Century Steel, Hotspurs girls soccer teams gearing up for national championships

The Century Steel 2006 Blue and Pittsburgh Hotspurs 2005 Blue girls soccer teams took different paths to qualifying for the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships.

But the teams have a common goal of challenging for a national title starting Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla.

“At nationals, you have to be turned on from the beginning,” said Century Steel coach Blair Gerlach, who saw his team qualify for nationals at a high-level national tournament in North Carolina in February.

“These high-caliber teams that we will play don’t need our help, but they will jump on mistakes. We have to be very sharp, ultra competitive and hope our low moments don’t last very long. We have to be ready to make adjustments very quickly.”

Century Steel features rising freshmen and sophomores from North Allegheny, North Catholic, Moon, Mars, Butler, North Hills, Pine-Richland, Armstrong, Ambridge and Shaler high schools.

A collection of rising sophomores and juniors from Plum, Yough, Gateway, Norwin, Latrobe, Oakland Catholic, Mt. Lebanon and DuBois comprise the Hotspurs team.

The journey to nationals for the Hotspurs started with a division win in the USYS Great Lakes Conference and capturing the PA State Cup.

The team punched its ticket to nationals with a 5-0-1 record and the title at the 20-team Eastern Regional earlier this month in Hammonton, N.J. It outscored its opponents 23-9.

“To have their concentration be at a high level for all those games was impressive,” Hotspurs coach Thomas Ovenden said. “They showed more resilience than I’ve ever seen before. They got into some tough situations and some questions were asked of them, but they found a way out. Getting better and better as the year has gone on has been a key to their success.”

Century Steel will play in the 15U division, while the Hotspurs are in 16U. Each division will play three pool games from Tuesday through Thursday. After a rest day, the semifinals and finals will be Saturday and Sunday.

“We’ve known since February that we were going to nationals,” Gerlach said. “I told the girls that everything they do before nationals was preparation and wanting to be at our very best. It took a little pressure off for State Cup and also for regionals. But the girls still had it in them to play their best, perform well and learn more about themselves. They certainly didn’t coast through any part of the season.”

All three of Century Steel’s games at the Eastern Regional were decided by one goal. The team rebounded from a 2-1 loss in its opener to post a 2-1 win. A 1-0 loss in Game 3 eliminated the team short of the quarterfinal playoffs.

“We lost the 2-1 game with literally no time left on the clock,” Gerlach said. “All three games were extremely competitive. We easily could’ve been 3-0 or 0-3. It was that close. You want those experiences and the opportunity to prepare for those bigger stages. Sometimes the results don’t go your way, and sometimes you get a bounce.”

Ovenden said he likes the way his Hotspurs team — a majority of the players have been together for three years — is playing heading into its national tournament. It won its regional semifinal game in a shootout and topped Syracuse Development Academy, 4-3, in the finals.

“The depth in the squad is huge,” Ovenden said. “You might have that strong starting 11, but to have that bench is so important. We have that. You have to have that going for you if you are going to have success at these big youth events. You are playing multiple games in the span of five or six days.

“Everyone is pushing everyone else to be better and better. ‘Iron sharpens iron’ is a phrase often used. A lot of girls are chipping in with big goals and assists.”