The 2025 Shaler Area Boys soccer season is surely one to remember. The Titans ended their season with a record of 12-6, and qualifying for the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2009 before losing to Thomas Jefferson in the first round of the playoffs.
Plenty of milestones and achievements were captured by the Titans who may have even surprised themselves with how well they did.
The original goal for the Titans was to simply find their spot in the playoffs, but both the players and the coaches had other plans.
“Once games started and I saw how we were doing, that goal seemed like we set the bar low. I knew this team was capable of more, so we pivoted and set the goal to win the section,” Coach Mr. Tyler Schultz said.
The team was unable to win the section, finishing behind Hampton and Mars, but the road to the playoffs was exciting.
One of the biggest games the Titans had this season was the second game of the season against the Mars Fighting Planets. The Titans finished the game strong with an overtime goal by junior Alex Gaetano to secure the 2-1 victory. Gaetano was also involved in securing that playoff spot. His overtime goal during Shaler’s 1-0 win over Indiana clinched a spot in the playoffs.
Unfortunately the Titans lost to Thomas Jefferson (1-0) by a penalty kick on October 20th which ended their season.
“When everyone did their job to their full potential, this team was great,” coach Schultz said.
Adversity came early for the Titans after a rough losing streak to start the season, but the Titans bounced back when the time was right.
“We came back from deficits to seal victories and bounced back from losses to rack up wins,” Coach Schultz said.
Even when they were at their lowest, the team never gave up on each other and persevered to the next game again and again.
Seniors Carter Arenth and Conor McClean were large contributors to the team, as well as junior Alex Gaetano. However the successful season wasn’t simply due to seniors and older players, but younger players like Tyler Shaw and Lucas Fedel who are both sophomores stepped up to help contribute to the Titans success.
“I think the reason why we were more successful is because we kept most of the varsity roster from last year,” sophomore Lucas Fedel said.
Both Gaetano and Shaw ended the season with 9 goals each. Carter Arenth, Tyler Shaw, and Conor McClean ended the season with All-Section Honors.
Brian Hegerty the Titan’s goalkeeper earned himself his nickname of “Big Save Bri” for coming up clutch for the Titans numerous times throughout the season.
Hegerty stepped up as the last line of defense to make sure that he could help his team with massive saves when the game was on the line.
The players were not the only individuals who contributed to the Titans’ success. Head Coach Schultz, as well as assistant coaches Csaba Feher, Matt Potock, Mike Kreibel, Dan Monahan, Julie McDermott, and Kevin Fuhrer all contributed to the team’s success.
“Every one of these people and the boys make my job easy. I’m excited to start winter training after the new year and see what exactly we are working with for next season,” Coach Schultz said.
