Westmoreland County boys soccer notes: No hard feelings after 30-0 game

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, September 8, 2021 | 4:39 PM

The score caught the attention of soccer fans and casual observers alike, and many of them asked the same question upon seeing it: “Is that a typo?”

No, Fox Chapel really beat Southmoreland 30-0 on Saturday at the Canon-McMillan tournament to open boys soccer season.

That is one large, crooked number.

But Scotties coach Jeff Schaeffer was not stomping up and down the sideline in anger. In fact, he doesn’t hold any animosity toward the Foxes, who played junior varsity players in the second half.

Schaeffer said the goal was to get his younger players varsity time and that “the score was irrelevant.”

“The scoreboard was off, actually,” he said. “We didn’t even know they scored that many goals. We have 19 (healthy) kids and we have five games in seven days, so I didn’t even play some of my starters. This was good for our kids. They see what really good soccer is like and they can strive to work to get to that level.

“We knew what we were in for.”

The Scotties played their second- and third-string goalkeepers.

Southmoreland, which has to replace 11 starters from a 6-9 playoff team, had an opening on its schedule for the opening weekend and saw Canon-McMillan needed a team for its tournament.

Fox Chapel-Southmoreland is not a common matchup and some might say the teams have no business playing each other. The Foxes are a Class 4A team, while Southmoreland plays in 2A.

“There weren’t any preseason tournaments last year because of covid,” Schaeffer said. “We were looking for a game and they needed a team. It just so happens we drew Fox Chapel.

“It wouldn’t have been right for us to pull out (after the schedule came out).”

Success at the Sasko

Belle Vernon gave first-year coach Al Yeschenko a win in his debut, then won the next day too to cap a 2-0 weekend at its season-opening Paul Sasko Classic.

A Labor Day weekend staple that was interrupted last year by the pandemic, the Sasko event saw 14 games for boys and girls varsity and junior varsity teams at James Weir Stadium.

Belle Vernon’s boys blanked McKeesport, 9-0, before a 2-1 nail-biter against Gateway. The first win came with a water-cooler shower for Yeschenko on the sideline.

Daniel Sassak had four goals in the opener and two against Gateway.

Balanced scoring

Penn-Trafford opened the season with a 6-0 victory over Woodland Hills. While the plan wasn’t exactly to get every class in the yearbook a goal, it worked out that way.

Senior Conner Williams, juniors Cooper Sisson and Brady Palisak, sophomores Ben Luchs and Logan Murphy, and freshman J.J. Porter all found the net.

Panthers fallible?

Franklin Regional allowed five goals in its first two games. The Panthers, who won back-to-back WPIAL 3A titles and finished second last season, gave up just seven goals all of last regular season, and three each in the 2019 and ‘18 regular seasons.

Rescheduled game

Due to turf renovations at Laurel Highlands, Belle Vernon will now host the Mustangs at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Their section opener set for Tuesday was moved.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland