Thomas Jefferson girls soccer season marked by improvement, 1-goal losses
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Sunday, December 8, 2024 | 11:01 AM
Thomas Jefferson’s Ashlynn Fry heads the ball into the goal to score on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, at South Fayette.
Thomas Jefferson’s Aislin Majoris works past South Fayette’s Harper Zapf and Mia Deramo during their game on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, at South Fayette.
South Fayette’s Harper Zapf battles Thomas Jefferson’s Aislin Majoris for a header during their game on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, at South Fayette.
First place in Section 3-3A was at stake Oct. 7 for the Thomas Jefferson and South Fayette girls soccer teams.
A TJ win would result in the two teams sharing the section championship.
A victory by South Fayette would give the Lions sole possession of the top spot.
South Fayette edged the Jaguars, 1-0, that night and went on to capture the WPIAL Class 3A title. The Lions ran the table at 10-0 in the section and ended up 20-4 overall.
After winning seven of its first eight section games, TJ finished as the Section 3-3A runner-up with an 8-2 record.
The Jaguars played a formidable nonsection schedule that included the likes of Franklin Regional, Upper St. Clair, Peters Township, Moon, South Park and Canon-McMillan — all playoff teams. In fact, Peters Township repeated as a WPIAL champion in 2024.
The hope was that competing against strong opposition would boost the TJ girls’ chances of making a deep postseason run.
“We need to stay healthy,” TJ coach Sean Richter said. “We are not as deep as past seasons, and we play a pretty loaded schedule. Hopefully, we can learn and improve from these (early season) games and make a good run.”
The strategy didn’t quite pan out though as TJ lost to Bethel Park, 3-2, in two overtimes in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.
The Jaguars ended up with a 10-7-1 record.
“So I knew going into the season things could go either way,” Richter said. “We did not have the kind of depth that we have had in past years, and we had big shoes to fill in the back from players graduating. I knew our schedule would be tough to manage. The main thing is we needed to stay healthy.
“Our goal was to learn and improve week to week. I felt like we did that. We took some lumps, but once we were able to balance our lineup, we were able to move forward and compete.”
The Jaguars lost two of their final four regular-season games before meeting Bethel Park in the playoffs.
“I struggled at the end of the season finding the positives,” Richter said. “I had a great senior class and just wanted to win something for them. We improved from our first match and played WPIAL champ South Fayette to a hard-fought 1-0 loss, and played a very solid Bethel Park team in the playoffs to an overtime loss.
“It was one of those seasons where a thing or two goes your way in the end and it is a different conversation. Looking back, we were successful in the sense we did play good competition all season. We did learn and improve. In the end, we were playing well and had a chance to win those games.”
The loss to Bethel Park was particularly upsetting for TJ’s veteran coach and players. The Black Hawks lost a 1-0 decision in overtime to South Fayette in the WPIAL quarterfinal round.
“It was a very hard-fought game,” Richter said. “We were coming together, and I wanted the season to continue. At that time, we were ready to play anyone. I was upset that I could not put it together sooner for the team.”
TJ was led in 2024 by junior F Sami Maglicco and senior MF Olivia Della Luca. Both were chosen all-WPIAL and all-section following the season. Maglicco finished with 23 goals and 16 assists; Della Luca added 16 goals and nine assists. She was voted all-section four times.
Maglicco and Della Luca, a Seton Hill recruit, were joined on the all-section team by TJ junior D Anna Kondos, senior D Ashlynn Fry and freshman D Kayla Marcinko.
Each of the five all-section players made an impact on the Jaguars’ season, as did sophomore GK Nyla Kiral, senior D Toni Blosl, junior MF Kamryn Marcinko, senior MF Aislin Majoris, junior F CeCe Wessel, junior F Aubrey Little, junior D Adi Fenlock, sophomore F Denika Bergman and freshman D Viv Barron.
“We will lose some very impactful senior leaders that will be very hard to replace,” Richter said. “The positives are we will return a lot of players. There are some freshmen, Aubrey Mahoney and Viv Barron, who will take on bigger roles.
“I am looking forward to the next one.”
Tags: Thomas Jefferson
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