North Catholic boys soccer living up to lofty expectations, Butler’s Lewandowski hits milestone: What to watch
Overall, North Catholic’s boys soccer team has met expectations.
Even exceeded them, Trojans coach Scott Schlegel said.
Nearly all of last year’s starters returned, and the crew has put together a 14-2-1 mark, including 12-1-0 in WPIAL Section 1-2A play. North Catholic has locked up at least a share of the section crown heading into Tuesday’s regular-season finale at Valley.
“We knew we were a veteran team coming into the year, but that wasn’t gonna be enough, and they’ve really worked on game-planned discipline,” Schlegel said. “That’s continued to grow throughout the year.”
The Trojans are “15-16 deep” thanks to contributions off the bench, Schlegel said. There’s no drop-off when reserves enter, either.
“We’ve had injuries and illnesses, and the guys who were not getting the start are now getting starts — and maybe even keeping that starting job because of the way they played,” Schlegel said.
Senior wing back Gabe Martins is one of those players. He’s also served as the Trojans’ backup goalkeeper. Sophomore defender Mark Betters and junior forward Matthew Liscinsky are others who have stepped up and earned significant minutes.
Schlegel pointed to his team’s matchups with Shady Side Academy and Deer Lakes as proof North Catholic is ready to make the next step in the postseason. The Trojans went a combined 3-1 against those squads.
“The opportunity to get to a section title, you have to win these games,” Schlegel said. “You have to get a result out of these games, and each one is the most important because you can’t get to the next step without taking care of business in that first step.”
During a 3-1 section loss Thursday to North Catholic, Butler junior Raina Lewandowski notched the 500th kill of her high school girls volleyball career.
“Raina is a high-quality, six rotation player that we rely on to carry a large portion of our offensive responsibilities,” Golden Tornado coach Halee McCance said. “In a single season, Raina has well over 300 kills, which in our section is outstanding.”
Butler is a long shot to make the postseason but finishes its regular season against North Allegheny and Pine-Richland this week.
