Burrell girls soccer, 1st-year coach building upon solid foundation

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, August 18, 2019 | 6:25 PM

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Frank Nesko does not want to put too many expectations on the Burrell girls soccer team.

As the Buccaneers’ first-year coach, Nesko wants to continue building on the program’s solid foundation.

During the past two seasons, Burrell lost in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals. The Buccaneers, who finished last season 13-3-2, return a lot of offensive punch. Nesko, who has seen a lot of the players compete in a community league, said Burrell brings back a group of capable players.

“We are going to be an attacking first-minded team,” Nesko said. “We’ve been working on that this past week in practice. We like to play a lot of possession with intent to create opportunities to score.”

Having a scoring-focused mindset will fit in with the returning group. Burrell scored three or more goals in 12 of its 18 games last season. The Buccaneers were not shut out.

Junior midfielder Jordyn Kowalkowski provided plenty of punch for Burrell. Her 18 goals led the Buccaneers last season.

Annie Weimer and Megan Malits bring experience to the midfield.

Delaney O’Brien will start in net, and defender Allison Vescio will provide O’Brien with experience in front of her.

“I wasn’t the coach last year, but I can tell you we are bringing back a lot of starters,” Nesko said. “We have a lot of capable soccer players returning, even the players who didn’t start last year.”

The Buccaneers finished second in Section 2-2A last season and will have to once again deal with Apollo-Ridge, Deer Lakes, East Allegheny, Freeport, Highlands and Valley.

What Nesko is focused on is keeping everyone fresh.

He does not plan to drive players toward exhaustion with heavy practice demands. He plans to push the tempo during games, not outside of them.

“I’m going to take it as it comes,” Nesko said. “We’re working hard laying a foundation, so when we are in the middle of the season, I’m a big believer in rest is a vital component of success. Some coaches have hard sessions in-between games. Me, personally, I think the girls are working hard enough. If they work hard enough now, rest is paramount if we are going to play our optimal game during the season.”

Tags: Burrell