Quaker Valley has been one of the premier Class A boys' soccer programs in the WPIAL. But the Quakers entered this season with more modest expectations under second-year coach Vince Burens.

Burens, who had been an assistant for eight years under Gene Klein, bid adieu to 11 seniors who graduated last spring. He had only three returning starters from last season's WPIAL quarterfinalist and opened the season with a goalkeeper who had never played organized soccer before.

The Quakers' start was befitting a team that faces such circumstances, too, as they dropped their first three and were 2-4 Sept. 12.

But with the WPIAL playoffs set to begin this weekend, the Quakers have established themselves as a force. They won 10 of 11 before ending the regular season with losses against two top non-section teams, finishing with records of 12-7 overall, 9-1 in Section 5-A. They are No. 5 in the Post-Gazette's WPIAL Class A rankings.

"I'm very, very happy with the way the [regular] season went," Burens said. "We knew it was going to take awhile for our team to jell simply because a lot of guys don't have a lot of experience at the varsity level. To come out of the section 9-1 and ranked No. 5 in the WPIAL, it says a lot about these guys.

"The soccer community said it would be a rebuilding year, but [the players] never listened to that. They wanted to uphold the grand tradition of Quaker Valley soccer. I'm very proud of what these guys have accomplished.

"We're peaking at the right time and playing good competition," said Burens, whose team ended the regular season facing Class AA No. 6 Beaver and Class A No. 2 Sewickley Academy. "Those things should serve us well in playoffs.

"Our energy and focus will be on our [first playoff] opponent. And if we're fortunate enough to win there, our focus and energy will be on the next opponent. This team's been like that all year."

The most experienced players are senior center midfielder Shawn Murphy, senior forward Joe Falconi and junior midfielder Zach Correra.

Murphy and Falconi are captains. Burens said that fellow seniors Andrew Henning (forward), Alex Bob (midfielder) and Mike Buvens (defense) also have helped carry the leadership mantle despite being in their first year as starters.

Henning is the team's leading goal-scorer and sophomore forward Casey Courneen finished second.

The most interesting member of this team, though, has to be senior goaltender John Chmay. He had never played organized soccer, but would join pickup games set up by friends on the team.

Burens, in need of a replacement for Mike Codita -- now starting at Westminster College -- hadn't seen Chmay play until the summer. But Chmay has become a solid starter for the Quakers.

"John's very athletic," Burens said. "He's developed into a nice goalkeeper."

The WPIAL was to announce playoff brackets at a meeting last night. The Quakers (12-7, 9-1) will likely open Monday or Tuesday.

"We're not the most skilled or talented team Quaker Valley has ever seen," Burens said. "But this is as tenacious as a team I have been around in my years at Quaker Valley.

"There's no question about this team's effort, and we'll be in any game as a result."