Chartiers Valley boys soccer winning while overcoming adversity

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, September 22, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The Chartiers Valley boys soccer team was cruising through the early part of its schedule, going 4-0 overall and 3-0 in Section 4-3A.

Then came a 4-0 shutout loss to West Allegheny on Sept. 12, when the team gave up two own goals and made mistakes allowing for the other two.

“Not a good day at the office,” coach Mike Blatz said.

But the Colts took the lessons they’ve learned over the past year and bounced right back in their next contest.

In another section battle Sept. 14, Chartiers Valley bested Montour, 2-1 in overtime, and corrected a lot of what went wrong two nights earlier.

“It was like watching two separate teams on the field,” senior captain Josh Walker said. “It was our third game of the week and was probably the hardest we prepared all week. We went down 1-0, but didn’t put our heads down, we fought back.”

The identity of the 2024 soccer team is resiliency, and it came about because of circumstances stemming from a stalled construction project and a huge personnel loss on the field.

Last fall, construction on the school’s athletic fields had ground to a halt due to litigation in the middle of the fall athletic year, affecting all sports that used the field equally.

“We’ve had to play all our home games away,” said Blatz, who was interim coach last year and returns as full-time head coach this season.

“It became very difficult for us last year. We would travel off site for practices as well.”

The team finished with a 7-7 record last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The Colts played all but one of their games this season away and were on schedule to play their first true home game of the season Sept. 17 against Moon.

“Everyone has shown an unbelievable amount of patience,” Blatz said. “But for the team, it helped us better understand and develop an identity.”

Said Walker: “We’re going to be 2-1 in the section on the road this season and when we come back home, we’re going to continue to be dominant at home. We only lost two games at home all of last year.”

On the field, Chartiers Valley has focused on ball possession, believing that the best defense is the having a strong offense.

“Our guys have been open-minded to it and there are some inherent risks that come with possessing the ball, including some we weren’t willing to make in front of our own net,” Blatz said.

The strategy has worked well, as the Colts were outscoring opponents, 25-8.

On the attacking part of the field, the Colts are led by senior John Krug who is a standout forward being recruited by Division I programs.

“I think it’s a unique thing in the Pittsburgh area,” Blatz said, “to have someone like John looked at as a legitimate D-I prospect.”

Alongside Krug are junior Cole Jankowski, who has continued his stellar play from last year, and senior Jayden Larrow who didn’t play a lot last year, but is playing valuable minutes.

Defensively, the Colts have a talented midfield headlined by seniors Xavier Mwaura and Patrik Jurisic, junior defender Vincent DiPietro and sophomore defender Luke Waldron.

Other notable players on the back end are junior Ryan Bogdon at left back and senior Zach Knause at right back.

One big omission from the suffocating midfield is Walker, who was lost for the season in the team’s second game of the year, a 4-1 win over Blackhawk.

Walker was run through by an opposing player and his standing leg took most of the impact, leaving Walker with a torn ACL, PCL and MCL.

“Josh loves soccer and it’s unfortunate that he won’t be a part of our season on the field,” Blatz said. “He’s the type of player you need when you face teams like Montour, Moon, Franklin Regional. He’s a difference maker.”

“I came into this year with so much confidence and felt I was going to succeed and do very well,” Walker said. “This was probably my best chance, the team’s best chance to make a run. The team is so talented it hurts not to be a part of it.”

While he may not be able to contribute on the field, Walker is fully embracing his role as captain and is helping his teammates on the sidelines during games and on the practice field.

“I can’t take charge on the field, but I still bring a positive attitude to practice, warmups and the games,” Walker said. “At halftime, I’ll talk to the boys. I’m involved as much as I can in that sense to help out as much as possible off the field.”

Blatz is also counting on the leadership of his other captains, Krug and Jurisic, as well as his returning starters from last year to help his team progress to its goal of making the playoffs.

“Their leadership, their composure and discipline are important aspects that we’ll need to be successful,” Blatz said. “They all believe in the team aspect, that everyone contributes to what’s going on.”

Added Walker: “We have an identity on how we play, and we’ve been trying to stick to that. Obviously, there are things that we’re going to have to change when it comes to personnel and the type of team we’re playing against, but we still have to maintain that identity.”

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