Eric Fitchwell knows a little something about team unity.

As a star midfielder on the Gateway High School boys' soccer team and place kicker for the Gators football team, Fitchwell already is taking notice of teammates' attitude on the pitch.

"We came together last year and started playing a lot better," said Fitchwell, a Monroeville resident. "And we're really pulling together again this year.

"No one cares about who does what -- scoring goals or getting the assist -- we just want to get the job done. We want to make the plays that will help us get back to the playoffs and then hopefully a step further this year."

Gateway finished last year third in Section 3-AAA by going 8-4 and went 12-7 overall after losing to Pine-Richland in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.

The Gators jumped out to a 2-1 start to the season after a second-place showing in the Hempfield tournament. Gateway cruised to a 6-0 win against Kiski School and defeated host Hempfield Area, 2-1, before losing to section-foe and No. 4-ranked Central Catholic in the final, 4-0.

"We have become more familiar with our defense, and that was the one thing we needed to work on the most entering the season," Gators coach Eric Pittman said. "The kids are still learning. They continue to improve every week.

"We're getting ready for section play. We're getting ready to play higher-caliber opponents like Central Catholic and hopefully seeing different results than what we saw against Central."

Pittman returned nine key lettermen from last year, including Fitchwell, who earned all-section and All-WPIAL accolades as a junior. Fitchwell scored seven goals and eights assists last year behind star forward Taylor Scott, who paced the Gators with 10 goals during his senior campaign.

"Eric brings a lot of creativity [to the field]," said Pittman, who is in his 13th season with the program. "He has excellent touch and a sense for the field. He can create an opportunity for a teammate or finish the ball.

"He's a playmaker."

Besides Fitchwell, Gateway returns forwards Ryan Gongloff, a senior, and junior Garrett Dunlap, senior midfielders Stephen Fogle and Nick Reynolds, junior midfielder Marc Jacob and senior defenders Dillon Kapp and Eric Haljaasma.

Gongloff scored three goals against Kiski School and added another against Hempfield. Sophomore midfielder Brian Carey also scored two goals against Kiski School.

"Fitchwell and Fogle are two guys who can control the midfield," Pittman said. "They can control the offense and jump-start things for us."

The Gators, however, have already suffered two key injuries to their lineup. Senior midfielder Kris Pomiecko, a three-year letterman, sustained a fractured femur in a scrimmage against Norwin, and junior goalkeeper Ander Hilton sustained a broken collarbone two weeks ago.

Hilton was competing with senior Alex Smith and sophomore Nate Kleya for the starting spot in net. Both Smith and Kleya split time during the Hempfield tournament, and Pittman expects Smith, who has more experience, to take the spot once section play starts this week.

"Our section is always tough," Pittman said. "It's always been competitive and you don't ever get an easy game in this section. If you were to ask me before the season who'd be fighting for the playoffs? I don't know. You have Central Catholic, Fox Chapel and Plum, and then you never know what you may see from teams like Penn Hills, Woodland Hills and Franklin Regional."

Even before Pittman saw the Vikings, he knew Central Catholic would be the section's team to beat this year.

"Central probably has the strongest team back," he said. "They returned something ridiculous, like 18 players, from a team that was really good last year."

After losing its section opener against powerful Fox Chapel, 3-0, Tuesday, the Gators take on Franklin Regional tonight and will play host to Central Catholic next Tuesday.

"We're playing under the same theme as last year and that is this is a group," Pittman said. "They work hard together and are not selfish at all. If these kids stick together, they're going to have another successful year.

"And they deserve it. You have to give them credit because this is a spectacular bunch of kids. Honestly, they are great. They make my job a whole lot easier."

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