Seniors step up for Norwin
Norwin did not begin the season looking like a team that could eventually contend for the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.
“In the early going, we’ve been short on a few results, starting off with Seneca Valley which always tests us,” Norwin coach Scott Schuchert said. “When we got into the section, we were scratching for wins because, with the demands every day, you just don’t get a break.”
Indeed, the Knights had problems at the outset. They gave up 13 goals in their first four matches, were 0-2 in one-goal games, were 0-4-0 in those games and had dropped their first two in Section 2 to Peters Township and CanonMcMillan.
That was then. Norwin (6-4-0, 5-3-0) came into the week riding a sixgame winning streak and had moved into a thirdplace tie with Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon in the section. The Knight had won their last four one-goal games, and only allowed four goals in that span.
“We got on that roll because the boys have been finding a lot of ways to win games,” Schuchert said. “We’ve had four seniors who have really stepped up.”
Those seniors, midfielders Jackson Sirianni, Caden Luther and Noah Carson and defender Aiden Ash, have been anchors for Norwin all season. Add in senior goalkeeper Kaleb Eddy and it’s easy to see how the team was able to turn around an 0-4-0 start to move back into the conversation of playoff contenders.
“They’ve been through our system and it’s nice to see them finally get their opportunity senior year,” Schuchert said. “The last four or five games, they’ve really stepped up.”
Having veteran players carry the team will benefit Norwin as it makes the turn to the second half of its section slate. The Knights will get a second crack at CanonMcMillan on Thursday and Peters Township on Tuesday as they try to lock up a postseason spot.
It won’t be easy. Because of the biennial realignment, there are only two sections in the classification and both are brimming with outstanding teams.
“I think it’s about keeping players fresh because there aren’t too many days off,” Schuchert said. “It’s always a one-goal game or an overtime game or a very tough game going in.”
Seton LaSalle
Over the years, Seton
LaSalle has been one of the more formidable programs in the WPIAL.
But the Rebels have not won a WPIAL Class 1A title since the PIAA split the sport into four classifications in 2016. The last time they won it all was in 2015 and, since that time, they have not been back to the finals.
Seton LaSalle made it to the semifinals three consecutive years, from 2016-18 and in 2019 and 2020, were in the quarterfinals.
This year, though, the Rebels are looking toward reclaiming some of their former glory and perhaps making a run to their elusive seventh title since 2002.
“We were young last year and we were trying to get them some experience and getting them minutes,” Seton LaSalle coach Nick Balzer said. “They were thrown into the gauntlet a little earlier than we wanted to, but it’s paying dividends this year.”
Despite struggling a bit last season — Seton LaSalle finished second in its section to Bentworth, then lost to Springdale in the 8-9 matchup for a rare firstround postseason exit — the nucleus of a potential challenger was there. The Rebels brought back four allsection performers from last season in junior forward Jack Billick, junior goalkeeper Nick Cherry, senior forward Zach Reed and senior defender Lewis Kicinski and all have contributed to the team moving back into first place in its section.
Billick, though, has been the team’s offensive catalyst and has taken a huge step forward from last year.
“We could see when he came in as a freshman that there was something special there and it had to be unlocked,” Balzer said. “He had that growth spurt between sophomore and junior years and his speed has improved, his footwork has improved and just matured tremendously.”
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Seton LaSalle as it readies itself for the playoffs has been finding out what it really has and how it stacks up against the best in the WPIAL. The Rebels section isn’t as strong as it was last year now that Bentworth moved out, so the team has had to strengthen its out-ofsection matches to provide litmus tests.
Seton LaSalle has only won one of those matches, a 4- 0 victory against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. But it stood toe-to-toe with a very strong Greensburg Central Catholic team in a 4-3 season-opening loss and took reigning WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A champion Winchester Thurston to task in a 2-1 loss over the weekend.
“We know we have more and that was the biggest talking point after the Winchester Thurston game,” Balzer said. “We got the point home to the boys that we’re doing the right things and we just need some breaks.”
Belle Vernon
On the surface it might appear that Belle Vernon would have an easy time of it this season.
After all, the Leopards were a Class 3A playoff team in 2021, competed against some of the best teams in the WPIAL and brought that experience down to Class 2A.
All that might have been the case except for one thing.
Belle Vernon graduated its entire 2021 starting lineup that lost to Mars in the opening round of the playoffs and had to begin essentially from scratch.
“All of these guys got on the field in the past and played minutes here and there and were part of section championships and playoff games in a backup role,” Belle Vernon coach Alan Yeschenko said. “But even though we dropped in class, I don’t think the teams have gotten much weaker.”
That’s not the only difference.
“I’ve found that, in 3A, all of the teams had JV teams and I’ve found that one of my biggest challenges is to get younger players on the field,” Yeschenko said. “I have a roster of 31 and, to keep the roster strong, I have to get several different players on the field. Sometimes that means moving some players around and being smart with the game plan, which is probably going to help us in the long run.”
In the short term, Belle Vernon is in first place at the midpoint in Section 3.
Starting over has also had its benefits in that it has allowed some younger players to make bold strides. Sophomore forward Trevor Kovatch has become the Leopards leading offensive threat with 20 goals and eight assists in 11 games.
“Last year he had nine goals and seven assists, but we had a senior- heavy group,” Yeschenko said. “There were a lot of players we didn’t start most of the season, but players like him were coming off the bench and we could have some flexibility with him.”
Though Kovatch is having a solid year, it would be difficult for teams to just concentrate on stopping him as seniors Nathaniel Kikel and Dylan Rathway are also dangerous scorers in their own right.