Reilly has big return as Latrobe beats Norwin at Moe Rosensteel memorial

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, September 2, 2023 | 12:01 AM

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Four goals. It wasn’t so much about how they happened, but that they happened.

Then again, Latrobe players and coaches have come to expect such a performance from Robin Reilly.

The junior midfielder had not played a competitive game in two months when she took the field for the first time this WPIAL season.

A high ankle sprain during a cup national championship game with the Riverhounds Academy had her on the shelf and itching to return.

All she did in her first game back was pour in four goals, never missing a beat, in the Wildcats’ 5-1 victory over Norwin on Saturday in the third game of the second annual Moe Rosensteel Memorial Kickoff Classic at sun-soaked Norwin Knights Stadium.

“I guess that showed how much I missed it,” Reilly said. “I just wanted to come out and get my confidence. With all that time out, you lose some things, like technique and the feel of the game.”

Latrobe (2-0) and Norwin (1-2) played to a 2-2 tie last year in the same event, going two overtimes in intense heat.

Officials gave the girls a water break in the first half this year in similar conditions. But Norwin couldn’t cool off Reilly, a Division I prospect with multiple offers who plans to make a decision before the end of the month.

“We expected Robin to be a contender and knew she was back,” Norwin senior midfielder Evelyn Moore said. “Offensively, I was pleased with how we did. We’re trying to get everything to work together.”

Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury in last year’s game against Latrobe.

She came back this season after being out for 10 months.

A returning All-WPIAL player, Reilly had 17 goals and 13 assists last season.

“She was champing at the bit,” Latrobe coach Jamie (Morrison) Campbell said. “It was good to see her back out there. She is a very versatile player and allows us to be more dynamic with how we approach and how we put girls in different locations. She has the skill to make something out of nothing.”

Latrobe, the No. 3-ranked team in 3A, planned to limit Reilly’s minutes, based on how she played.

“We talked about maybe 10 (minutes) a half,” Reilly said.

But this turned out to be more than a test drive: She played closer to 70 minutes.

“We were looking at maybe half to three quarters of each half, kind of feeling it out,” Campbell said. “We found some chemistry today. We came out firing on all cylinders.”

Campbell said there was a stark difference from Wildcats’ performance and the one from their opener at Greensburg Salem — a 7-1 win.

They were sharp from the kick in their second game.

Latrobe took a 3-0 lead into halftime on two goals from Reilly, and one from her sister, senior forward Regan Reilly.

The assist went to Robin Reilly.

After sophomore Alexa Kobus scored for Norwin just after halftime to cut it to 3-1, Robin Reilly connected again 12 seconds later for the Wildcats.

She added her fourth score in the 56th minute.

Assists also went to Regan Reilly, junior Maddy Petruzzi and freshman Alexa Yurko.

Petruzzi was Latrobe’s player of the match, and sophomore Nicole Bown was picked as Norwin’s top player for the second year in a row.

“Maddy Petruzzi is just a workhorse,” Campbell said. “She just keeps chewing.”

Norwin had four shots on goal to Latrobe’s 10.

In earlier action Saturday, Thomas Jefferson upset 3A No. 4 Franklin Regional, 3-2, and Ringgold blanked Hickory, 3-0.

Players of the match for those games were Aubrey Little (Thomas Jefferson) and Allyssa Valesquez (Franklin Regional), and Elizzabeth Wilson (Ringgold) and Cecilia Perman (Hickory).

Again, the three-game showcase was more about the cause than the results.

Proceeds go to the Kaitlyn Moe Rosensteel Scholarship Foundation, which presents an annual scholarship to a standout senior girl.

It also recognizes the top player in the WPIAL with the Moe Rosensteel Award, now in its fifth year of existence.

The late Rosensteel was a standout player at Ringgold, known by many on the club and high school circuit as a friend and competitor. The foundation celebrates soccer and its close-knit community in her memory.

“It’s about the girls, and it’s about the game,” said Ed Rosensteel, foundation president and an assistant coach at Ringgold. “It doesn’t matter if we get 10 people in the stands or 500. The cause is what matters.”

Organizers are talking about moving next year’s event up a week to mesh better with the official start of the WPIAL season.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Latrobe, Norwin