Laurel Highlands clinches second place in Section 4
Laurel Highlands boys soccer coach Brad Takach couldn’t have scripted the season finale at home against Uniontown Tuesday any better. The Mustangs won 5-1, on senior night, secured second place in Section 4-AAA, and escaped the dreary, rainy evening without any injuries while Takach cleared the bench to allow three senior-freshmen brother combinations to play together.
The victory coupled with Bethel Park’s 3-1 victory over Baldwin gave sole possession of second place to Laurel Highlands. The Mustangs finished 10-4 in the section and 11-5-1 overall, and will now await word of the Class AAA playoff pairings.
Laurel Highlands applied the most pressure through the first half of the opening half with Uniontown goaltender Josh Skvarla turning aside several good scoring opportunities. Clay Krysak responded for Uniontown about 12 minutes into the game when he broke free down the slot, then followed up with a rebound only to have Paul Briczinski hold his ground.
Laurel Highlands finally translated the pressure into a goal from a corner kick. Gary Valusek struck the ball from the right corner, but the Uniontown defense was unable to clear. Valusek gathered the rebound and hit a cross towards the left post where Ryan Fiano was unmarked. Fiano drilled the ball into the open net for a 1-0 lead.
Laurel Highlands kept up the pressure, maintaining possession of the ball in the Uniontown territory for much of the half. Fiano and Mike Lukach broke free on a 2-on-1, and Lukach buried Fiano’s pass at the 13-minute mark of the half.
Skvarla came face to face with Lukach six minutes later and the senior striker had the Uniontown goaltender at his mercy for his second goal of the half at 6:22. The Red Raiders were down a man with a defender hurt on the play though the officials decided to play on.
Loose balls in front of the net usually turn into goals and that’s exactly what happened on the final goal of the half. Lukach was at the right place at the right time, settling a pass near the goal and firing the ball past Skvarla for the natural hat trick.
Takach said his players stuck to the game plan despite the inclement weather.
“Our focus is on possession. We want to build a slow attack. It’s like football. Possessing the ball wears down the clock,” Takach said.
Both teams had a couple of good scoring chances in the second half, but it wasn’t until there was less than seven minutes in the game before a goaltender would cede a goal.
Chris Semans, a senior defenseman, scored his first goal of the season, an unassisted tally, with 6:54 remaining in the game.
Uniontown was determined to score a goal and Clay Krysak made sure the Red Raiders would on 11 seconds after the Semans goal. Krysak took a pass near midfield and streaked down the left side of the field towards Briczinski. The Mustangs goaltender came out to challenge Krysak and the striker chipped the ball past Briczinski, deflecting off the right post and dribbling into the net for a goal.
Uniontown boys soccer coach Jason Dunham was pleased with his team’s effort against the playoff team. The Red Raiders finished 2-12 in the section and 2-14 overall.
“We played a little better in the second half. Scoring the goal was good for the guys,” Dunham said. “Consistency has been the story. We’ve had some letdowns. We played well in the first 20 minutes and in the second half.
“Laurel Highlands is a solid team. They’ll be a tough team in the playoffs.”
Takach looked to the playoffs, saying, “It doesn’t matter who we play. We could be a surprise. We’re a little more defensive so we’ll need to build up our offense.”
The WPIAL pairings will be announced later today with games scheduled to begin next week.