Just when the Mt. Lebanon girls' soccer team was getting used to playing the teams in Section 4-AAA, it was moved to a different section this season.

There was one team though with which Mt. Lebanon was already familiar in Section 5-AAA, their new home. In years past the Blue Devils have scheduled Upper St. Clair in non-section games and last year they met again in the WPIAL quarterfinals with Upper St. Clair coming out on top. The Panthers also handed the Blue Devils its lone loss of this season on Sept. 22.

Last season after the loss to Upper St. Clair in the playoffs, Mt. Lebanon bounced back and won two games in the PIAA playoffs to reach the state semifinals. With nearly the entire team back this season, the Blue Devils under new coach Jeff Holliday once again bounced back from the loss to USC.

By winning four consecutive section games since the loss to the Panthers, Mt. Lebanon has set itself up for a potential section title game against Upper St. Clair in the regular-season finale. The teams were tied atop the section standings with one loss each. Upper St. Clair dropped a section match to Ringgold on Sept. 15. Both teams were scheduled to play section matches last night, Lebo (14-1, 9-1) playing host to West Mifflin and USC (10-2-1, 9-1) at Canon-McMillan.

"I will hand it to Upper St. Clair. They definitely put a lot of pressure on the ball and its team recognized the importance of the game," Holliday said.

"We call it a blessing in disguise. It forced us as a team to focus on what we needed to improve. We would rather taste a loss now in the regular season than in the postseason.

"We are taking a game-at-a-time approach and it has worked for us the past two years, but after [Upper St. Clair] upset us in the playoffs last year and upset us at home this year, I know the girls can't wait to go there and play for a section championship."

Mt. Lebanon came into the season with an experienced team but had to deal with an unexpected loss to the starting lineup when senior Carly Lewendowski tore her ACL for the second year in a row. Last season she was injured in the first game of the season and this year she was lost for the season a week before training camp.

Senior captain Jackie Melinda has been leading the team at forward. She is a Division I recruit headed to Penn State. Sophomore Audrey Cillo picked up right where she left off last season. After stepping up in the playoffs last season she has continued to be one of the top players on the team.

In the midfield, senior Samantha Kovarik is a returning all-state player and the top playmaker on the field. She starts as a center midfielder and along with Melinda, leads the team in scoring. Out on the flank at midfield the Blue Devils have two quick players with seniors Kelly Mageras and Emily Freisleben.

Sisters Caroline and Katherine Pryor are two new additions to the starting lineup. Caroline, a sophomore, starts at forward with Catherine, a freshman, starting in the midfield.

The defense is full of returning players who are playing different positions. Sophomore Allison Klinefelter has played at center back this year after starting as a holding midfielder last year. On the right side is senior Julie Dumbaugh. She has experienced switching positions. She was originally a defender before being converted to a midfielder last season and is now back to defense.

Sophomore Abby Einwag is the other starter on defense. They have been playing in front of senior goalkeeper Jenna Villa.

"I know their expectations are to go out and win a championship," Holliday said. "My expectations were to kind of continue the momentum from last year.

"We were very disappointed with our early exit from the WPIAL playoffs, but we made a great run and got within one game of going to Hershey.

"With just about everybody returning, I knew we were going to have a strong season. My goal was to get through the season and put ourselves in a spot to make a good playoff run."