How Lucia Leyland is finding her place in Butler girls soccer’s attack as playmaking scorer
BUTLER TWP — Entering this season, Lucia Leyland heard the words every soccer player loves to hear, though there were still some nerves attached with them.
“Last year, her primary role was a facilitator, so she racked up the assists with Cecelia (Wolford, now playing for Slippery Rock University),” Butler girls soccer coach Dan Buzzard said. “Once Cecelia was gone this year, we told her, 'Hey, we need you to be back to being selfish and take your chances.'”
Leyland, the Golden Tornado's offensive centerpiece and also ticketed to play for The Rock, fired in her first goal of the season in the team's opener against Gateway, and hasn't looked back since. Through Butler's first 11 games, Leyland has netted 11 goals, while still placing an emphasis on setting up Golden Tornado (5-4-1, 1-2 WPIAL Section 3-4A) teammates to score.
“I also still want to keep that same initiative to create more goal-scoring opportunities for others, as well,” Leyland said.
“When she recognizes there's a gap and there's a ball to be played, she's still — in those moments — unselfish, where she is still putting those balls off to better scoring opportunities,” Buzzard said.
Leyland set her sights on having a goal per game, an objective that reminds her not to hesitate when she has the ball. Buzzard feels she's able to do it.
Knowing when to dish it versus when to let it rip at the net is a situational decision. With more games, Buzzard said, it's easier to read what's in front, and Leyland has been playing the sport since she was 3 years old.
Leyland likes to take passes into the middle and dribble through opponents before shooting, but “there's so many different ways, I feel like, that I'm able to score,” she said. “I'm proud of my versatility. I can hit long shots, I can score within the box. … But my favorite is being able to receive the ball after maintaining possession and ripping those quick shots that the keeper's not able to see and finishing in low corners.”
Having been a captain for her club team, Steel City FC, for three years, and also part of the “second pool” for the club's semi-professional group, Leyland's experiences outside of the high school scene have given her a better grasp on being a leader, as evidenced by how she keeps teammates involved while on the attack.
If not for some exceptional goalkeeper play in WPIAL section competition, Leyland would have better statistics.
“She's on the ball all the time,” Buzzard said. “She's playing a really well-rounded game, and I'll tell you what, man, she's had some bad luck in some games where we have some really good keepers in our section, and boy, in a couple games, they've made some absolutely incredible saves on shots that otherwise would've went in.”
Butler dropped section matchups against Seneca Valley and North Allegheny over the past two weeks. Buzzard stressed there are only so many chances that come around against teams like those, and Leyland views the 2-0 loss to the Raiders last week, specifically, as a learning lesson for herself and the team to be more assertive.
Butler squares off with North Hills on the road Wednesday night.
