Oct 25, 2022 3 min read

CHARLEROI – There are times when a player does something small that stands out in helping his team win a big game.

Tuesday night, Charleroi junior Arlo McIntyre was that player, and his effort helped carry the Cougars to a 2-0 WPIAL Class A first-round boys soccer playoff win over ninth-seeded Freedom (12-5).

With eighth-seeded Charleroi (15-2) leading 1-0 early in the second half, McIntyre gave the Cougars an insurance goal, but it was what he did minutes later that helped carry Charleroi to a third matchup with top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic on Saturday.

When Charleroi junior goalkeeper Nate Mazon was called for a penalty and given a yellow card with 20 minutes left, McIntyre moved into goal and made three saves within 90 seconds, two of which that were from point-blank range, to maintain the Charleroi shutout.

“That’s one of the big reasons he has a ‘C’ on his arm,” Charleroi coach John Ducoli said of McIntyre’s complete effort. “He stepped up for us and is a multidimensional player who showed he can put the ball in the back of the net and can keep the ball from going into the back of the net.”

The effort of the entire team was not lost on Ducoli.

“We wanted to put them on their heels and make them play our game at our speed,” he said. “Once we scored, everything else fell into place. The guys were hungry and focused.”

The Cougars got on the scoreboard when freshman Dylan Klinger scored off a corner kick from sophomore Landon Barcus with 11:09 to go in the first half.

The Cougars looked primed to double their lead just before halftime, but junior Bryce Large’s shot from 18 yards out hit the crossbar with 14 seconds left in the half.

While the Cougars couldn’t extend their lead in the first half, they did just that with 30:20 left in the match.

Large played the ball from the left corner and when the defense drew towards him to cut him off, he hit McIntyre with a pass. McIntyre scored from three yards out to give the Cougars their 2-0 lead.

“My teammates moved the ball around and I was in the right spot,” McIntyre said. “We moved the ball well today and (Large) set me up.”

Speaking of moving, McIntyre said he will play wherever he has to if it will help the team have a better chance of winning.

“I (go in goal) at practice sometimes,” he said. “I have to be ready to step up at any time for the team and sacrifice myself for the team.”

After McIntyre played goal for a little more than five minutes, Mazon returned, McIntyre returned into the field and the Cougars were able to melt the clock away and earn the shutout win.

Charleroi, who entered the playoffs with the best record of all Class A public schools, is hoping the third time’s the charm with GCC (15-2). Charleroi’s only losses were to the Centurions, 7-3 and 9-0.

“We know what they are like,” Ducoli said. “We are going to go in there and stick to our game plan.”