Top-ranked Quaker Valley boys refocus after tough start to soccer season

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 28, 2018 | 8:30 PM

There’s no room for complacency on the Quaker Valley boys soccer team.

The Quakers understand that now.

The defending PIAA Class 2A champs entered the season with experience and high expectations. However, when coach Andrew Marshall didn’t like the effort he saw in the team’s first two matches, he decided to make wholesale lineup changes, and the team started 0-3 with losses to West Lawn Wilson and Fleetwood in the East-West Classic and West Allegheny.

Then, the benched Quakers responded to the challenge, won their jobs back in the process and haven’t lost since.

“The team was kind of in a bad state. Players were upset about getting benched,” senior captain Will Andrews said.

“It was sending a huge message to the team — a lot of it was all about our attitude and effort, including myself. It doesn’t matter who you are — if you don’t have the attitude and give maximum effort, you won’t be on the field. We have to go out there and play hard. We can’t lose our cool and flip out when things don’t go our way.

“We told each other that we could complain as much as we wanted or we could put our heads down and work harder. Pretty much all of us have gotten our spots back.”

It’s given Class 2A No. 1 Quaker Valley a jolt. The team won its next eight games (all in Section 4) and outscored those opponents, 73-0.

“I think it goes back to what the coaches said — we can’t become complacent with our spots. If you play like you’re playing for your spot all the time, that helps you,” Andrews said. “Everyone wants to be perfect out there. We’re striving for perfection because we know there are guys behind us on the bench that could step up and play well. The time you get, you’re trying to put on a show and not let up anything.”

That includes scoring as many goals as possible.

“If we get up 6-0, we’re running back to the kickoff telling each other that we need to score more,” Andrews said. “It’s definitely fun to watch. You are anxious to get to playoffs when you have this much momentum. We can’t let off the gas. We’re just trying to keep it going, practicing hard and staying focused.

“It could be easy to lose your focus when you’re winning this much and a lot of the games in the section are big margins. But, we have to keep playing our game so we’re ready for the postseason. We can’t play down to any opponent. We’re keeping ourselves at a high standard. Everything has been 100 percent effort and focus.”

The Quakers breezed through the first half of section play, including a 5-0 win over North Catholic, the only other ranked team in the section and last year’s WPIAL Class A champ.

“North Catholic was a huge game for us. We really didn’t have a test at all in the section,” Andrews said. “We knew we were playing well, but we wanted to prove ourselves on a bigger stage and we won, 5-0. They were ranked first in the WPIAL at the time. It was a statement and said a lot about how far we’ve come so far.”

With its scoring depth, Quaker Valley creates matchup problems for opponents.

“In the North Catholic game, they would stress defending certain players, but we’d put some bench guys in and they’d score. So, it’s not only the guys starting, but the guys coming off the bench giving a lot of great effort,” Andrews said. “There have been a lot of different players that have scored goals this year, probably over eight. We’re getting goals from everywhere. Last year, we relied a lot on Bando Grant and Ian Rodgers for goals. It’s more balanced now. I think we’re pretty unpredictable and solid all around.

“Right now, we’re a real confident team. We’re making sure we’re ready for the next game and, then, the next game after that. We’re not looking ahead. We’re having a lot of fun, too. It’s just a really good team to be around now.”

Joe Sager is a freelance writer.

Tags: Quaker Valley