Drop to 1A has Waynesburg thinking big
Waynesburg girls soccer coach Greg Basinger knew it was possible, but was still a bit surprised when athletic director Chris Minerd informed him the Raiders were moving down in classification.
“We were seven girls over the cutoff last year, so I knew we were on the bubble,” Basinger said. “I liked the section we were in, but we should have more success in our new section.”
Waynesburg has moved from Class 2A Section 3, which includes three of the top programs in Class 2A — Southmoreland, Mount Pleasant and Yough —- to Class 1A Section 2, which includes only two other schools — Bentworth and Chartiers-Houston — that qualified for the WPIAL playoffs last year.
“We are excited to be playing in Class 1A,” Basinger said. “And we’re blessed to have nine starters back. That’s a lot for a Class 1A school, which in most cases have fewer players on their roster.”
Waynesburg posted a 7-9 record last season, which included a 3-7 mark in section play. Six of its section losses were to Southmoreland, Mount Pleasant and Yough. Despite a losing record, the Raiders actually qualified for the WPIAL playoffs after tying with McGuffey during the regular season. The two schools split their section matches, then met in a pigtail match in the playoffs and the Raiders recorded a 5- 0 win against the Highlanders.
“We then had the wonderful task of facing [eventual WPIAL runner- up] North Catholic in the first round of the playoffs,” Basinger said.
Waynesburg opened the 2022 season on Monday with a 6-0 win against Monessen in their Section 2 debut. The Raiders’ first big test was Wednesday night’s match against Bentworth.
“It’s important for us to get off to a good start to have a chance at winning the section title,” Basinger said.
Waynesburg’s top returnee is Basinger’s daughter Ashlyn, a four- year starter who recently committed to the University of Maryland. Ashlyn Basinger scored 31 goals last season and has 60 career goals. She added six more goals in Monday’s win against Monessen.
“We scored only 41 goals last year and Ashlyn had 31,” Basinger said. “We need to have a more balanced scoring attack.”
With that mind, Basinger is hoping junior forward Kaley Rohanna steps up to become a scoring threat.
“We moved Kaley up from midfielder to forward with hopes of getting more production out of her,” Basinger said. “Many of the teams we played last year put a triangle around Ashlyn, which made it much tougher for her to score. We need Kaley to step up and take some of the pressure off of Ashlyn.”
Waynesburg’s top two returning defenders are sophomore Jaden Tretinik and junior Kali Shriver.
“We need to play good defense to be a playoff contender,” Basinger said.
With 60 career goals, Ashlyn Basinger has a chance to become the third Waynesburg player to join the WPIAL Century Club. The other two are 2018 graduate Madison Clayton (142) and 2021 grad Rhea Kijowski (119).
Deer Lakes
Injuries and graduation losses have left Deer Lakes coach Frank Accetta with only 15 players, but that didn’t stop the Lancers from turning in an impressive performance in the season opener against Springdale.
Deer Lakes, a second-place finisher last year in Class 2A Section 2, lost all but four starters to graduation and had four more out with injuries when they faced Springdale, a WPIAL Class 1A semifinalist, in Saturday’s nonconference game.
“The game was scoreless until we scored with approximately 10 minutes left [on a goal by Bryanna Simonetti], then scored again on a free kick [by Brittany Schindler] with five minutes left. Springdale scored with 2½ minutes left and we were able to hold on for a 2-1 victory.”
Simonetti is a freshman forward. Schindler, one of the returning starters, is a junior midfielder and one of the Lancers captains.
“We have two players who have possible seasonending injuries and two others who are recovering from a concussion,” Accetta said. “I’m not sure when or if any of them will be able to play this year. We just have to wait and see.”
Accetta used all 15 players in the Springdale match.
“Most people assume we are going to get killed this year because of all the players we lost, but the stars aligned and we came up with a big win to open the season. We need the girls to believe in themselves and this game was a good step in that direction.”
Accetta’s biggest loss to graduation was Madeline Boulos, who has moved on to Mount Union College after scoring 104 career goals for the Lancers.
Deer Lakes opened its section schedule Monday with a 3-1 win against Highlands. Kylie McCoy scored two goals for the Lancers, while Brooke Kostyak had one tally. The Lancers are on the road Thursday at Freeport.
“The section is up for grabs now that Shady Side Academy has moved to Section 4,” said Accetta, referring to last year’s section champ. “Knoch is a team to watch after moving down from Class 3A. Freeport and Burrell are also expected to have good teams. We are hoping to be a playoff contender, but can’t afford any more injuries.”
Steel Valley
Steel Valley is another school that was hit hard by graduation and injury losses. The Ironmen claimed their first WPIAL title last year with a 2-1 upset of defending champion Greensburg Central Catholic in the Class 1A final.
“We lost four starters to graduation, including our top two scorers, had three kids quit, and lost another returning starter to a season-ending injury,” Steel Valley coach Bill Abraham said. “We have 15 players on the team and four of them have never played soccer before.”
Steel Valley’s biggest graduation losses were its top two scorers: Kelsey Salopek and Soraya Gibbs. Salopek, who is now starting at Ohio University, was named Post-Gazette Girls Player of the Year in 2021 after finishing her career with 111 goals and 71 assists.
Salopek’s younger sister Kylie was a freshman defender on last year’s championship team. She was supposed to be the leader of this year’s squad.
“Kylie suffered a seasonending injury over the summer,” Abraham said. “She tore her MCL and severely stressed her ACL which required season-ending surgery. It’s a huge loss. She was our defensive leader. We used her for goal kicks.”
Making the situation even more difficult is the fact the WPIAL realignment has left Steel Valley in the strongest of the four Class 1A sections.
“They put us in Section 1 with [WPIAL runner-up] Greensburg Central, [ WPIAL semifinalist] Springdale, Serra Catholic and Seton LaSalle,” Abraham said. “All four were in the WPIAL playoffs last year. Despite being in such a strong section, I still think we can make the playoffs.”
Steel Valley opened its section schedule Monday with a 5-3 loss against Serra Catholic.