WPIAL Girls' Soccer: Optimism runs high in seasoned Sewickley Academy team
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Generally, the Sewickley Academy girls' soccer team has found a way to reload year after year.
It's just that this season, the Panthers don't even have to.
Since winning the WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2004 and having Jess Peluso take over as coach before the following season, Sewickley Academy has missed the postseason only once and has posted an aggregate winning record.
But optimism is as high as it's been in a while for the Panthers, and that's because in recent years, typically the roster turned over each time and new players had to step in to maintain the Sewickley Academy standard of success.
This season, the Panthers get to start out with an experienced crew.
"For the first time in many years, we're not rebuilding a defense and we have multiple returning goal-scorers," Peluso said.
Sewickley Academy boasts seven returning starters from last season's 11-5-1 team that won the Section 2-AA title. The Panthers were ranked No. 4 in WPIAL Class AA in the preseason by the Post-Gazette, but they have gotten off to a rough start. After losing a non-section match against Class AAA No. 1-ranked Moon Area last week, they lost their section opener on Wednesday to Center, 2-1.
But Peluso remains optimistic: "I think we had an excellent preseason and we're excited going into the season."
"It always seems like we'd have at least two new people on defense. I do have one new person, but this is the first year we know that's taken care of."
Senior co-captain Casey Ross, a Sewickley resident, anchors the defense. Junior sweeper Meghan Torrence, also from Sewickley, and sophomore Cranberry resident Caitlin Bungo also are returning starters, meaning the Panthers can take comfort in knowing their back line can hold up.
"I didn't have to spend a lot of time this preseason reviewing the defense," Peluso said. "I could just jump right into the building of the whole team concept."
A similar situation exists up front, where the Panthers returned some offensive punch. Senior center midfielder Chloe Zomnir, who is from Sewickley, is a team co-captain and one of the team's most experienced leaders.
Beaver County resident Haylee "Nugge" Vaccarelli garnered extensive playing time last season as a freshman forward.
"She scored some pretty big goals for us," Peluso said.
Sophomore Sara Cook, also from Sewickley, is another returning goal-scorer.
"My largest class is actually the sophomore class, and one of the nicest things about this season is them coming in knowing the system," Peluso said. "The sophomores can step into the roles of some of the seniors who graduated last year, and it was a nice, easy transition. They all got playing time last year, and they understand what our expectations are of them. It's allowed us to concentrate on some other things early in the season."
Returning players in the midfield include senior co-captain Maddie Sproull of Moon and junior Olivia Ahearn of Sewickley.
One position -- an important one -- where the Panthers are breaking in a new starter is in goal, where junior Erin Keller steps in. Keller, a former starting midfielder, is filling a hole left by the transfer of last season's starting goalkeeper.
"Erin is just a phenomenal athlete, and she volunteered to take over goalkeeper over the summer," Peluso said of the Sewickley resident.
Last season for the Panthers ended with a surprising 2-0 loss to Quigley in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs. That defeat served as motivation to fuel the Panthers players' fire throughout the offseason heading into this campaign.
"Every single one of them came into the preseason extremely fit, which was great," Peluso said. "Then we could focus on field play instead of spending time running them. They're all very positive and get along extremely well, and they're excited and looking forward to getting the season going."
Peluso said winning the section title is the Panthers' main goal.
First Published September 11, 2009 5:43 am
