Gateway players confident ahead of WPIAL boys soccer playoffs

By: Michael Love
Sunday, October 16, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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The Gateway boys soccer team enters the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs hoping to make some noise, and senior forward Colton Corrie says the Gators are set up to do just that.

“We’ve seen so many different styles in the regular season that we are ready for anything in the playoffs,” said Corrie, who was second on the team in goals scored with 15 through a key 5-2 Section 4 victory over Latrobe on Oct. 11.

“Seeing those different styles helped us improve. We’re pretty confident heading into the playoffs, more confident than in recent years. We have the talent up front and also in the back. We’ve shown we can finish but also defend.”

Gateway was to wrap up section play and the regular season as a whole at Obama Academy on Oct. 13.

The Gators headed into that game 7-5-1 in section play, tied with Penn-Trafford for third place. Gateway holds the advantage for third over the Warriors with a win and a tie in the season series.

Gateway coach Bernie Stiles said a break of more than a week from the end of the regular season to the start of the playoffs will help his team get ready, both mentally and physically.

“Unless we are able to get a scrimmage against another playoff team,” Stiles said.

“If not, they still will have time to rest their bodies and work on some things to prepare for the playoffs,” Stiles said.

The playoff pairings committee was to meet Wednesday (Oct. 19), and the first round could begin as early as Saturday (Oct. 22).

“I think the guys are really geared up for the playoffs and what they can do,” Stiles said.

“We talked all year about winning the games we have to win and going off script. They are super excited to see where they will be seeded. Hopefully, we are put in a good position for the first round and we can go in and surprise some people. We’ve played some really challenging games throughout the season, both in and out of section, which has prepared us well.”

Stiles said his team battled through a tough recent stretch with nonsection losses to North Catholic and section setbacks to Franklin Regional, 3-1, and Plum, 9-0.

“It was just really bad timing,” Stiles said of the wide margin of defeat against the Mustangs.

“We had three injuries after the Franklin Regional match. They got up on us pretty early, and we had some other guys who were sore, so we just got some younger guys some playing time. Plum took advantage of that, which they should. We just had to sacrifice that one after about 20 minutes. We had to play Latrobe a couple nights later, which was a big matchup, so we needed to be as healthy as possible.”

Junior forward Blake Marsh scored twice against Latrobe, giving him nine goals on the season. Corrie, junior striker Will Hansmann and senior midfielder Brendan Strawser added goals, and junior goalkeeper Jack Kweder made eight saves.

Strawser’s tally was his team-best 23rd of the season.

“They went in with a lot of confidence,” Stiles said.

“They were calm and knew that they would win. We got down a goal, which had kind of been our thing this year, but we came back and took control with five straight goals. It wasn’t in doubt after we tied it up that we would eventually take the lead and put the game away.”

For Marsh, it was a successful return to the field against Latrobe after he missed both the Franklin Regional and Plum games because of injury.

“It was fun to come back and contribute the way I did for my team,” Marsh said. “It was the seniors’ last home game, most likely. It was good to get the win and give us some momentum and confidence heading into the playoffs where anything can happen. It was a must win, and we got it done.”

Stiles said the Gators will be without sophomore defender James LoCoco for the rest of the season after he suffered a foot injury in the McKeesport win on senior night Sept. 29.

“That was a big loss for us, and we had to make adjustments for that,” Stiles said. “But guys have been stepping up all season.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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