Southmoreland boys soccer team looking forward to playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 15, 2018 | 4:51 PM

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Playoff soccer is a new experience for a majority of Southmoreland’s boys team.

The Scotties are looking forward to it, too.

They’re in the WPIAL Class 2A tournament for the first time since 2016. With a young roster featuring four seniors, Southmoreland hopes to make annual postseason appearances.

“I am very excited. I have been waiting for this for a few years. The last time the team made it was my freshman year and I got a concussion right before our playoff game,” Southmoreland junior Noah Kinter said. “The experience is going to be incredibly important. You always have an eye toward next season and playoffs should be within reach then, too. New experiences can be shocking. It’ll be easier next year because it’ll be more familiar for us.”

That doesn’t mean the Scotties (8-8) are ruling themselves out of making a run this year.

“It’s great to be back in the playoffs. We just have to embrace the moment and be excited to be there. We can’t be nervous about it. A lot of teams and players never have the chance to have the feeling of being in the playoffs,” Southmoreland senior Brett Glowacki said. “If teams overlook us, I think we’ll surprise them. I know what we can do.”

Southmoreland made strides in its first year with Jeremy Niemiec as head coach. He stresses possession, which is a change from the style the squad played in the past.

“We started in the winter during indoor and got an idea of what he expected out of us. By the time the season came around, we kind of had an idea of what we were doing. We still had to translate it to the outdoor field,” Glowacki said. “It was kind of a change; I think we caught onto it quickly. I still think we haven’t played our best game. I think we can go out in the first round and make something happen.”

“I think our new style sits pretty well with the style of players we have. I think we’ve always been able to play possession-based soccer, but we’ve really bought into it and it’s very effective,” Kinter said. “We have a good group of guys this year. We’re pretty young and we’re still growing and learning as a team.”

The Scotties, who finished 5-12-1 overall a year ago, placed third in Section 3 with an 8-4 mark this fall.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth. I’ve been told that from numerous parents and people around the community, as well. It’s definitely a big change,” said Niemiec, who was an assistant coach last season. “It doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, we do revert back to what we used to do. It’s getting there, and it’ll come more as the years go on. I do give our seniors credit because they helped a lot with the change.

“Our record isn’t where I want it to be. Besides one Charleroi game, we’ve been in every game; we’re competing in every game, even when teams are better than us.”

Kinter and Glowacki are leading the way for Southmoreland’s offense. Both players had 14 goals and 12 assists at the conclusion of section play.

“We haven’t had that dual threat in the past. I don’t know if we’ve even had a 10-goal scorer in past seasons,” Niemiec said. “It’s been a nice growth relationship for them. They are like best friends on the field. They’d rather get each other a goal than score themselves. They’ve become very selfless toward one another.”

Added Glowacki, “It makes it harder for other teams since they have to focus on two guys and not just one. I feel like we’ve helped each other out this season. Most of our goals are from each other. We’ve come together and focused on winning.”

Sophomores Jake VanArsdale and Brendan Moore and junior Kullen McCoy have been the other primary playmakers for the Scotties. Junior Hunter Fletcher and sophomore Andrew Rodriguez lead the defense at center back in front of sophomore goalkeeper Matt Rodriguez.

“We are young and we have our moments where our inexperience does show. We’re getting there, though,” Niemiec said. “I am not worried about our record going into playoffs. I’d rather be the underdog. We did play a good schedule; I think every team we played out of our section is a playoff team, and that does help us. Maybe our record doesn’t show it, but that’s fine. All you have to do is get in and anything can happen.”

Joe Sager is a freelance writer.

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