By DEAN DELLAMALVA JR.
MVI Sports
It was not the debut season head coach Andrew Dyson and the South Allegheny girls soccer team wanted. The 2019 season ended with few wins, low numbers and several injuries.
The Gladiators (3-14, 0-12 in Sec. 3-2A) are looking for a much more successful season in 2020 and they will do it with an influx of youth and depth. These are two attributes that SA has not had in concert recently.
“Considering how young we look, I think that we’re looking pretty good so far in preseason,” said Dyson, who played at Yough and Thiel College before becoming an SA assistant coach in 2015. “We are starting to gel as a team, but definitely have some work to do as far as solidifying the starting 11.
“My expectations for this team are that they are going to perform and if they don’t, there are other players willing to step up and play on that night. It’s been a while since we’ve had the roster to be able to say that. I would like to see this team make it into the postseason.”
South Allegheny lost two starters from last year’s squad: Midfielder Carissa Sullinger has moved on and is playing at Alderson Broaddus and defender Madison Taylor graduated. Also gone, is a team that was shut out 10 times and only tallied 22 goals.
“Last year we got plagued with injuries and were really low on numbers,” said Dyson. “We had scoring threats but were never really able to string together something to produce.”
However, those two seniors have been replaced by nine incoming freshmen players who will look to add to the experience already in place. Four juniors and five sophomores will round out the roster. Dyson hopes there is a lot of teamwork on the squad and will be looking for some goal contributions from the newcomers.
“I think that this year is going to be a huge team effort,” said Dyson. “I’m looking for a few of my freshmen to step up and take on a scoring roll. But I have a few returners that will be key parts to success both on offense and defense.”
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