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Plum's Annabel Arhin, right, has contributed three goals to the Mustangs' cause this season.
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Plum girls soccer looking to shake that runner-up title

Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette

Plum girls soccer looking to shake that runner-up title

After three consecutive years of finishing second in WPIAL Class 3A, the Plum girls soccer team is poised for another run at the title that has eluded them as coach Jamie Stewart has an experienced squad returning that is off to an impressive start.

“We have eight seniors who give us good senior leadership,” Stewart said. “We also have depth and good speed.”

But making it back to the WPIAL finals will not be easy. In fact, it’s much harder this season due to the WPIAL realignment which moved Moon, Latrobe and Penn-Trafford down to Class 3A. Moon won WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A titles last season, Latrobe won a section title and Penn-Trafford was a playoff qualifier.

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“Class 3A was strong last year and now you’ve added three quality programs,” Stewart said. “Making it back to the finals will be even tougher this year, but we are looking forward to the challenge.”

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Stewart’s squad faced its first big challenge Sept. 7 when Plum played host to Latrobe. The Mustangs showed their superior speed in a 4-2 win against the Wildcats.

“We came out and applied pressure with our speed,” Stewart said. “We were able use our speed to our advantage and scored two goals in the first half before Latrobe was able to score.”

Plum also took advantage of its depth against Latrobe.

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“I used 21 different players, including all three of our goalies,” Stewart said. “And we didn’t lose much speed when we made substitutions. That allowed us to give our players a rest during the game.”

Plum entered Wednesday’s game at Penn Hills with a 4-0 record and is ranked No. 3 in WPIAL Class 3A, behind three-time WPIAL and PIAA champion Mars and Moon. The Mustangs have a 2-0 record in Section 3.

“So far we are doing the things we need to do to get better,” Stewart said. “The girls are working well together and really are starting to jell. We’ve learned a lot in the first few games and keep moving forward.”

Plum has outscored its four opponents, 18-2. Senior forward Kaitlyn Killinger, an all-state selection, has led the way with six goals and two assists. Senior midfielder Camryn Rogers and senior forward Annabel Arhin have each contributed three goals.

“We’ve been able to score from all over the field,” Stewart said. “It’s hard to defend us.”

Plum’s top defender is senior Kaley Simqu, who was also recognized as all-state. Killinger and Simqu are both Pitt recruits.

Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant suffered a huge loss during a preseason scrimmage, but has overcome the adversity in the opening weeks of the season.

“We lost senior midfielder Cassidy Fullman to a season-ending injury during a scrimmage,” Mount Pleasant coach Rich Garland said. “It’s a shame because Cassidy would have been a four-year starter. She served as a captain last year as a junior and will be serving in that role again this year, but from the sideline.”

Despite the loss of Fullman, Mount Pleasant has opened the season with four consecutive victories in which the Vikings outscored their opponents, 23-1. They entered Wednesday’s game at Woodland Hills with a 1-0 record in Class 2A Section 3.

“The kids are extremely teachable and are hard workers,” said Garland, when asked for the key to the Vikings early success. “They have bought into what we are trying to teach them. We just need to get their speed of play up to where we can compete against top teams.”

Garland’s squad will get that opportunity next week, as the Vikings play host to Yough Monday and travel to Southmoreland Wednesday.

“Southmoreland is the favorite in the section and they didn’t lose much from a team that won the section title last year,” Garland said. “And you can’t count out Yough. We split with them last year.”

Mount Pleasant has displayed a balanced offense and a stingy defense.

“We’ve scored 23 goals and nine different players have scored,” said Garland, now in his third season at Mount Pleasant and 23rd overall. “We are trying to build an offense in which anyone can score from anywhere. That makes it hard for an opponent to key on one player.”

The Vikings top scorer thus far has been freshman forward Morgan Gesinski, who has six goals. Sophomore forward Rylin Bugosh, last year’s top scorer with 21 goals, has tallied four thus far.

Mount Pleasant’s stingy defense has been led by freshman goalkeeper Laurel Rummel.

“We have committed to maintaining an organized defense,” Garland said. “Laurel has been our general on the field. She’s built a significant amount of confidence in her short time as a starter.”

Mount Pleasant is No. 4 in the WPIAL Class 2A rankings, behind WPIAL finalists Avonworth and North Catholic, and Southmoreland.

“Avonworth has to be considered the WPIAL favorite after winning the title last year and having most of their team back,” Garland said. “North Catholic is strong again after picking up a few kids.”

Sewickley Academy

After two previous successful coaching stints at Mars and Aquinas Academy, Dale Giovengo has moved on to Sewickley Academy.

Giovengo was the girls coach at Mars for 10 years and led the Planets to a WPIAL title in 2000.

“I left Mars in 2006 to take a government job overseas,” Giovengo said. “When I retired in 2019, I decided to get back into coaching.”

In 2020, Giovengo guided Aquinas Academy in its first year of competition then led the program to its first WPIAL playoff berth last season.

“During the offseason, I heard that Sewickley Academy had an opening for its head coach,” Giovengo said. “I’ve always respected their program and its athletic director, Win Palmer.”

Giovengo has replaced Jessica Peluso, who stepped down after a disappointing season in which Sewickley Academy posted a 5-9-1 record and failed to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

“We have a small squad with only 15 girls, but six are returning starters,” Giovengo said. “Our goal is to make the playoffs and see what happens after that.”

The results have been impressive thus far, as Sewickley Academy entered Wednesday’s game at Riverside with a 2-0 record in Class 1A Section 3 and a 4-0 mark overall. The Panthers have moved to No. 5 in the WPIAL rankings.

“Three of our returning starters were defenders, so I knew we had the potential to be strong on defense,” Giovengo said. “The key was to find a goalkeeper.”

Sophomore Jade Rychel stepped into that role when a returning starter quit a week after camp started.

“It was right before our first scrimmage,” Giovengo said. “Jade stepped in and has done a fine job.”

With Rychel in goal, in front of senior defenders Rinnie Jardini, Isabella Capito and Elena Mohan, the Panthers have allowed seven goals, while the offense has tallied 18 goals.

“We did have one sloppy game against South Side Beaver where we fell behind 4-1, but made some adjustments at halftime and were able to come back and win the game, 8-5,” Giovengo said.

Sophomore Katherine Varghese has provided most of the offense with nine goals.

“Freedom is clearly the favorite in our section,” Giovengo said. “Our first game against them is on Saturday. That game will show us where we stand in the section.”

TEAM RANKINGS

WPIAL Class 4A

1. North Allegheny (7-0)

2. Bethel Park (6-0)

3. Seneca Valley (3-0-2)

4. Fox Chapel (4-2-1)

5. Peters Township (4-1-1)

WPIAL Class 3A

1. Mars (4-0)

2. Moon (4-0)

3. Plum (4-0)

4. Latrobe (2-2-1)

5. Thomas Jefferson (5-0)

WPIAL Class 2A

1. Avonworth (4-1)

2. North Catholic (3-1)

3. Southmoreland (5-0)

4. Mount Pleasant (4-0)

5. South Park (4-1)

WPIAL Class 1A

1. Springdale (3-1)

2. Greensburg C.C. (1-1)

3. Freedom (4-2)

4. Waynesburg (5-1)

4. Sewickley Academy (4-0)

First Published: September 14, 2022, 5:15 p.m.

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