Arne Thomas has had his ups and downs during his long tenure coaching the Moon Area boys' soccer program.

Last Saturday during a 1-0 upset loss to open the season at home against Blackhawk, Thomas experienced a little bit of both.

The Tigers begin this season as a solid, but not dominant team in WPIAL Class AA. Moon spent most of the previous three years ranked among the top five teams in the WPIAL, winning the championship two years ago.

While obviously disappointed about the loss to underdog Blackhawk, Thomas felt a sense of pride for Blackhawk coach Chris Lantzy, one of the standouts on Moon's 1990 WPIAL title team.

"He was a senior on the first team I coached at Moon, so I've officially gotten old," said Thomas. "I was joking with him before the game that they weren't allowed to beat us.

"It was disappointing for us, but in a way I was happy to see him get a win over his old team. The guys who've played for me have always been very respectful of our program so he didn't gloat about winning. We just said to each other, 'Great game and good luck for the rest of the season.' "

Lantzy is in his second season at Blackhawk. The Cougars are expected to make some noise in Section 4-AA as a title contender.

Moon might have a more difficult time than Blackhawk this season because it competes in stronger Section 3-AA and has only five returning starters. Moon (15-4-1 last year) entered this season ranked No. 8 in WPIAL Class AA by the Post-Gazette. Two of the teams in Section 3-AA -- Thomas Jefferson and Montour -- are ranked in the WPIAL top five. Elizabeth Forward, a third-place team in the section last season, is off to a 2-0 start.

The top Moon returnees are senior goalkeeper Brad Yingst, senior defender Andy McDonald, senior midfielders Scott Peterson and Matt Munizza and sophomore forward Ryan Suess.

"We have a lot of good, younger players, but high school soccer is about, 'What can you do for me now?'" Thomas said. "We're trying to figure out a way to make this season a successful one for the guys who've paid their dues for the last three or four years.

"If it doesn't work out that way, then it doesn't, but we're going to play this season to try and win as many games as we can. I never look at any season as a rebuilding year. We're just trying to figure out who we're going to play and where we're going to play them on the field."

Moon graduated three all-section players, including four-year starter John Morihlatko, who scored 77 career goals. Suess, who scored five goals last season, is going to have to pick up some of the scoring slack.

"We're going to try and rely on him to do more for us, but it's going to be hard to do because I think he's still a year away," Thomas said. "From my experience in coaching, the most successful high school players have been juniors and seniors because they're a little bit more physical. If you get a freshmen or sophomore who can contribute a lot, then you've got something really special."

Moon has a busy week that could determine the course of this season. The Tigers opened section play Tuesday with a game at home against TJ. Moon plays at Elizabeth Forward today. It also plays a non-section game Saturday at highly-regarded Sewickley Academy. Thomas does not see this first week as being do-or-die.

"We've just started the season so we don't know who is going to step up yet," Thomas said. "We're just figuring ourselves out the first couple weeks and then we'll try and make a run during the second half of the season. We're going to win some games and we're going to lose some games. Plain and simple, we're just not as good as we've been the last couple years.

"I tell our players that the best coaches are the ones who have to run practice when their team is 1-12 rather than 12-1. It's easy to coach when you are winning and it's a lot harder when you're trying to develop new players and figure out where to play them. We have to do it playing in the most difficult section in AA. Every game for us is going to be quite a challenge."HIGH SCHOOL BOYS' SOCCER