Latsko caps big season for Virginia
Veronica Latsko, the former Pennsylvania Girls Soccer Player of the Year while at Peters Township High School, continues to develop into one of the top players in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Latsko, a junior forward at Virginia, was named third team All-ACC after helping the cavaliers to the third round of the NCAA tournament and a 15-5-2 record.
A Venetia native, Latsko was the second-leading scorer this season for Virginia with eight goals and three assists for 19 points. She led the Cavaliers with four game-winning goals and was second in shots (47) and shots on goal (17).
Erin Ritzer, a senior midfielder on the Robert Morris University women’s soccer team, started all 16 games in her senior season, playing 1,189 minutes and leading the team with 18 shots on goal. The team’s leading scorer a season ago with five goals and three assists, Ritzer scored the game’s lone goal in the 76th minute of a 1-0 victory at Fairleigh Dickinson, helping keep the Colonials’ NEC Tournament hopes alive.
Ritzer was named to the 2016 Academic All-District 2 Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America, the first Colonial nominee since 2011.
Brothers Quad and Nico Law of Donora were the top two wide receivers at Gannon and helped the Golden Knights to a 5-6 record.
Quad Law, a redshirt senior, led Gannon with 52 pass receptions and four touchdowns. He averaged 11.5 yards catch and also carried the football 10 times for 117 yards. Nico Law, a redshirt freshman, was second on the team with 24 catches for 261 yards and two scores. Like his older brother, Nico also was utilized in the run game, carrying 13 times for 48 yards.
Both Laws were utilized as kick returners. Nico Law led Gannon with 13 punt returns and averaged 9.9 yards per return. He also averaged 19.1 yards on 14 kickoff returns. Quad Law was the Golden Knights’ primary kickoff returner, running back 17 and averaging 22.8 per attempt.
Each Law caught a touchdown pass in Gannon’s final game of the season, a 31-14 victory over Millersville. Nico opened the scoring by catching a 12-yard TD pass in the first quarter and Quad’s five-yard scoring catch in the fourth quarter ended the scoring.
Jaylin Kelly, a senior linebacker from Washington, played a key role in Youngstown State’s 38-24 victory Saturday over Samford in the first round of the Football Championship Series playoffs.
Kelly made three tackles in the game including his first quarterback sack of the season. He also was credited with one pass breakup and two quarterback hurries.
For the season, Kelly has 46 tackles including a season-high 13 Nov. 5 at North Dakota State. He had 180 career tackles in 45 games with the Penguins.
Youngstown State will play at Jacksonville State in the second round of the playoffs Saturday.
Alderson-Broaddus’ Cooper Schroeder, a senior tight end from Canonsburg, was named to the All-Great Midwest Conference team after leading the Battlers in pass receptions.
Schroeder, who has been a four-year starter, finished with 35 catches for 381 yards and two touchdowns. His top performance came at Georgetown (Ky.) when he caught 10 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. It was the third year in a row that Schroeder led A-B in receptions.
Alderson-Broaddus finished with a 9-2 record that included an upset win over Robert Morris in the season opener.
Bethany freshman linebacker Collin Johnson received honorable mention on the All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference team after being the third-leading tackler for the Bison.
A Belle Vernon graduate, Johnston made 52 tackles, including 3 ½ behind the line of scrimmage, and led Bethany with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Grove City wide receiver Nick Ponikvar, a freshman from Bridgeville, was the Wolverines’ leading pass receiver.
Ponikvar, who was a standout high school player at South Fayette, hauled in 58 passes for 756 yards and seven touchdowns in his first collegiate season. He had a season-high 14 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown in Grove City’s 31-26 season-opening loss to Juniata. The performance earned Ponikvar the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week honor. The 14 catches were the second-most in Grove City history.
Ponikvar also caught nine passes for 123 yards and a touchdown against Thiel and scored two TDs against PAC champion Thomas More.
Clayton Evans, a senior defensive lineman from Venetia, helped John Carroll end one of the longest winning streaks in collegiate sports history, win the Ohio Athletic Conference championship and qualify for the NCAA Division III playoffs.
A Peters Township graduate, Evans has been a steady contributor to the Blue Streaks’ defense. He is John Carroll’s eighth-leading tackler with 33 stops, including 3½ for loss, four quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery. He was named to the All-OAC second team defense.
Evans made four tackles Nov. 12 in John Carroll’s 31-28 victory over Mount Union, which ended the Purple Raiders’ 112-game regular-season winning streak. The win gave John Carroll the OAC championship and automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Blue Streaks defeated Olivet 37-12 in the first round as Evans made three tackles.
In the second round of the playoffs Saturday, Evans made four tackles including a sack as John Carroll defeated Wesley (Del.) 20-17. The Blue Streaks will play Wisconsin-Whitewater in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Kaitlyn Slagus, a sophomore forward from Belle Vernon, is off to a strong start for Bucknell.
Slagus is the Bison’s leading scorer and rebounder through six games, averaging 15.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest. She has scored at least 20 points in two games, a 22-point performance in a win over New Jersey Institute of Technology and a 20-point effort in a loss to Elon. Slagus scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in 10-point win over Binghamton.
Mike Lamberti, a former Observer-Reporter Player of the Year while at South Fayette before having a standout collegiate career at West Liberty, is in his first season as a graduate assistant coach at Embry Riddle, an NAIA school in Daytona Beach, Fla. Embry Riddle is off to a 4-2 start.
Grove City freshman Brittany Byer of Canonsburg was the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Women’s Swimmer of the Week for Oct. 31-Nov. 6.
A Canon-McMillan graduate, Byer earned her first weekly conference honor after taking part in three victories during the Wolverines’ 157-88 rout of Wheeling Jesuit. She won the 100 freestyle in 55.01 seconds and also took first place in the 200 freestyle (2:00.63), posting the second-fastest time of the year among PAC swimmers in both events. In addition, she swam the backstroke leg of the Wolverines’ victorious 200 medley relay (1:54.55).
When Clarion wrestled Campbell in a match Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C., it had a definite Greene County feel.
Wrestling for Clarion at 197 pounds was redshirt junior Dustin Conti, a Jefferson-Morgan product. The head coach for Campbell is Cary Kolat, a four-time PIAA champion at Jefferson-Morgan. Conti won an 8-6 decision over Campbell’s Willie Bivens but Kolat’s Campbell team won the match, 28-12.
Emma Lewis of Carmichaels and Victoria Helmantoler of Monongahela each were named first team All-Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference after leading Penn State-Fayette to its eighth conference championship in nine years.
Helmantoler, a junior setter, was first in the conference in service aces (68) and second in both total assists (767) and assists per set (8.07).
Lewis, a sophomore outside hitter, was third in the PSUAC in hitting percentage (.261), seventh in kills (85) and ranked in the top 10 in 11 statistical categories.
Kelsey Tyler, a freshman outside hitter from California, received honorable mention on the All-PSUAC team.
Penn State-Fayette finished the season with a 25-8 record.