Carlynton first-year coach Larry Fingers is familiar with the history of the Cougars soccer program since he is a part of it as one of the school's top goal scorers when he played a decade ago.

A 1998 Carlynton grad, Fingers returned to his alma mater after three seasons as head coach at neighboring rival Bishop Canevin.

"It's nice to come home," Fingers said. "Being in the same section [for the past three seasons at Canevin] you check out your opponents so I've watched [Carlynton] play a lot and I still live in the community. This was a great opportunity to come back where I played."

Fingers, a Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher, inherited a program that had a large returning nucleus from last year's team that qualified for the playoffs. Carlynton lost, 2-1, in the first round to East Allegheny.

Carlynton got some measure of revenge by outscoring EA in a preseason scrimmage last month. The Cougars also outscored West Allegheny in a scrimmage and began the season with a 2-0 record by winning its own kickoff tournament title during the Labor Day weekend. Carlynton defeated Bentworth, 5-2, and Burrell, 4-2. Burrell was a Class AA playoff team last year.

The Cougars defeated Vincentian, 6-0, Tuesday in a non-section game.

Carlynton returns All-WPIAL senior goalkeeper Charlie Dagnal. Other senior starters are forwards Martin Pletz and Andy Veri, central defender Ben Bagnoto along with Dean Dedola and Frank Granata who rotate in the lineup as outside defenders.

Junior defenders include Andrew Smith in the middle and Steve Sywy on the outside. Junior Joe Kosser plays outside midfield.

Sophomore starters include center midfielder John Crashaw and outside midfielder Luddy Hanczar.

Junior Dan Zinski plays up front, switching between forward and attacking midfielder.

Former Carlynton players Evan Derenzo, a 1995 graduate, and Jason Masko, class of 2000, are on the coaching staff. Derenzo came with Fingers from Canevin.

"This team is like a family," Fingers said. "The players are like brothers. They're very close and all the coaches I brought in are guys who I played with at Carlynton so we have a special interest in seeing the program do well from an alumni perspective. We want to see Carlynton soccer to continue to do well."

The teams that finished ahead of Carlynton in the Section 5-A standings last year would not appear to be as big a challenge for the Cougars this season. In fact, Center, last year's runner-up, has moved up to Class AA.

Section champion Quaker Valley remains in 5-A, but lost long-time coach Gene Klein and graduated seven starters. With only six teams remaining in the section, Carlynton figures to finish among the top two in the standings.

"I put in a new system. We try to play a controlling type of game and we have a lot of skill through the midfield," Fingers said. "Last year they didn't use the midfield as much as we do this year."

The first-year coach wants to utilize his team's great height with an aerial attack in the box from set plays.

"Martin Pletz is 6 feet 5 and he's really skilled and Andy Veri is 6-2," Fingers said. "We have some tall guys in the back as well. Our goalie, Charlie Dagnal, is 6-2. We have a lot of big guys so we try to take advantage of that. Goal-scoring is something we've been really pushing this year, especially through the midfield."

The defensive setup is also different than last year.

"This year there is a lot more [man-to-man] accountability of our defenders," Fingers said. "They're responsible for their marks. It's a little different. It's really competitive on the team. It's like family competition. The kids pull for each other, but they bust their butts [to get in the starting lineup]."

Carlynton plays host to Bishop Canevin Sept. 21 at Honus Wagner Field, which should make for an interesting matchup. The Crusaders are also expected to have a strong playoff-contending team.

"It's going to be a good game," Fingers said. "It's going to be a competitive environment. Last year, both teams were vying for that third playoff spot [out of the section].

"It was tough to leave [Canevin]. They definitely have some talent ... I think if we keep improving like we are now, we'll be on the right track through the season. The kids are getting used to us and we're getting used to them. We're getting better everyday."