Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Jeannette’s Jordan Taylor climbs WPIAL all-time goals list

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The goal came without any fanfare and it came in a loss, so Jordan Taylor didn’t think much of it.

But his score last week in a 4-2 loss at Freeport was a record breaker.

Taylor, a Jeannette senior forward, broke the boys’ career goals record for Westmoreland County with his 140th.

Jeff Farrell and Carlo Denis of Greensburg Central Catholic shared the previous mark of 139. Farrell graduated in 2005, Denis last year.

Taylor has 46 goals this season, which leads the WPIAL.

The question now is, how far can he climb on the WPIAL list?

Taylor has 151 goals for his career, which was tied with John Strom of Steel Valley (1995) for third all time.

The top mark is held by Moon alum Sean Shapert (1984) with 213 goals. Eben McIntyre of Charleroi (2022) is second at 166.

Taylor leapfrogged fourth-place Brian Hooper of East Allegheny (1998), who scored 149.

Jeannette has two regular-season games left, plus any playoff games should the Jayhawks qualify.

They have only made the playoffs one other time in program history, two years ago.

Leaders of the pack

Taylor has been on top of the WPIAL scoring list for most of the season, but another player from Westmoreland County is nipping at his cleats.

Belle Vernon junior Trevor Kovatch has 45 goals with one game left.

The regular-season title has turned into a tight race between the dynamic pair.

Both have a pair of seven-goal games.

Doubling up

Kovatch had a busy Tuesday.

He played in the WPIAL Class 2A golf team semifinals in the morning, then suited up for the soccer team for a big first-place matchup at Mt. Pleasant.

His 93 didn’t count toward the golf team’s final score, although those Leopards won the tournament to advance to the finals.

His first-half penalty kick did count that night as Belle Vernon edged Mt. Pleasant, 1-0.

“I wanted to help both teams win,” Kovatch said. “It was a long day, but I’m not going to sleep on the bus, not after a win.”

Kovatch said he tried to pace himself throughout the day.

“I didn’t overdo it,” he said. “We had a warm-up at 7 a.m. and I teed off at 8:27. I took a couple clubs out of my bag to make it lighter.”

Kovatch also plays basketball (he is the point guard) and runs track.

Winning Wildcats

Latrobe edged past Gateway on Tuesday night, 3-2, giving the Wildcats 11 wins on the season. That ties the 2018 team’s program record for the most wins in a season.

The Wildcats went 11-6-1 in ‘18 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

This year’s team is 11-3 and headed back to the postseason for the first time since 2020. …

Playoffs near

The WPIAL will meet Wednesday, Oct. 18 to draw up playoff brackets.

Westmoreland teams headed to the postseason include Norwin in 4A, Latrobe and Franklin Regional in 3A, Belle Vernon, Mt. Pleasant and Yough in 2A and Greensburg Central Catholic and Burrell in A.

Jeannette can clinch with a win at Leechburg on Thursday and a Freeport loss or tie against Deer Lakes.

Closer than expected

If there is a team that can gain momentum after a loss, it’s Greensburg Central Catholic.

GCC gave Class A No. 1 Charleroi all it could handle Tuesday before falling, 1-0, on a goal by Joel Chambers.

The first time the Section 2 teams played, Charleroi won 4-1.

In the latest matchup, backup keeper Isaac House stood tall in goal for the Centurions with eight saves.

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