New goals for Leechburg soccer hopefuls thanks to co-op with Apollo-Ridge

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, June 9, 2018 | 10:21 PM

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Keara Carnahan grew up playing soccer at Northmoreland Park in Allegheny Township, so a blast of nostalgia hit her as she took to the park's fields again last week.

And even the stickiness of the night and her own rustiness with the sport didn't dampen the rising Leechburg senior's enthusiasm to play soccer again after a few years of idleness.

“A lot of memories — really good ones,” Carnahan said. “I've always enjoyed soccer. It's like the classic American sport, so I've just always loved coming up here and having that atmosphere.”

Until now, attending Leechburg didn't allow Carnahan the chance to play high school soccer because the district doesn't field a varsity team. But a newly formed cooperative agreement with neighboring Apollo-Ridge is giving interested Leechburg players a new opportunity.

As part of the agreement, Leechburg students can play for Apollo-Ridge, whose own program was started within the past five years and joined the WPIAL three seasons ago.

“I was excited because I kind of quit, or I took a break, I guess you could say,” said Carnahan, who played for Kiski Area Soccer League as a child before stopping three or four years ago. “I was just excited, especially for my last year of high school, to be back playing something I enjoy and am passionate about.

“Leechburg's a very small school, so we don't get a lot of opportunities for things like this. I know a lot of people were very excited about it, myself included.”

The partnership between Apollo-Ridge and Leechburg came about fairly naturally because many from both schools play for KASL, Apollo-Ridge coach Matt Ross said. He and his three assistants coached several of Leechburg's players during their time with the organization.

“I was really anticipating having a few of them on the team because I've just watched some of these girls play with my own kids over the years and thought, ‘Wow, it would be pretty good if they moved to Apollo.' ”

As it turned out, it didn't take any U-Hauls to get the schools to join forces. About half of Apollo-Ridge's 32-player roster hails from Leechburg, Ross said.

“There's a bond there between the two schools because those girls play youth soccer together, and now they're going to get a chance to play together through high school,” he said.

Although some of the Leechburg players are new to the sport — or, in Carnahan's case, rusty — Apollo-Ridge has familiarity with that. When its program formed in 2014, it had a mix of seasoned players and those who were kicking soccer balls for the first time.

Now the Vikings are coming off back-to-back WPIAL playoff appearances. And the influx of new players should only help the team's depth, especially with Apollo-Ridge moving from Class A to AA in the fall.

“Once we get our starters out there, and once we get our team built together, then we keep subbing in and out and give everyone a break and have a better program throughout,” said Emily Bonelli, a rising sophomore at Apollo-Ridge and one of the team's top goal scorers.

Previously Apollo-Ridge's roster numbered about 20 players, so the increase to 32 also will help the Vikings field a full-time junior varsity program for the first time, Ross said.

“It'll be more playing time for everybody,” Ross said. “I definitely lost some key players last year. Not making up for who we lost, but having two girls who can play a position instead of one the entire game is going to be nice, too.”

Apollo-Ridge began summer conditioning workouts last week, the players getting to know each other from a skills standpoint.

Although time will tell how the new-look Vikings will perform, Carnahan has one goal for her first year of high school soccer.

“Get a goal,” she said.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge