Oct 23, 2002 By The 1 min read

The Laurel Highlands boys’ soccer season ended Tuesday with a 5-0 loss to Pine-Richland in the first round of the WPIAL AAA playoffs. The Mustangs got off to a slow start as Pine-Richland’s Ryan Babaracco, Greg Walsh and Evan Picard scored to leave LH down 3-0 in the first half.

“It was hard to pick the pace back up,” said LH coach Brad Takach. “You dig yourself into a hole and it’s hard to get out of.”

The Mustangs (11-5-1) picked it up in the second half, but a goal by Ryan Ulbrich and Walsh’s second put the game out of reach.

“I thought our guys played well in the second half,” said Takach. “Pine-Richland is a tough team. They are very quick.”

Pine-Richland outshot LH 17-7. Paul Briczinski had 12 saves at goal for Laurel Highlands, while Matt Deming had four saves for the Rams.

“I think the guys had a great season. They put a lot of hard work in and I’m proud of their effort,” added Takach.

Laurel Highlands loses nine seniors going into next season. “We have to count on the younger guys to step it up for next year,” Takach said.