Beadling wins, just for kicks
Third trip in a row to nationals caps outstanding run
By Nicholas Tolomeo
Beadling U-19 girls soccer team members wrapped up their local club soccer careers this summer and the group will go down as one of the most successful in Western Pennsylvania history.
It would not be a stretch to possibly consider them the best group ever to come through the area.
The accomplishments speak volumes.
The Beadling U-19 girls won the PA West Cup five out of the past eight years. They became the first team in area history to win three consecutive Region I titles this year.
Their trip to Tulsa, Okla., the week of July 20 was their third consecutive trip to the National Championships.
The group was at their best at the Region I tournament, claiming an unprecedented third title. They outscored the opposition 4-0-1, scoring 17 goals and only conceding four. Winning regionals qualified Beadling for the US Youth Soccer National Championships.
At the four-team national championship, Beadling was unable to get out of group stage.
“It was the third straight year and that was great for them to cap off their Beadling careers,” coach Erik Duffy said. “They won three regional championships in a row, that has never been done by a boys or a girls team from here. It was nice for them to end on that note.”
The club team is a who’s who of area standouts, most of whom are 2014 graduates.
The core of the team has been together on the Beadling team since U-12. That group consists of Central Valley graduates Katie Alexander (Miami of Ohio) and Ashley Mutkus (Edinboro), Bethel Park graduate Halle Hammer (Edinboro), Moon graduates Macey Thomas (West Virginia Wesleyan) and Sydney Schipani (Akron), Fox Chapel graduate Lauren Kelly (Winthrop) and Shady Side Academy graduate Maggie Scott (Miami of Ohio).
The group has done a lot to elevate the expectations of club teams from this area.
“I think for Beadling it just shows the commitment to excellence,” Duffy said.
“These young ladies, a majority of them playing from U-12 through U-19, showed that girls from Pittsburgh can go out and compete on a national level. These girls showed hard work and dedication.”
The entire team was comprised of WPIAL players this summer. The other players were North Allegheny graduate Eleni Carr (Loyola, Illinois), Elizabeth Forward graduate Rachel Collage (Fordham), Greensburg Central Catholic graduate Malea Fabean (Duquesne), Mars graduates Amber Fichter (Duquesne) and Karli Paraca (Kent State), Peters Township graduate Veronica Latsko (Virginia), Franklin Regional graduate Cassidy LeDonne (IUP), Fox Chapel graduate Theresa Scheiffarth, Quaker Valley graduate Greer Monohan (Robert Morris) and Seneca Valley graduate Mary Kate Zahorchak (Edinboro).