Change in strategy propels Vincentian
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Vincentian coach Brian Aiken said he doesn't believe his team has hit its stride yet. The Royals’ recent string of opponents might beg to differ with him on that.
The Royals began the season as the top-ranked squad in Class 1A. But they stumbled out of the gate, losing two of their first three. After that slow start, Vincentian went on a tear, racking up a 9-1 record through Monday. It took more than a month’s time between losses for the Royals before falling to Riverside, 3-1, Monday night.
The surge began after the second loss, a 5-1 setback to Sewickley Academy. That, Aiken said, forced his hand to change tactics. Vincentian went from utilizing a 44-2 formation to going with a 4-3-2-1 to bolster the attack.
“We were having a lot of problems in our midfield,” said Aiken. “We weren't linking plays from the defense up to the offensive players.”
The change produced immediate results. The Royals have outscored the opposition, 36-10, since shifting formations.
“We still haven't really hit our stride as of yet,” Aiken said. “We’re hoping we make a good run. States would be a perfect scenario.”
Vincentian is on an impressive streak, but there are plenty of challenges in 1A. Teams such as Greensburg Central Catholic, Shady Side Academy, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic and Sewickley Academy are all tough to beat.
The Royals, who are in Section 3, look like a team that can compete with the best of what 1A has to offer, but the season didn’t start off that way. It hurt that three seniors, each of whom were four-year starters, had graduated from last year’s squad. And one promising underclassman, all-section midfielder Rachel Phillips, moved to West Virginia in the spring when her father took a new job.
“We just needed to figure out the changes positionwise and how to attack things,” said Aiken.
It helped to have two other all-section players on the roster this season in junior forward Elizabeth Gorman and senior goal keeper Ella Kozel. Leading scorer, senior forward Lauren Donnelly, is filling up the net again with 15 goals as of Monday.
“She’s certainly very dynamic,” Aiken said. “She’s extremely fast. She's’ done a really nice job for us.”
Serra Catholic
A midseason push to make the playoffs doesn't get much stronger than what Serra Catholic did in the past week. On Oct. 2, the Eagles outlasted Shady Side Academy, 3-2. Then, they shocked Class 1A No. 1 Greensburg Central Catholic, 5-4, snapping the Centurions’ 89-game section winning streak.
Jaime Dermotta sealed the big win with a goal off of a penalty kick in overtime. The win gave the Eagles (77, 6-4 Section 1) a boost moving forward. Their recent wins have them thinking about the playoffs.
“To know that we can beat a playoff-caliber team like [GCC] will give us confidence going forward,” said Serra coach Ashley Dorn.
Abigail Reith (18), Madison Carr (16) and Dermotta (10) have provided the goals, while goalie Ashley Howard has been solid in the net.
Mt. Lebanon
On Sept. 27, Peters Township defeated Mt. Lebanon and coach Pat Vereb notched his 300th career victory in the process. The Blue Devils were not as accommodating the next time around.
Mt. Lebanon scored a 2-1 victory Oct. 4 against the Indians, who were the topranked team in 6A at the time.
Bentworth
Class 1A soccer is home to many of the private school powerhouses in the WPIAL. But public school Bentworth has fielded a playoff-caliber team for nearly a decade. Behind leading scorers Jocelyn Timlin (28 goals), Paige Marshalek (16) and Rori Schreiber (11), the Bearcats (9-3-1, 8-1-1 Section 2) recently clinched their eighth consecutive trip the WPIAL playoffs.
“It makes you really proud when it’s been this long and your hard work is still really paying off,” said coach Tyler Hamstra.