Moon’s Bill Pfeifer named national girls soccer coach of the year
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Monday, January 16, 2023 | 4:01 PM
Moon head coach Billy Pfeifer celebrates with goalkeeper Serayah Leech after defeating Seneca Valley, 4-0, in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, at Highmark Stadium.
Moon head coach Billy Pfeifer smiles as he bestows gold medals to his players after winning the PIAA Class 3A state championship game against Upper Perkiomen on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, at Cumberland Valley.
Moon head coach Billy Pfeifer celebrates with the Lady Tigers after defeating Mars, 1-0, in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, at Highmark Stadium.
Moon had a girls soccer season to remember in the fall.
The Tigers didn’t let anybody get in the way as they collected WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A championships and finished a perfect 24-0.
Moon won WPIAL and state titles last year, as well, in Class 4A.
The engineer of the winning run is venerable coach Bill Pfeifer, who has found himself on an elite list of coaches from across the country.
Pfeifer on Monday was named the National Federation of State High School Associations Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.
Moon left a trail of shutouts — 21 of them — and allowed only three goals all season.
“The game, as in life, is not always fair and may not go the way you want all the time,” Pfeifer said. “But if you stay focused, set goals and look at the bigger picture, all things in the end work out.”
Pfeifer has 482 wins — a girls’ state record — in 27 years of coaching.
He also won back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA titles at Moon in 2016-17 before leaving to coach Hopewell and later, Central Valley.
In all, 23 coaches were selected from across the country.
Other national winners in girls’ sports are:
Mary Klinger, basketball, Somerset (N.J.) Rutgers Prep
Jill Evers, cross country, Kent City (Mich.)
Frank Gallant, golf, Springfield (M0.) Catholic
Tim Godby, lacrosse, Milton (Ga.)
Mark Watt, softball, Lincoln (Neb.)
Michael Rose, swimming and diving, Brookfield (Wisc.) East
Kirsten Ruchaber, tennis, Portland (Ore.) Jesuit
Sue Hysong, track and field, Avondale (Ariz.) Westview
Iona Stookey, volleyball, Worden (Mont.) Huntley Project
Boys’ coaches of the year are:
Billy Bowen, baseball, Durant (Okla.) Silo
Greg Haagsma, basketball, Chandler (Ariz.) Valley Christian
Rickey Baker, cross country, Keams Canyon (Ariz.) Hopi
Greg Grant, 11-player football, Heppner (Ore.)
Brendan Patch, golf, Huntington Beach (Calif.) Edison
Michael Hagerty, soccer, Yarmouth (Maine)
Richard Blanc, swimming and diving, Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita Catholic
Josh Munro, tennis, Kalispell (Mont.) Glacier
Benny Mitchell, track and field, Taos (N.M.)
Jeffrey Matczak, wrestling, Kaukauna (Wisc.).
Spirit: Debbie Kishpaugh of Pendleton (Ore..
Other: Dan Shine, Arlington (Mass.) Catholic; Terri Simonetti-Frost, Thomas Worthington (Ohio).
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
Tags: Moon
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