Westmoreland County girls soccer preview: Mt. Pleasant motivated to make title run

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, August 22, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Mt. Pleasant is going into a new girls soccer season with a mind eraser.

A team that has the talent to make a title run like it did two years ago when it finished as the runner-up, the Vikings stewed over a stunning playoff loss.

The team was dealt a 2-1 setback in overtime to Burrell in last year’s quarterfinals. The sting of that quarterfinal upset — at home with the Vikings as a No. 3 seed — still looms large, but it’s not occupying their every thought.

“I think the loss is in the back of their mind,” Mt. Pleasant coach Rich Garland said. “We dealt with it right away, and, indeed, I think we were all humbled by it. We have not talked about it at all, but I probably will mention it before we get going again.”

The Vikings still have plenty of firepower with Rylin Bugosh, Maddie Barrick, Morgan Gesinski and Adi Gardner back. They will be joined by other experienced talent in Brooklyn Ulery, Raygan Mizikar, Caitlyn Fullman and Jaden Kantorick as well as goalkeeper Laurel Rummel.

“I don’t think our expectations have changed,” Garland said. “We are looking to compete for a WPIAL title. We are willing to put in the work to see where we end up.”

Avonworth, North Catholic, Shady Side Academy and South Park also are contenders in 2A.

Around the county

WPIAL realignment for the new, two-year enrollment period caused some teams to shuffle their position.

Latrobe and Penn-Trafford moved up to Class 4A and will now play in a section with Norwin and Hempfield.

Belle Vernon, meanwhile, moved from 3A to 2A.

• Franklin Regional has one of the most senior-laden teams in the area, an experienced group that includes Abby Paterline, Brooke Blakley, Eden Williams, Natalie Keough, Reagan Weaver, Reilly Weaver and Reese Phillips.

Paterline was one of 11 players selected to the Eastern Regional Olympic Developmental Program. Williams is an IUP commit.

Junior Allyssa Velasquez was the second-leading scorer behind Paterline.

Addison Ayres will take over in front of the net after standout Aris Lamanna, the county player of the year, graduated.

“As usual, our main strength is staying connected and playing together as a team whether attacking, defending or in transition,” coach Scott Arnold said. “Our intention is to dominate the ball and assert our style of play.”

Franklin Regional plays Thomas Jefferson at noon Saturday in a formidable season opener at the Moe Rosensteel Kickoff Classic at Ringgold.

• Latrobe has an abundance of talent returning to greet a 4A schedule, although the roster remains light overall.

Top players back for the Wildcats include West Virginia commit Robin Reilly, Maddie Petruzzi, Emerson Shine and Annalyse Bauer.

Ava Yurko, a Youngstown State commit, is working her way back from injury and will miss at least the early part of the season as she goes through strength training.

Also watch a freshmen class that could begin to make its mark early.

“The biggest challenge with moving up into 4A comes down to some unknowns,” Latrobe coach Jamie Morrison-Campbell said. “We will be competing against a lot of new opposition that we have never faced before, but we are excited for the new challenge. We know walking into most of these 4A schools, we will face teams with near double our roster size; however, we can only focus on our controllables — how can we best approach each game to allow our strengths to shine and elevate us as a unit.”

• Rease Solomon is one of the top goalkeepers in the WPIAL, and Penn-Trafford has her for one more season before she heads to Robert Morris.

Senior forward Alexis Brown is an important part of the offensive attack, whereas seniors Bryana Bennett and Gaby Michael are back on defense for the Warriors as they feel their way around a new class.

“With nine seniors and a lot of upperclassmen between our juniors and sophomores, we have experience,” coach Jimmy Mastroianni said. “We will be relying on that experience and leadership to get us through the ups and downs of the season. I expect us to be competing for the section this year and making a much deeper run in the playoffs.”

A pair of sisters left the program.

Juniors Hanna and Olivia Weishaar are not playing soccer as they focus on basketball and track and field, while juniors Ava and Emilie Oslosky are attending The Kiski School.

Several girls are set to return from injuries, Mastroianni said.

• Belle Vernon is set to take on 2A with nine returning starters.

“This is a brand-new season with new opportunities, and we are excited to play in 2A,” coach Tracy Lovett said. “We are confident that we can be very competitive.”

Grace West, Ava Scalise and Samantha Mincone, all seniors, are key scoring threats.

“We have a very nice mix of skill, and we have confident upperclassmen combined with athletic, enthusiastic and hard-working underclassmen,” Lovett said. “I feel if we stay healthy and play the way we know how, that we will be successful in our section.”

• Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette were dealing with low roster totals throughout the summer and had considered a co-operative before they achieved a sufficient number of players to move ahead on their own.

Riley Kerr, Addison Vacanti and Sophia Fisher are top returning players for GCC. Kerr is a St. Francis (Pa.) commit.

Jiana Patterson would have joined that group, but she transferred to Hempfield and should help the Spartans right away.

• Monessen does not have a team but has a co-op with Charleroi.

Players to watch

Maddie Barrick, Sr., F, Mt. Pleasant

Annalyse Bauer, Jr., MF, Latrobe

Lizzy Boone, Sr., D, Southmoreland

Nicole Bown, Jr., D, Norwin

Rylin Bugosh, Sr., F, Mt. Pleasant

Julia Bursick, Sr., MF, Norwin

Sophia Fisher, Sr., MF, Greensburg Central Catholic

Caitlyn Fullman, Jr., D, Mt. Pleasant

Morgan Gesinski, Jr., F, Mt. Pleasant

Riley Kerr, Sr., F, Greensburg Central Catholic

Samantha Mincone, Sr., D, Belle Vernon

Raygan Mizikar, Jr., D, Mt. Pleasant

Abby Paterline, Sr., MF, Franklin Regional

Jiana Patterson, Jr., F, Hempfield

Maddy Petruzzi, Sr., MF, Latrobe

Robin Reilly, Sr., F, Latrobe

Laurel Rummel, Jr., GK, Mt. Pleasant

Ava Scalise, Sr., MF, Belle Vernon

Aubrey Seder, Sr., MF, Southmoreland

Katelyn Slavick, Jr., MF, Yough

Rease Solomon, Sr., GK, Penn-Trafford

Allyson Steffey, Sr., MF, Ligonier Valley

Gracelynn Tomko, Sr., D, Yough

Addison Vacanti, Sr., MF, Greensburg Central Catholic

Allyssa Velasquez, Jr., F, Franklin Regional

Grace West, Sr., MF, Belle Vernon

Eden Williams, Sr., D, Franklin Regional

Ava Yurko, Sr., D, Latrobe

Important dates

Aug. 12: First day of practice

Aug. 17: First scrimmages

Aug. 23: First play date

Aug. 26: First section date

Oct. 19: WPIAL playoffs begin

Oct 31-Nov 2: WPIAL championships

Nov. 5: PIAA playoffs begin

Nov. 15-16: PIAA championships

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