Late-season win provides highlight for Shaler boys soccer

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, October 22, 2023 | 11:01 AM

If Shaler boys soccer coach Tyler Schultz had it his way, the Titans’ outburst against Hempfield on Oct. 10 would have happened much sooner.

But as it was, Shaler’s 5-1 win over Hempfield was a nice reward for a group of seniors who had difficulty navigating through a brutal Section 1-4A schedule. The Titans snapped a 16-game winless streak to start the season by beating the Spartans.

All of Shaler’s goals were scored by seniors, including a hat trick by Luca Wallander.

“I couldn’t have planned it much better,” Schultz said. “Well, I could have made it happen in the first game of the season. But it felt good for the kids, and they loved it.”

Having a young team in this section would provide a rough ride for any team. Shaler started one freshman and four sophomores for much of the season. At the top of the section, defending state champion Seneca Valley led the way with an 11-0-3 section record, while North Allegheny and Butler were only a game behind.

Shaler (1-14-2, 0-13-1) had been held scoreless during its four matches before the win over Hempfield. Schultz said that the Titans have been experimenting with many different formations during the season.

“We started the year in a 3-5-2 and tried to play the ball through the midfield,” Schlutz said. “When that didn’t work, we tried to play slightly more defensive-minded. We switched to a 4-1-3-2 and tried to pack the midfield.”

Against Hempfield, in addition to three goals from Wallander, fellow seniors John Lamanna and Dylan Paylo also scored for the Titans.

“We appreciated his leadership and his grit,” Schultz said. “We knew he would have that grit because he’s a hockey player.”

Shaler had several close calls in section play. The Titans lost both of their meetings with Central Catholic by one goal. The Titans also lost a one-goal game to North Hills and drew with the Indians in their other meeting.

Schultz hopes the team’s young lineup will learn from some of the growing pains this season.

“One thing we need to work on is strength and conditioning,” Schultz said. “With the numbers some of the other teams in the section have, you must have depth. We may have a strong starting lineup, but things get harder as you get deeper into games and they fatigue.”

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