Local players on top-4 ranked women’s soccer teams
0707_SPT_latsko_02 Katie Roupe / Observer-Reporter Peters-Township's Veronica Latsko is the Observer-Reporter's female athlete of the year.
Veronica Latsko, a sophomore at Virginia, has scored three goals in seven matches for the Cavaliers’ undefeated and No. 1-ranked women’s soccer team.
A Venetia native and Peters Township graduate, Latsko scored the opening goal in a 2-2 tie at Pepperdine, and scored in wins over North Carolina-Wilmington (8-0) and Delaware (6-1).
A former Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Year and state player of the year, Latsko is third on the team in shots (18). She also has one assist.
Virginia (6-0-1) will play at Pitt Oct. 31.
West Virginia is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation and the Mountaineers (7-1) have two former Trinity players playing significant roles.
Senior defender Maggie Bedillion and senior midfielder Amanda Hill each have played in all eight games. Hill scored the only goal in West Virginia’s 1-0 victory over then-No. 5-ranked Penn State on Sept. 4 in Morgantown. Hill headed in a serve from a teammate during the first half and the Mountaineers, led by Bedillion’s steady play on the back line, preserved the shutout.
Hill is a team captain and started all 22 matches last year.
Bedillion has been credited with two assists. She was one of four Mountaineers to play more than 2,000 minutes last season, when she scored her first three career goals.
Bedillion and Hill are two of three Washington County natives on the Mountaineers’ roster. Laurel Carpenter, a freshman midfielder from McMurray and Peters Township graduate, has played in two games.
Garrett Vulcano, a junior linebacker from Houston, is the leading tackler for West Liberty’s defense.
Vulcano has made 17 tackles in two games for the Hilltoppers (1-1), including 2½ for losses. Vulcano, who was the all-time leader in wrestling wins (154) at Chartiers-Houston, was named the Mountain East Conference Defensive Player of the Week after the Hilltoppers’ 29-28 season-opening win over No. 9-ranked Concord.
He made six tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and recovered a fumble. Vulcano’s biggest contribution was on special teams, when he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown that gave the Hilltoppers an early lead.
Cooper Schroeder, a junior tight end from Canonsburg, is the leading receiver for Alderson-Broaddus.
Schroeder has eight receptions on the season and had a big game in the Battlers’ 22-14 season-opening win over Central State as he caught eight passes for 121 yards.
Former California High School standouts T.D. Conway and Dakota Conway are part of a strong passing game at North Park in Chicago.
T.D. Conway, a junior, is the starting quarterback for the Vikings (1-1). He has completed 55 of 103 passes for 530 yards and four touchdowns. He threw three touchdown passes last week in a 41-31 loss to St. Norbert.
Dakota Conway is a senior wide receiver who has caught eight passes for 121 yards. He snagged five passes in the Vikings’ season-opening win over Concordia (Wisc.).
Demetrius Louis of Donora, a sophomore running back at Lackawanna Community College, might be primed for a big season with the Falcons. A Donora native and Ringgold product, Louis rushed for 67 yards on only six carries in a 53-7 win over the Navy Prep School. Louis scored on a 12-yard run.
Washington & Lee’s Kirsten McMichael, a freshman from Eighty Four and a Ringgold graduate, placed fifth among all non-Division I runners in the James Madison Invitational last weekend. Running in the rain, McMichael had a time of 21:20.0.
McMichael also finished 33rd out of a field of 116 runners in the season-opening Galen Piper Cross Country Challenge at Shippensburg Invitational.
Mike Bruno, a Cecil resident and the head women’s coach at Point Park, recently won his 250th game with the Pioneers when they defeated West Virginia Wesleyan.
Bruno has a 250-153 career record in 11 years at Point Park. His career record is 366-211. Bruno was the head coach at Waynesburg University for five years and was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Coach of the Year three times.
At Point Park, Bruno was the Regional Coach of the Year in 2011, when he guided the Pioneers to the NAIA national tournament. He is the all-time winningest coach in Point Park volleyball history. He began the current season ranked 15th in the nation in career wins among active coaches.
One of Bruno’s players at Point Park is Shiloh Simonson, a junior outside hitter from Venetia and a Peters Township graduate. Simonson leads Point Park with 89 kills and 19 aces in 45 games. She also is third in blocks.
Lacey Levers, a junior middle hitter from Houston, continues to be a force for Duquesne. Levers is second on the Dukes in kills with 110 and leads the team with 38 blocks. She has played in all 43 games of the Dukes’ games this season.
Last year, Levers was fourth in the Atlantic 10 with a .365 hitting percentage.
Two local players had big summers in college wood bat leagues.
Nick Riotto was named first team All-Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League as an outfielder after finishing third in the league in batting with a .385 average for the Galion (Ohio) Graders. A Washington native and Trinity graduate, Riotto was 40-for-104 with 11 stolen bases. He struck out only 10 times in 126 plate appearances.
Riotto is a junior at Penn State.
Mike Bittel, a right-handed pitcher from McMurray and a Peters Township graduate, helped the Edenton (N.C.) Steamers win the Coastal Plain League championship.
Bittel made six starts during the regular season and posted a 3-2 record and 2.61 ERA with 34 strikeouts and only nine walks in 31 innings. Bittel then went 1-0 and pitched 12 innings in the playoffs. He was the starting pitcher in the championship game as Edenton beat the Gastonia Grizzlies 10-4 to win the Pettit Cup.
Bittel is a senior at Seton Hill. He was one of three PSAC players for Edenton, which was named the top summer league team in the nation by Perfect Game. California utility player Mick Fennell and East Stroudsburg pitcher Matt Festa also played for Edenton.