Pitt-Greensburg women's soccer continues season of 1sts

For the first time in program history, the Pitt-Greensburg women’s soccer team is a conference champion.

The Bobcats (19-0-1) defeated D’Youville, 1-0, in overtime in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference semifinals Nov. 6 before beating Penn State Behrend, 3-2, in the championship game.

With the tournament crown, Pitt-Greensburg earned an automatic bid to the Division III NCAA Tournament.

It will travel to Illinois to take on the University of Chicago (12-2-3) at noon Saturday. The winner advances to the regional championship at 2 p.m. Sunday.

It was a season of many firsts for the program with the first undefeated regular season (17-0-1) and the first bid for the NCAA tournament among other accomplishments.

Team accolades were not the only highlight for the Bobcats this season. Five players were selected to the all-conference first team, and eighth-year coach Chuck Wigle was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

Wigle knew he had a special team during training camp.

“This team works extremely hard. The coaching staff was impressed with the effort and perseverance this group showed up with this preseason,” he said.

“We set some lofty fitness goals and ran the toughest camp we’ve ever run. The team excelled in these conditions and learned to lean and count on each other early in the year.”

Freshman forward/midfielder Ashley Lucas was named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year as well as Newcomer of the Year. She led the team with 23 goals and 11 assists.

Lucas leads the AMCC four categories, including 57 points and 111 shots. She also leads Division III with 12 game-clinching scores.

Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Yoder was awarded Defensive Player of the Year honors, leading the conference in five categories including 18 wins, a .925 save percentage and 14 shutouts.

The Bobcats have outscored opponents 58-7.

Tiffany Michalek, Alexsia Barlamas and Tori Conroy were selected to the all-conference first team, and Brooke Ianarelli was named to the third team.

“Our returners have improved so much, especially Michalek and Yoder,” Wigle said. “Their preparation coming into this year has been exceptional, and it shows in their achievements.”

Conroy, the team’s lone senior, is one of eight Pitt-Greensburg upperclassmen.

She guided the Bobcat defense, which led the conference with 15 shutouts and a 0.34 goals-against-average.

“Tori works so hard and has been so good for four years,” Wigle said. “We defend the ball well as a team and get numbers behind the ball.

“Our forwards defend their positions well, our midfield works extremely hard and is well-organized, our backs are tough to break down and Yoder has been our rock.”

It is not Wigle’s first time being noticed by peers for efforts in building a thriving program.

He also was given the title in 2016 after leading a program that finished 0-14-2 the year before he was hired to its first winning season in his coaching tenure.

The 2016 team went 10-8-2, falling to Penn State Behrend, 6-1, in the conference championship game.

The Bobcats have produced four straight winning seasons under Wigle, with this season being the most decorated to date, winning the regular-season conference title before the conference tournament crown.

“We’ve worked really hard to create a program that means something,” Wigle said. “Our culture is tough, will challenge you, make you a better person and a better student-athlete.”