Although the Shaler Area Varsity Boys Soccer team finished with a record of 1 win, 15 losses, and 2 draws, there was a lot to build on for years to come.
It was always going to be a struggle for the Titans playing in the stout WPIAL 4A division. The team had to bring their A game against inter-division opposition such as the reigning state champions Seneca Valley and the reigning WPIAL champions Pine Richland.
Despite the level of competition, the Titans played their WPIAL rivals close, but rarely to victory.
“We had some tough one goal losses where you’d think we just needed a couple of things to go our way to get some more wins in the section. When looking back at this year it’s gonna be disappointing, we wanted to get more out of it, especially losing the North Hills game 4-3,” Senior Matt Purucker said.
Throughout the season the Titans stayed competitive thanks to the efforts of their ever-busy goalkeeper Garrett Grazier.
“Garrett Grazier, our junior goalkeeper made 131 saves through 18 games which is a lot. Typically you get a few per game, but when he’s racking up saves like that he’s keeping us in games. He’s a rockstar, he’s actually a big 56 honorable mention this year and he deserved every bit of that if not more.” Head coach, Tyler Schultz said.
Even after many heartbreaking losses, it was never a question whether or not the Titans would fight valiantly against all of their WPIAL opposition this season.
“Motivation was never a problem. The boys were mentally strong, they went into every game knowing they had a chance. They didn’t just roll over and die every game they played, they came out fighting and doing everything they could.” head coach Tyler Schultz said.
All of this frustration culminated in a cathartic senior night victory against the Hempfield Spartans by a score of 5-1. This scoring was highlighted by a hat-trick performance by senior striker Luca Wallander and then seniors Dylan Paylo and John Lamanna who added their tallies to the scoreboard.
“The best moment had to be senior night. We were still searching for our first win, we came out, they honor the seniors who have put in a lot of time, energy, and effort into the program and we scored 5 goals and got our first win. All 5 goals were scored by seniors,” coach Schultz said.
Despite the bleak record, the Titans will be entering a new era next year as they will now be facing schools who are on a more level playing field with them.
“We have a bright outlook next year, we just got notified that we moved down to 3A, so we will play fewer large teams and we will play schools who we match up better against size wise. That should be better for us as far as competition on the field goes. I believe there are plenty of players that can build on this year and hopefully become some stars in the makings for Titan soccer,” coach Schultz said.
