Top of their games
Austin Rocke and Breana Valentovish are both leaving behind big voids to fill in the wake of their high school soccer careers.
Rocke tallied 28 goals and 12 assists for Mars' boys last fall while Valentovish contributed 16 goals and six assists for Seneca Valley's girls.
Both seniors earned all-state recognition for their efforts.
Aside from her own stats, Valentovish brought valuable intangibles to the field.
“She gave her teammates the opportunity to score and made them better players,” said SV coach Mark Perry. “She's very strong in the air, was a big ball-winner in the midfield and had as big a throw-in as anyone in the WPIAL. That was a major weapon for us.
“It's going to take three or four players to replace what she did for us.”
Valentovish was strictly an attacking player her freshman season. The next year proved to be a turning point for her.
“I started playing more in the midfield and had more defensive responsibilities,” said Valentovish, who will play collegiately at Carnegie Mellon University. “I was helping my team in more than one way.”
All the while, she never lost the knack for finding the net.
“As a junior, we moved her back and forth between forward and midfielder, depending on who we were playing and what the score was at the time,” said Perry, “but she always maintained that mentality to score.”
Valentovish won Butler Eagle Girls Soccer Player of the Year honors as a junior when she scored 19 goals and had nine assists while leading the Raiders to a WPIAL title. She scored the tying goal in regulation in the championship game against Peters Township and SV went on to win in overtime.
“What I'm going to remember more than that are my teammates,” she said. “I made my best friends through soccer.”
Valentovish is now eager to play at the next level.
“I'm looking forward to challenging myself on and off the field and creating great bonds with my new teammates.”
Rocke played for Mars as a freshman, junior and senior and took a valuable detour inbetween.In 2017, he was involved with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds' development academy. While there, he caught the eye of a representative from the Columbus Crew, a Major League Soccer team.He was invited to join that franchise's development program and accepted the offer, staying with a host family in Ohio while completing schoolwork online.“We'd train four days every week and then play a game or go to a showcase on weekends,” said Rocke. “I took trips to Colorado, Florida, California ... The experience was amazing. Two of the guys I played with signed pro contracts.”Rocke returned to Mars for his junior year and put up 20 goals and 19 assists.“It meant a lot to me to come back and produce what I did for the high school team, but I couldn't have done any of it without my teammates,” said Rocke, whose versatility sparked the Planets.“Austin is one of the most skilled players we've seen here,” said Mars coach Chris Knauff. “His control of the ball, paired with his strength make him a very difficult player to match up with. You see other players with his numbers, not all of them are able to drop back and control the midfield like he did.“He was never our closest player to the (opposing) goal.”Rocke plans to play in college, but has yet to make a final decision. Duquesne, West Virginia, Vermont and New Hampshire are all still possibilities.“I'm keeping an open mind about it,” he said. “I want to play Division I soccer, but my long-term goal is to play professionally.”
