Even after playoff loss, things looking up for Penn Hills girls soccer

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, October 31, 2021 | 11:01 AM

How the Penn Hills girls soccer team closed the season didn’t put a damper on the experience for coach Ashley DeVito.

Facing two-time defending state champions Mars in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs resulted in a 7-0 defeat on the road Oct. 25. It didn’t knock any luster off what the Indians had previously accomplished.

For the second straight season, Penn Hills reached the playoffs, and, thanks to a win over Valley in the final game of the season, the Indians finished with a 9-8-1 record.

“I’m really excited,” DeVito said. “We had an incredibly strong season. We ended up with a plus-6 goal differential (in the regular season). Statistically, this was one of the best teams we’ve ever had. It was exciting to see all our hard work pay off and make it back to the playoffs.”

The perennial juggernaut Planets surged ahead early, taking the lead when Maddie Wolfe scored two minutes into the match. Mars doubled its lead five minutes later and didn’t look back.

Penn Hills fought its way back to the playoffs despite having a roster of 17 to start the year, with only 15 players available to play. Senior Molly McGuire and Kali Holt provided this group with a lot of returning experience.

DeVito appreciated their contributions but also pointed out the future is bright.

“The great thing is we scored 48 goals and only 10 were scored by seniors,” DeVito said. “That means we have 38 goals returning to the program next year, which is fantastic. We’ve developed the young talent we have. Even though we do have a lot of players who may be inexperienced, their work rate is relentless.”

DeVito hopes the sustained varsity success will also help manufacture a pipeline. The varsity program tries to work closely with the Penn Hills Soccer Association to keep kids interested in the sport.

“In addition to our program becoming more and more successful over the past several years, we are continuing to reach out to our youth programs,” DeVito said. “We have a youth camp coming up Nov. 13 at the Fralic Center. I work hand-in-hand with the middle school coach. She helps bring in girls from younger teams in the community.”

Boys team falls

The Indians’ boys soccer team was shut out, 8-0, by Hampton in the program’s first trip to the playoffs since 2004.

Penn Hills, which wrapped up the season 9-10, had sophomore goalkeeper Landon Hankey selected to the Finest 15 of Section 4-3A. Junior defender Owen Williams was chosen as an honorable mention.

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