyder is 185-123-13 in his career with four section titles and 13 playoff appearances in 18 years.

“We don’t have a roster full of cup players, so we try to give our boys as many high-level experiences as possible in the offseason to help prepare them for the fall high school season,” Snyder said. “To share this honor with (Cantwell), who has had so much success as a 2A boys soccer coach at South Park, is an honor as well.”

Finals set

The Franklin Regional boys know who they will play in the WPIAL 3A championship. Now, the Panthers have a starting time and date.

The Panthers will take on West Allegheny at noon Saturday at Highmark Stadium at Station Square in Pittsburgh.

The Panthers (18-3) have two WPIAL titles (2018, ’19), and both came against the Indians (13-6), the No. 8 seed in this year’s bracket.

Playing for third

The Mt. Pleasant girls (14-5-1), who dropped a 2-0 decision to nemesis Burrell in the semifinals, will take on Quaker Valley (14-3-1) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the WPIAL 2A third-place game at Chuck Knox Stadium in Leetsdale.

The winner advances to the PIAA playoffs.

All-WPIAL honors

Numerous Westmoreland County players were bestowed a significant honor this week when they were named to the All-WPIAL lists.

Among the girls to make the list were: 4A: Annalyse Bauer and Emerson Shine of Latrobe, Nicole Bown and Cameryn Reed of Norwin, Tori Yurt of Penn-Trafford; 3A: Ellie Arnold of Kiski Area and Addison Ayres and Allyssa Velasquez of Franklin Regional; 2A: Makiah Buchak and McKenna Miller of Burrell, Hannah Conn of Southmoreland, Caitlyn Fullman, Morgan Gesinski, Raygan Mizikar and Laurel Rummel of Mt. Pleasant, Saylor Lee and Abby Russell of Belle Vernon and Katie Slavick of Yough.

Boys selections were: 4A: Ryan Schoemer of Norwin and Braden Crowe of Hempfield; 3A: Thomas Bridges, Cruise Lamanna and Fabrizzio Costa of Franklin Regional; 2A: Damien Ohler and Tyke Snyder of Mt. Pleasant.

Parade of champions

Franklin Regional’s boys will go for their third WPIAL title Saturday.

The only other local boys soccer teams to win championships are Greensburg Central Catholic, which has five titles, the last in 2020, and Norwin, which won its only title in 2023.

The GCC girls have the most titles in Westmoreland County with seven, Norwin had four and Penn-Trafford two.

Milestone chasing

Mt. Pleasant girls coach Rich Garland is nearing a milestone for victories.

The veteran leader, who spent 19 years coaching the Franklin Regional girls and five at Mt. Pleasant, is three wins shy of 300.

His career record is 297-108-8.

A PIAA run could get him the mark.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland, Yough