CRANBERRY TWP — Sam Patry, Jorge Olan and Adam Mascio know all about winning.

They just wish they had a little practice time to go with it.

The Cranberry Township residents were members of the PA West U-16 Olympic Development soccer team that recently returned from the ODP National Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz.

The squad marked only the second PA West team to ever reach nationals. The 2010 team finished third in the nation.

“It’s so hard to get there,” said PA West coach Reuben Azevedo, also from Cranberry Township. “We had to win Region I first and that’s beating teams representing 15 other states.

“We played well out there. Sometimes you need some breaks and we didn’t get any.”

PA West dropped a 3-0 decision to Iowa — allowing two goals in the first seven minutes — and a 1-0 decision to Florida in the consolation final.

The cancellation of a “friendly tournament” in Williamsburg, Va., leading up to ODP Nationals may have affected the PA West entrant’s play in Phoenix.

“That was going to serve as our tune-up,” Azevedo said. “They had to cancel that tournament because of the bad weather and that hurt us.

“Our kids didn’t get any 11 on 11 time together. We had about six indoor training sessions and that was it. Then we had to go play the best of the best.”

The 18-player PA West squad consisted of players from all over Western Pennsylvania, as far north as Erie and ranging toward the central part of the state.

Players were on the team from Washington, Lower Burrell, Leechburg, Connellsville, Verona, Export, etc.

Mascio and Olan play for Seneca Valley High School, which was 16-3 last year. Mascio was a forward who compiled a number of assists for the Raiders while Olan is a center-midfielder.

Patry is a center back for Central Catholic, which finished 21-3 last fall while winning its fifth consecutive section title.

“We’re not going to use any excuses, but being able to play in Williamsburg definitely would have helped us,” Mascio said. “We could have figured some things out there instead of having to do it during our first game at nationals.

“We gave up the two early goals. We adjusted and did fine after that.”

Patry agreed.

“We didn’t have good communication on defense early in that first game,” Patry said. “We weren’t ready to play the game at the start.

“Not getting outside at all to play 11-on-11 ... It definitely affected us.”

Azevedo said that falling behind 2-0 early against that caliber of competition is “too much to recover from.”

“We hit a goalpost a while after that ... If we get that goal, it’s 2-1 and who knows? But like I said, the breaks didn’t happen for us,” the coach added.

Olan pointed out that the teams from the other three regions were able to adequately prepare for the tournament.

“Unfortunately, we were the ones hit by the weather,” he said. “The other three teams, they were able to stay outside the entire time. I definitely think it made a difference.”

Patry, Mascio and Olan all have hopes of playing soccer in college. Numerous collegiate coaches attended the ODP Nationals.

“I’ll probably play at a Division III school, whatever suits my academics,” Olan said. “I want to major in biology and go on to medical school.”

“The division or level of play doesn’t matter to me,” Mascio said. “I’ll go where it’s the best fit for me.”

All three have been playing Cup soccer for five years or more and have been participating in the sport since they were little kids.

And they appreciated the atmosphere of a four-team national tournament.

“The facilities were outstanding and they took care of us out there,” Mascio said. “The competition was like nothing I’ve seen and the excitement ... You could feel it.”

Olan agreed.

“Tremendous experience, great atmosphere — I was proud to be part of it,” he said.