Westmoreland soccer notebook: GCC’s Winnor out for playoffs

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 | 5:14 PM

If Greensburg Central Catholic makes another WPIAL title run in girls soccer, the Centurions will have to do so without senior Bethany Winnor.

The senior midfielder and New Hampshire recruit is out after having surgery on her right ankle on Friday. She is expected to miss four months.

“I had to have surgery to reconstruct torn ligaments due to frequent sprains over the last four years,” she said. “Although I am disappointed to not finish out my high school season, I am lucky that the recovery time is only four months.”

Winnor played just five games this year. She re-injured her ankle at Serra Catholic.

Congrats GCC girls soccer on a great win today! Quarter finals here we come! Sad I could not be out there with you guys! Could not ask for better teammates who have kept my spirts high leading up to surgery yesterday! I’ll see you back on the field in four months!! pic.twitter.com/c3y5Kr9whQ

— Bethany (@BethanyWinnor) October 23, 2021

Winnor said she hopes to be back on the field in March with the Riverhounds Academy, where she can train for college soccer.

Top-seeded and defending champion GCC (13-1) was set to take on No. 8 Riverside (11-7) Wednesday night at Hampton.

The winner goes to the Class A semifinals on Monday at a time and site to be determined.

Stuck on 99

The brilliant high school career of Belle Vernon star Danial Sassak came to an end Saturday when the Leopards lost 4-0 to Mars in the WPIAL Class 3A first round.

One of Sassak’s well, goals, was to become the first 100-goal scorer in school history. He fell just short, at 99.

Sassak broke school records for career goals and points. He finished with 29 goals this season.

Surprisingly, college interest has been a slow go for Sassak, who has heard mainly from Pitt-Greensburg.

Quarterfinal sites

Five local teams will play WPIAL quarterfinal games Saturday.

The big local game is Mt. Pleasant (13-5) at Southmoreland (13-1-2) in girls’ Class 2A. It will begin at noon.

Southmoreland won the Section 3 title by a slim margin over Mt. Pleasant and the teams went 1-1 against each other during the regular season.

Also in 2A, the Yough girls (13-3-1) will take on top-seeded North Catholic at 1 p.m. at Mars.

There will be a local boys doubleheader at Norwin. At noon, Class A No. 1 Greensburg Central Catholic (13-3) will face Springdale (11-4-1), followed by 4A action between Norwin (14-1-1) and North Allegheny (14-5) at 2 p.m.

For Moe

The Latrobe girls (13-1-1) will host Peters Township (10-3-3) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday looking for their first playoff win in school history.

The Wildcats will have a special fundraiser for the Kaitlyn “Moe” Rosensteel Scholarship Foundation.

There will be a 50/50 raffle and concession sales, which will go directly to the foundation. Fans are asked to wear purple for the cause.

Join us this Thursday, October 28 at 6:30pm at Rossi Field as the Greater Latrobe Lady Cats Soccer Team plays in the WPIAL Class 4A Quarter Finals! We will be hosting a fundraiser for the Kaitlyn "Moe" Rosensteel Scholarship Foundation! @GLCATATHLETICS pic.twitter.com/wRDc5HkhyQ

— Greater Latrobe School District (@GLSDwildcats) October 27, 2021

Kickoff event

In other Moe Rosensteel Foundation news, the organization announced plans for the inaugural Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic to be played Sept. 3, 2022, at Norwin High School.

Girls teams for the event will be announced later.

The Kaitlyn Moe Rosensteel Scholarship Foundation is pleased to announce the inaugural Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic to be held Sep. 3, 2022 @ Norwin High School

This event is another way to honor Moe plus support & recognize the young ladies who play the game #moe86 pic.twitter.com/OEcerAQN4L

— Kaitlyn Moe Rosensteel Scholarship Foundation (@MoeRosensteel) October 27, 2021

Historic season

Jeannette gave No. 2 seed Winchester Thurston a game early in the Class A first round Monday before falling, 5-0.

The Jayhawks had never made the WPIAL playoffs before and set a program record for wins, finishing 11-6.

Sophomore Jordan Taylor finished second in the WPIAL in goals with 45.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Southmoreland, Yough