Westmoreland high school girls soccer notebook: Daughter gets best of dad in showdown

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, October 6, 2020 | 6:07 PM

Izzy Laurita felt a strange type of nervousness last week when Belle Vernon took the field against visiting Hempfield.

Normal game jitters were present, but things just felt a little different when Laurita looked across the field and saw … her father … on the opposing sideline.

Roland Laurita is the first-year coach of Hempfield.

It was a fun, father-daughter matchup to remember for the pair.

The teams faced off at James Weir Stadium, and Izzy claimed bragging rights — at least for now — as Class 3A Belle Vernon scored a 2-1 nonsection win over the Class 4A Spartans.

Izzy, a Georgia State commit, assisted both goals — to Jilian Butchki and Faith Reader.

“Thinking about it was weird since I’ve never played against my dad,” Izzy said. “But as soon as the game started, my focus was on the field and the opponent. It felt good to win and our team fought really hard, but I wish we could’ve done it together.”

The Lauritas had some fun during the game.

“I couldn’t believe he was trying to get me called for a foul,” Izzy said in jest. “When I didn’t even do anything.”

Class 3A No. 3 Belle Vernon took a nine-game winning streak into the week.

Record broken

Belle Vernon junior captain Morgan Einodshofer found her way into the program record book a few games back when she assisted a goal for the Leopards in a 13-0 win over Greensburg Salem.

The assist was No. 54 for Einodshofer’s career, breaking the Leopards’ mark of 53 set by Cori Stark in 2009.

Still perfect

At the start of the week, there were 11 undefeated, untied teams in WPIAL girls soccer.

They were: Butler (7-0) and Fox Chapel (8-0) in 4A; Connellsville (5-0), Plum (7-0) and Mars (7-0) in 3A; Shady Side Academy (3-0), Southmoreland (8-0) and South Park (7-0) in 2A; and Greensburg Central Catholic (5-0), Freedom (6-0) and Steel Valley (9-0) in A.

Willig scores

Norwin senior soccer player Sydney Willig was put into the lineup in a recent nonsection game, and she made the most of the opportunity. Willig, who battles cystic fibrosis, found the net late in a 6-0 win over Kiski Area at Knights Stadium for her first goal of the season.

50 for Felder

Greensburg Central Catholic senior Sam Felder had a hat trick against Aquinas Academy, and it led to a milestone: her 50th career goal.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Norwin, Southmoreland