With experience and talent, Kiski Area girls soccer looks to improve

By: Greg Macafee
Friday, August 23, 2019 | 12:01 AM

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With a talented group of underclassmen, the Kiski Area girls soccer team made significant strides last season.

They stitched together multiple win streaks throughout the season and captured a first-round playoff victory for the second time in as many years. It was also their first year playing against new opponents in Section 1-AAA.

That type of success showed the Cavaliers they have the ability to play well as a team. Heading into the 2019 season, they are hoping to use that experience as a motivator.

“I think that the success we had last year kind of pushes us to do even better this year,” senior defender Alyssa Poleski said. “We now know what to expect from all the teams that we were playing because we had never played them before. And we now know how hard we truly need to work to be the best that we can be.”

The Cavaliers will have a new coach. Though he enters his first year at Kiski Area, Mike Spagnolo has made plenty of stops in his 25-plus years of coaching and could help his new team take that next step.

But his first challenge will be to find the happy medium between what made them successful last year and what could make them better this year.

“We’re going to try and make that transition as smooth as possible,” Spagnolo said. “They did have success last year. They made the playoffs. Unfortunately, they lost in the first round against a tough team. But we are going to try and improve on that and see where we can go.”

Spagnolo will have a lot of players to work with. He will field a roster that has double-digit numbers in almost every class. With 12 players, the senior class will be one of the biggest and most experienced.

Defender Courtney Moyer, 21-goal scorer Reagan Frederick and Morehead State commits Christa and Sidney Palla highlight the senior class.

“It gives me a lot of stuff to work with,” Spagnolo said. “They have a lot of experience, so we will see how we can fit all of them together.”

While they have a lot of experience, the Cavaliers also have developed a team chemistry that can go a long way. For the most part, a lot of the players have been playing together since middle school.

“I think overall as a team we have a lot of experience together,” Frederick said. “So we understand how each other play.”

The Cavaliers have a lot going for them this season, but when the playoffs come around, they are looking to take it one step further.

“Last year, we were a pretty successful team, but we came up short in the playoffs,” Poleski said. “I think that we probably could’ve gone farther. So we are just looking to improve this year.”

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Kiski Area