Westmoreland County soccer teams working hard to fill shoes of graduated stars

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Winning a championship with bedrock players like midfielder Owen Christopher and goalkeeper Anthony Scalise was invigorating for Norwin last season.

The team followed those players’ lead to WPIAL glory.

That was the good news.

But there also was some bad news: Christopher and Scalise graduated.

Franklin Regional’s girls felt the same angst when they bid farewell to Aria Lamanna, one of the top goalkeepers in the state.

And Jeannette, which became spoiled with a terrific, four-year talent in Jordan Taylor, had to part ways with one of the WPIAL’s all-time leading goal scorers.

Replacing those high-wattage, all-state stars was a challenge.

“Owen was a great leader and the hardest worker I know,” Norwin senior forward Daniel Maddock said. “He did so much more than just what shows up in the stats.”

Norwin has relied more on several players to provide the skill and leadership Christopher and Scalise brought.

Christopher, now at Pitt, had 13 goals and five assists last season as Norwin won its first title as a No. 8 seed. He was the TribLive Westmoreland player of the year.

Scalise, who now guards the net at Penn State Behrend, had 10 shutouts and won three penalty-kick shootouts in the playoffs as Norwin reached the PIAA semifinals.

“This season, the seniors are all being leaders, and the captains are bringing the team together more and more every day,” Maddock said. “The chemistry of the team is continuing to increase, and the leadership of us captains plays a major role in that. (Christopher) was a great motivator, which a lot of us have adopted and now hold within ourselves. We work hard at every single practice like it is our last time playing soccer. The entire team has contributed this season. From freshmen to seniors we each play a significant part in the success of the team.”

Junior Ryan Dooen was next up in goal for the Knights but has been out of the lineup with an injury. Reed Hoyle has stepped in admirably, posting back-to-back shutouts against Gateway and Penn-Trafford.

Lamanna had 31 shutouts in 62 career starts at Franklin Regional before heading off to Coastal Carolina, leaving big shoes to fill for the next netminder.

Junior Addison Ayres moved into the role this season and also appears to have a bright future as she steps out of Lamanna’s shadow.

“Aris was an excellent mentor to Addie the last two years and inspired her to the same training work ethic that makes Aris so good,” Franklin Regional coach Scott Arnold said. “Addie has utilized many of the same goalkeeper trainers as Aris and seeks to challenge herself in club soccer as well.”

Ayres is facing more shots than Lamanna did, 10.8 a game to Lamanna’s 6.3.

Ayres gives up four inches to Lamanna — 5-foot-7 to 5-11 — but she still makes some impressive saves. She stopped 36 of the first 43 shots on goal she faced this season.

“Watching Aris as I was coming up in high school helped me with my confidence as to being a very calm and collected goalkeeper,” Ayres said. “She is a leader on and off the field and taught me to always strive to be the best version of myself I can. In preparation to take Aris’s spot was something that I knew I had to really work hard for.”

Ayres, who said she is not afraid of one-on-one situations, trains with those who were in Lamanna’s camp, including Pro Player GK. She also made the ECNL Internationals roster, an impressive feat for a player who didn’t start playing soccer until the spring of 2020.

“My greatest challenge I have faced was the ability to play under pressure,” said Ayres, who uses a rare drop kick on punts. “I have really worked hard with my Franklin backline over the past few weeks to develop our critical thinking skills when we are passing around front lines.”

Arnold said Lamanna was a “modern goalkeeper” whose distribution skills were second to none.

“Varsity game by varsity game, you can see (Ayres) improving with her distribution and decision making too, as she gets repetitions and builds synergies with the field players around her,” the coach said. “She is playing at a high level already and will continue to improve throughout the year as she gains even more experience. We are very lucky to have Addie to follow in Aris’ footsteps.”

To Jeannette, where Taylor led the WPIAL with 54 goals last season and finished third in the WPIAL’s all-time goals list with 162.

“From my perspective, you can’t replace Jordan Taylor,” Jayhawks coach Steve Pons said. “While you can replace his speed and overall ability to play the game, the one aspect that is difficult was his ability to finish. It was his ability to put the ball in the back of the net that set him apart.”

Jeannette also has to fill vacancies left by Austin Emery and Jared Vincent, who complemented Taylor on the attack.

“These two were an integral part of Jordan’s success,” Pons said. “Their ability to get him the ball enabled Jordan to be as successful as he was.”

Pons said Jeannette changed its system, a nod to Taylor’s impact.

Taylor’s brother, Jorel, moved from center back to midfield, and McAlister Steele slid over to center-mid.

“Both of these moves were to take advantage of the aggressive nature of them both to get forward,” Pons said.

Jeannette went from a three-man back line to four.

“This enables us to have a solid spine from which to work from,” Pons said.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Jeannette, Norwin