A-K Valley girls soccer preview: Plum eyes another trip to WPIAL final

By: Michael Love
Saturday, August 28, 2021 | 7:51 PM

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The Plum girls soccer team hopes three is the magic number this fall.

The Mustangs, despite the loss of eight seniors who were starters or significant contributors the past two seasons, will attempt a run at a third straight trip to the WPIAL Class 3A championship game.

Coach Jamie Stewart and a core group of returnees are optimistic they have what it takes to fend off the various challengers and make another strong playoff run.

“It will be a little tougher this year as we lost a good group of seniors, but we have a lot of good girls back and there are others who are ready to step up and step in to fill those available spots,” said Stewart, whose teams the past two years fell to Mars in the title games, including 1-0 last year at North Allegheny.

Last fall, the Mustangs were denied a trip to the state playoffs as the PIAA established only the WPIAL champions would advance under a covid logistics policy.

Plum went a combined 33-4-1 the past two seasons. It lost in the first round of the PIAA playoffs in 2019.

The good news this season is that the PIAA returns to the traditional format of having multiple teams in each WPIAL classification move on to their respective state tournaments.

“The hunger is there from everyone to come out and show what they can do,” Stewart said.

All of the teams in the Alle-Kiski Valley are gearing up for the start of the regular season this weekend and next week with single games or tournament action.

The Mustangs must replace the goal-scoring power lost from Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year and all-WPIAL performer Gina Proviano (20 goals, 15 assists).

Proviano now plays at Division I Long Island, and Seneca is a freshman at Gannon.

Plum will count on the return of junior all-WPIAL pick Kaitlyn Killinger (15 goals, 12 assists last year), as well as junior forward Annabel Arhin (eight goals, four assists) and sophomore midfielder Ava Weleski (seven goals, four assists)

“We’ve had some really productive practices with a lot of girls stepping up,” Killinger said. “We’re all really competitive with each other. That’s what we want.”

Plum leads the A-K Valley with nine consecutive seasons making the WPIAL playoffs. Freeport has made it eight straight years, and Kiski Area is going for its sixth in a row. Burrell is next with five, and Deer Lakes and Springdale check in with four consecutive appearances.

“We have several seniors and juniors, along with a few freshmen, fighting for starting jobs,” said Kiski Area coach Mike Spagnolo, who saw his team bow out in the Class 3A first round last year but make the WPIAL quarterfinals three years in a row from 2017-19.

“The captains (Faith Andree, Emerson Johngarlo, Karly Keller) are showing leadership, and we are counting on them to lead the way,” Spagnolo said.

Despite the loss of all-WPIAL players Britta Lagerquist (forward), Lucy Ream (forward) and Sammi Dunlap (goalkeeper), Fox Chapel hopes to defend its Section 3-4A championship.

Nine seniors are expected to help lead the way.

Valley and Riverview hope to stop the longest playoff droughts that extend to their last trips in 2016.

The Vikings, with eight starters back from last year, including two-time all-section picks Jordan Kirkwood and Natalie Beckes, hope to contend for a playoff spot in the competitive and rugged Section 2-2A against the likes of Freeport, Deer Lakes, Burrell and Shady Side Academy.

“We’re super pumped,” said first-year coach Tim Beckes, a Vikings assistant the past four years.

“We’re not a historically powerful team, but we have some nice players who have played for a long time. Eight of our 11 starters are juniors. We feel we can compete every single game. This section we’re in is greatly underrated in the WPIAL. Freeport, Deer Lakes, Burrell and Shady Side Academy all have been (WPIAL) semifinalists in the past four years.”

Highlands, under the direction of first-year coach Paul Matisz, himself an assistant with the Golden Rams before ascending, hopes to help turn things around after a winless 2020 campaign.

Riverview, which didn’t field a team last year because of low numbers in the program, is back.

Several of the team members will be playing multiple sports this fall for the Raiders, who will be back in Section 1-1A with Apollo-Ridge, Greensburg Central Catholic, Jeannette, Ligonier Valley, Serra Catholic and Springdale.

Greensburg Central Catholic is the defending section champ, and Springdale and Ligonier Valley represented the section in the WPIAL playoffs.

Apollo-Ridge, because of a clerical error, is designated as Class 2A again for the WPIAL playoffs despite being a Class A team.

That means the Vikings have to win their section in order to qualify for the Class 2A playoffs. Last year, the Vikings, who again will co-op with Leechburg, finished 6-4 and in third place in the section.

“We are a young team,” coach Matt Ross said. “We have no seniors, but we have a nice returning cast of those who will be juniors, and the same who will be sophomores. This might be one of the most coachable teams I’ve ever had. They are hard workers who work really well together. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.”

A-K Valley players to watch

Carlie Barnett, Sr., D, Fox Chapel

Madeline Boulos, Sr., F, Deer Lakes

Jess Cekada, Sr., M/F, Highlands

Emma Check, Sr., M, Freeport

Lilly Iadicicco, Sr., M, Springdale

Kaitlyn Killinger, Jr., F, Plum

Jordan Kirkwood, Jr., M, Valley

Riley Koziatek, Jr., F, Kiski Area

Ashley McAdams, Sr., M/F, Deer Lakes

Kyra Myers, Jr., D, Apollo-Ridge

Aleah Parison, Jr., F, Freeport

Kaitlyn Postupak, Sr., M, Burrell

Macrina Robb, Soph., M, Knoch

Ava Weleski, So., M, Plum

Preseason rankings

Class 4A

1. Peters Township (11-2-1)

2. North Allegheny (13-3)

3. Seneca Valley (8-4)

4. Moon (9-4-2)

5. Butler (11-2)

Class 3A

1. Mars (19-0)

2. Plum (16-1)

3. West Allegheny (11-4)

4. Franklin Regional (11-2-1)

5. Montour (10-7)

Class 2A

1. North Catholic (15-3-1)

2. Avonworth (14-2-1)

3. Southmoreland (13-2)

4. South Park (12-1-1)

5. Shady Side Academy (12-1)

Class A

1. Greensburg Central Catholic (18-1)

2. OLSH (12-3)

3. Steel Valley (14-1-1)

4. Freedom (12-3)

5. South Side (12-4)

*2020 records listed

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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