The beep test. It’s a common tool for soccer coaches to find out who is in shape as the season gets underway. The electronic beeps keep the pace as athletes run through a grueling series of shuttles until they can’t take it anymore.
Four years ago, Landy Mertz was a freshmen with butterflies in her stomach as she lined up for her first test.
“I was so nervous to do the beep test,” recalled Mertz. “It tells everyone how hard you’ve been working in the offseason.”
It turns out Mertz had been working so hard she actually made her coach need a break.
“She just kept going,” said Upper St. Clair coach Dave Gray. “I had to get a chair.”
Mertz never did slow down. The University of Dayton recruit capped a marvelous senior year with 20 goals, 15 assists, numerous exciting plays and led her team deep into the playoffs. For that, she is the Post-Gazette girls soccer Player of the Year.
“To me, Landy Mertz is the most dangerous player in the field and the most complete player in the WPIAL,” said Gray. “She does all the work in the offseason and the insanity of her workouts goes back to when she was a freshmen. She never needs to be prodded. Never.”
In her career, Mertz netted 56 goals and 30 assists. She began as a freshman sensation who helped the Panthers win a PIAA championship. She ended with a comeback season the proved she is still the best around. Mertz missed a large chunk of her junior year with an ankle injury.
Upper St. Clair finished 13-4 and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals before falling to eventual champion Seneca Valley. What makes Mertz’s statistics all the more impressive is she did it against powerhouse programs loaded with tough competition. Class 4A Section 2 featured Peters Township, which placed two players on the all-area squad, and Moon, which had won back-to-back district championships coming into the season.
“I definitely think our section is the hardest out there,” said Mertz. “You’re playing against the best players in your area and in the state, pretty much. There's never going to be an easy game. Every day in practice you have to be focused.”
That is why finishing first in drills like the beep test and being the last player off the field were important to Mertz. She knew that in order to rise above the competition, she had to combine her prodigious talents with the work ethic of a player desperate to make the team.
Mertz’s older brother, Robby, is a captain on the University of Michigan soccer team. He would provide Landy tips for her training and conditioning that paid off this year.
None of that was more apparent than in the regular-season finale against Mt. Lebanon. The Panthers were clinging to a one-goal lead late in the match when a corner kick by the Blue Devils bounced out of the box and to Mertz. She sprinted 90 yards, weaving her way through would-be defenders, and buried a shot in the net.
“We were close to giving up the tying goal and she just said, ‘Give me the ball, it’s over,’” said Gray. “It was one of the all-time greatest goals I’ve ever seen. It just brought down the house.”
Mertz is one of 12 players on the Post-Gazette all-area team. Here’s a look at the other 11:
• Alex Adams, North Allegheny — The senior midfielder was excellent at controlling the flow of the game, but could score when called upon. She found the net nine times, including the OT winner against section rival Pine-Richland when she beat two defenders before burying her shot.
• Megan Donnelly, Pine-Richland — The leading scorer on a team loaded with talent. Just a sophomore, Donnelly buried 31 goals on her way to all-state and All-America honors.
• Kiley Dugan, Penn-Trafford — Folks have been singing the praises of this Valparaiso recruit since her header lifted the Warriors to the WPIAL 4A title in 2017. Dugan, a midfielder, followed that up with a stellar senior campaign consisting of 18 goals and eight assists.
• Haleigh Finale, South Park — This Finale was grand all season long. The South Park striker notched 44 goals and led the Eagles to the WPIAL Class 2A title. The junior proved to be more than a scorer when she set up a teammate for the winning goal in the district championship match.
• Taylor Hamlett, Mars — Led the Planets to back-to-back WPIAL championship match appearances. Hamlett scored 24 times and helped the Planets win their first 18 games in a row to start the year.
• Alaina Kalin, Pine-Richland — An all-WPIAL and all-state selection, Kalin netted 22 goals and passed out 19 assists as the senior leader of the Rams. The Indiana recruit heated up in October when she racked up three hat tricks in a span of five games.
• Regan LaVigna, Peters Township — The Youngstown State recruit picked up 19 goals despite being hampered by a foot injury that forced her to miss the WPIAL championship and PIAA playoffs. The senior is a two-time all-area selection.
• Krystyna Rytel, Shady Side Academy — There’s no questioning why the player with all those Ys in her name made the team for a second time. Rytel scored 130 career goals, including 29 her senior year, and collected both WPIAL and PIAA championships in her career.
• Jayden Sharpless, Freedom — Led the WPIAL in scoring with 64 goals as a freshman. Sharpless paced the Bulldogs through the playoffs as they cruised to the WPIAL Class 1A title and then made the first state championship appearance of any team in school history.
• Hannah Stuck, Peters Township — The daughter of legendary Indian Becky Guna, Stuck is making a name for herself with a second appearance on the all-area team. She scored 16 goals and passed out 19 assists. Only a junior, Stuck has 55 goals and 38 assists in her career.
• Breana Valentovish, Seneca Valley — None of this junior’s team-high 19 goals were more impressive than a free kick with three seconds remaining in regulation that tied the WPIAL Class 4A championship and helped the Raiders eventually claim the title.
First Published: December 14, 2018, 12:00 p.m.
