North Allegheny boys ready to begin WPIAL title defense
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Friday, August 25, 2017 | 11:00 PM
Sean Atwater isn't expecting to tally three playoff game-winning goals in overtime again.
Nor do his teammates on the North Allegheny boys soccer team expect him to duplicate the feat.
Whatever it takes to match last year's success will be fine for all involved.
The Tigers wrapped up last season 17-3-5, reached the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals for the first time since 2000 and won their first WPIAL title since 1999.
“As long as we keep focused and keep the right mindset, things should fall into place,” Atwater said. “You always need luck, and hopefully we'll get it. I think we have the potential to go back-to-back and win it again.”
How to sustain that success is something North Allegheny coach Bobby Vosmaer has put a lot of thought into. The conclusion he came to was simple.
“We have good players, and we're solid as a team unit,” Vosmaer said. “That's what got us our success last year. We should achieve the same thing, but it's going to be harder.”
Difficulty is assured with being in a section where two other teams — Seneca Valley and Pine-Richland — reached the PIAA playoffs last season. Playing so many tough regular-season games made the postseason not so stressful.
“It helps a lot knowing the best teams in the WPIAL are in our section,” Atwater said. “It feels like just another game. It helps make adjustments for the playoffs.”
Having the players to overcome those hurdles will be the big difference. Senior forward Josh Luchini, a Lehigh commit, was named to the preseason All-American watch list by Top Drawer Soccer. Luchini, who has 26 goals and 25 assists in his career, is one of 16 seniors on the roster.
Senior goalie Grant Glorioso, who along with Luchini was named All-WPIAL last season, believes having a full roster will make the offense considerably more potent. With most of those players having experience makes the Tigers even tougher.
“It helps because it brings a lot of leadership to the group,” Glorioso said. “It helps with the younger guys.”
Glorioso doesn't want the sequel to North Allegheny's best season in 17 years to be a disappointment.
The Tigers want to figure out a way to make it work with whatever method it may take.
“Doing the same thing and hope everything goes away,” Vosmaer said. “That's never going to happen, but we're going to give it a shot.”
Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.
Tags: North Allegheny
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