Sep 5, 2017 3 min read

CHARLEROI – Caleb Carson was incredible in goal and Chase Kepich recorded a hat trick.

But Charleroi head coach Jon Ducoli credited his team after it defeated defending section champion Waynesburg, 4-0, in its Section 3-AA opener Tuesday night.

“This win boiled down to our discipline on the field. We played as a complete unit,” Ducoli said. “Once things got clicking, we were hard to shut down.”

The effort from Charleroi even made an impression to the coach on the opposite side of the field.

“Charleroi came out and played a disciplined style,” said Waynesburg head coach Matt Blair. “I give them credit. They are a well-coached club. I think once we had a few close calls and then they scored, it snowballed from there.”

The first half was played mostly in between the 20-yard lines, with each team only having two quality opportunities in the opening 40 minutes.

With 4:29 remaining in the first half, Charleroi’s Randy Carson beat the Waynesburg goalkeeper Scott Benco to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

“It’s always tough going into the half after having chances and seeing them scoring,” Blair said.

Waynesburg had the first chance when sophomore Gavin Benson was awarded a free kick at the 27-minute mark. However, the ball hit the crossbar and the Cougars immediately cleared.

At the 19:03 mark of the first half, Waynesburg nearly took the lead as senior Blake Brewer split a pair of Charleroi defenders before his shot also sailed high and glanced off the crossbar.

The Raiders nearly tied the match early in the second half when Carson made a diving save on a three-on-one opportunity.

“He has always been good and he is playing even better now,” Ducoli said. “We hired Ryan Chiplaskey as his goalie coach and it has made a huge difference.”

The Cougars extended their lead to 2-0 with 25:54 to play when Kepich scored on a header off of a crossing pass from sophomore Cullin Woytovich.

The duo teamed up again to put the match away with 14:30. Kepich completed his hat trick when he scored with 11:36 to play.

“They are playing well off of each other right now,” Ducoli said. “Other guys are feeding off of that.”

The focus remains simple for Waynesburg, which has scored only one goal in its first three matches.

“I think it’s just a matter of possessing the ball and trying to force things too much instead of letting the play develop,” he said. “Once we relax and play within our skill set, we will be fine.”

Charleroi hosts Belle Vernon at 7 p.m. tonight in an exhibition match.

Waynesburg travels to Valley for a 7:30 p.m. start Thursday.