PT girls succeeding even without a scoring leader
After winning the WPIAL Class 4A championship last year, Peters Township began to work on a problem almost every school deals with: graduating seniors.
For the Indians, however, that problem mainly targeted a group of forwards who provided goalscoring power. This year, despite the Indians having 14 goals in six games, Peters Township coach Pat Vereb is looking for that standout goalscorer.
“We’ve been having trouble — more than in previous years — scoring goals,” Vereb said. “We graduated a lot of goalscorers last year. This year, it’s been a team effort. We’ve got a bunch of people who have scored but nobody who has blossomed as the goalscorer yet.”
Amanda Pirosko, an outside midfielder, and Rylie Busch scored in No. 2-ranked Peters Township’s 2-0 victory against No. 1-ranked Upper St. Clair on Wednesday night.
Brynn Busch is a player to whom Vereb is looking to help carry the load in front of goal — but is also giving her room to grow, as Busch is a freshman.
“Brynn looks like she’s going to be a natural goalscorer, for sure,” he said.
Despite leading Class 4A Section 2 with an undefeated section record, Vereb said there are plenty of opportunities to correct mistakes. Through the first six games of the season, he said the team has excelled in possession but needs work on the physical side of the game.
“We’ve done very well with our possession in the games that we played, which has created goalscoring opportunities for us in our games,” Vereb said. “But I’d like us to be a little more physical. We’re not the biggest team by any means, but you need physicality to compete. But we’re working on that, trying to find the proper mix of players.”
Peters Township has cruised through the first three games of section competition thanks to “fantastic” leadership, Vereb said.
Molly Kubistek, who was named the Post-Gazette Player of the Year for the 2024 season, joins fellow returners and seniors Emory Van Ackeren and Julia Spergel as team captains.
“Molly is a great leader,” Vereb said. “She’s very vocal and very adamant on communication with teammates. She’s a good leader during the games, as well. She’s loud, vocal and very in touch with her back line.
“Emory and Julia are both three-year starters, so they’ve been in big games before,” Vereb continued. “They know what it takes, and both play on the back line. Julia has moved as a forward to defender based on necessity. She’s done well for us in that position.”
The Indians also returned stopper Fallan Malley and All-Section defender Cailin Martin. Vereb said Malley is one of the “more dominant ball winners in Western Pennsylvania.”
Just like every high school team across the country, Vereb and Peters Township are dealing with illness and injury. However, the Indians were dealt a crushing blow when sophomore Taylor McCullough endured a potentially season-ending injury early in the season.
Peters Township has another tough slew of Section 2 games to round out September, with clashes against Mt. Lebanon and a rematch against Canon-McMillan on the radar.
“Those games will be tight,” Vereb said. “Mt. Lebanon is undefeated in section, as well. We have them next, but it’s no different than any tight section game. We need to come to play. Playing on Mt. Lebanon’s field is always a challenge. It’s very narrow, so you have to be more direct [in] possession.”
The reigning Class 4A champions know there is a target on their backs, but Vereb said the playoffs will be the final judgment for teams.
“Obviously you want to do well during the regular season, but the last seven, 10 days is where you get judged the most in playoff soccer,” he said. “Playoff soccer gives you the challenge of winning an overtime game or shootout. We were close to having our season end in the semifinals. You have to be able to scratch out a victory in those tight playoff games, especially toward the end.”
