Veshio tabbed to lead perennially powerful Quaker Valley boys soccer program

By: Michael Love
Thursday, May 14, 2020 | 5:30 PM

As a member of the boys soccer team at Quaker Valley from 1999-2002, J.J. Veshio was a part of successful squads that won PIAA and WPIAL championships and added a state runner-up finish under the direction of revered coach Gene Klein.

Veshio returned to the Quakers as an assistant coach in 2008 and has helped keep them formidable for more than a decade.

Now, he will get a chance to lead the program.

The Quaker Valley athletic department, led by athletic director Mike Mastroianni, announced Thursday it has hired Veshio as its next head boys soccer coach.

“I am so honored and humbled to be selected for this position and promise to work my absolute hardest to continue to uphold the legacy of QV soccer that every player and coach that has come before me has worked to maintain,” Veshio said in a statement.

Veshio, the son of longtime Quaker Valley football and track and field coach and former athletic director Jerry Veshio, replaces Andrew Marshall at the helm. Marshall served as head coach the past five seasons.

Quaker Valley, led by the offensive prowess of Fritz Reiter, Franky Fernandez and Dom Reiter, captured its ninth WPIAL title and eighth PIAA crown in 2019. The team went 8-0 in the Class 2A postseason to finish 24-2 overall.

The Quakers compiled a 94-21-4 record from 2015-19 and added a WPIAL title in 2016 and a PIAA championship in 2017. Quaker Valley was a WPIAL runner-up in 2017 and 2018 and a PIAA runner-up in 2016.

“I feel my connection to this program and the players has enabled me to be in a position to lead the next group and to continue the rich tradition of success we have at Quaker Valley,” said Veshio, a health and physical education teacher in the school district.

“Whether we win or lose, I want to give the players a unique opportunity to better themselves in a team environment through the game of soccer.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Quaker Valley