Westmoreland notebook: Franklin Regional grad Lorenz lands at Division I Sacred Heart

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, November 28, 2021 | 6:04 PM

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Former Franklin Regional soccer standout Zach Lorenz parlayed a year at a prep school into a Division I opportunity.

Lorenz played this year as Woodstock Academy (Conn.), a first-year program.

Interest began to pick up for Lorenz and he decided to further his career at Sacred Heart of the Northeast Conference. Lorenz had a goal and assist in a 2-0 win over Putnam Science Academy in the Woodstock Academy Showcase.

He also scored in Woodstock’s first win, 3-2 over MLS New England Revolution U-17 Next.

He had another goal in a 2-1 win over Milton Academy, and scored in a 1-1 tie against Pennington School.

Lorenz was named to the top 11 list of noncommitted seniors in his class by Prepsoccer.net.

All-State soccer

With the district and state playoffs complete, the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association announced its boys and girls all-state teams.

The WPIAL had a number of representatives with 14 boys selections and 10 picked for the girls list.

Local girls picks were Penn-Trafford senior forward Malia Kearns and Franklin Regional senior midfielder Sydney Lindeman.

WPIAL boys picks include senior forward Anthony DiFalaco of Franklin Regional and Norwin’s Caleb Yuricha.

Kearns, a Robert Morris commit, led Penn-Trafford this season with 10 goals and 10 assists, while Lindeman, who is headed to Towson, had 15 goals and six assists for the Panthers, who won a section title and advanced to the WPIAL 3A quarterfinals.

DiFalco had 30 goals and 26 assists and was selected to the High School All-American Game. Franklin Regional reached the WPIAL 3A semifinals and PIAA quarterfinals.

Yuricha netted 28 goals for Norwin, which went 14-2-1 and lost in the WPIAL 4A quarters.

Time to tip

High school basketball season opens Dec. 10, and Hempfield will host its 17th annual boys tip-off tournament.

The two-day, round-robin event features eight teams and some intriguing matchups.

All games will be played at the Spartan Field House.

The Friday schedule has Greensburg Salem vs. Connellsville at 4 p.m., Our Lady of the Sacred Heart vs. Franklin Regional at 5:30; Penn-Trafford vs. Greensburg Central Catholic at 7 and Hempfield vs. North Allegheny at 8:30.

On Saturday, GCC plays Greensburg Salem at 12:30 p.m., followed by Connellsville-OLSH (2 p.m.), North Allegheny-Penn-Trafford (3:30) and Franklin Regional-Hempfield (5).

Striped Swan

Hempfield boys basketball coach Bill Swan has taken up a new hobby and it’s an intriguing one.

Swan is now a referee.

“It’s something different,” he said. “It’s been fun to work with a lot of the guys I know.”

Swan is following in the footsteps of another coaching comrade, former Plum coach Ron Richards.

Richards got into officiating after he left the sidelines.

Swan has worked junior high girls games so far in the offseason. Now, he’ll get back to doing what he does best — coaching. This will be his 16th year leading the Spartans — his 20th overall as a coach.

What does Swan think of the world from the perspective of someone wearing black-and-white stripes?

“It’s a hard job,” he said. “I might go easier on the guys from now on.”

Recruiting

Yough senior Maria Vanyo will continue her volleyball career at Penn State Fayette.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Yough