North Catholic’s Scheel deposits two goals in 3-0 win over Mars
ADAMS TWP — North Catholic’s Dylan Scheel pumped his fists as he exited the post-game handshake line, showering his teammates with words of affirmation.
According to the 6-foot-3 senior center-back-turned-forward, the 3-0 WPIAL Section 1-3A boys soccer victory was much needed.
“It revives us,” Scheel said. “This was a statement win for us.”
The visiting Trojans (1-3-1, 1-1-0) entered the contest without a win in their first three match-ups of the campaign — including a 4-2 loss against Armstrong to open section play last week.
“You only get so many section games, you can’t get farther down, right?” North coach Scott Schlegel said. “The close rivalry is always something you look forward to. The 0-3, I don’t want to say it’s a reflection of how we are coming together as a team.
“We’ve got a new coaching staff. We’ve got new senior leaders, and we’re trying to play a little bit (of a) different style.”
That includes moving players around, trying to find the best possible combination. Scheel was operating as a defender to open the season. He put away the latter two markers of the win — one a header off a corner kick in the 25th minute and a free kick in the 64th.
“Luckily, I’ve got Jake (Stofko) — who had that corner — who just plays amazing balls to me,” Scheel said. “Again, it makes it easy for me. It’s nice to be tall, but you’ve got to have guys who get the ball to you — and we have that.”
“When you have a target nine like that, you can play a couple different formations,” Schlegel said. “It allows your midfield to relieve some pressure, then we can build together — versus always feeling like we’ve got to combine to get through.
“He’s a good hold-up player and he’s also really good in the air.”
As complementary of his teammates as he was, Scheel’s frame did pose problems to the Planets (2-2-1, 1-1-1).
“He’s got some size and I don’t think we matched up to him very well,” Mars coach Chris Knauff said. “I think if you give a player like that an inch, he’s going to take advantage of it.”
The Planets couldn’t piece much together on the other end, either, mustering just one shot on goal in the initial 40 minutes.
“We definitely struggled in the offensive third,” Knauff said. “I think that they defended really well. They made it difficult for us to play down the middle, and we struggled with the idea of using the width of the field and coming back in. So, we kind of played into their hands and they just defended the dangerous areas really well and made it tough.”
Senior forward Ryan Shantz broke the seal on the scoreboard with a well-executed bicycle kick that sent the ball into the bottom left corner of Kaden Gratton’s net. Schlegel is typically against such a technique, but couldn’t help but smile at the result.
“It’s odd, because we haven’t been there this year,” he said. “As a new coach, it was nice to see us go get the first goal. We’ve kind of absorbed in the first couple games.”
Sophomores Gannon Pappas and Adam Mashuda made it possible for Scheel’s move with their adeptness on the defensive end. As for whether Scheel will stay put, Schlegel didn’t want to give away any secrets.
The Trojans will host Indiana on Thursday, while the Planets take on Quaker Valley for the third of a three-game home stand.
