Central Mountain girls’ soccer look to build on last year’s development

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – The numbers are down for girls’ soccer at Central Mountain High School, but the team’s attitude is good, and the work ethic is there, according to head coach Ryan Veltri.

There are 21 players at the high school level this season, another 20 on the middle school team. Coach Veltri noted the numbers are down, but every girl returned from last year’s squad and a phased rebuild is underway.

The Record recently did a question-and-answer with coach Veltri:

Goals and aspirations?
“The goal is always to have a good time together, create and build upon traditions of the past and create lasting memories. Beyond that, we would like to compete against the teams in the PHAC, build upon last year’s development and ultimate goal is to always find ourselves fighting to get a play-off spot. Those are stepping blocks, we will always have higher goals that we tuck away and discuss as coaches.”

  Anticipated strengths?
“Anticipated strengths include work ethic and willingness to compete, game-specific fitness and the ability to play with a bit of energy. We also hope we become a good passing team who looks to score some goals and mix some things up in the league.”

Areas of concern?
The area of concern is our numbers. We do not have a large group which affects the development of our younger players and depth of our squad. We will have to find a way to navigate that this year knowing that the future looks bright as there are a lot of young girls playing soccer in this area and we are excited about that growth”.

The schedule overview and in the Heartland Conference?
“Our schedule is tough, probably more difficult than in years past. The PHAC is a very strong league and we will have to go into battle every single game against very technical teams. We will have to be tactically organized and it will be ever-changing based on the teams we see and their strengths. We will have to navigate how our performances can give us the best chance to keep games close and show growth. Our non-league games are also going to test us and we will need to make sure we are prepared, disciplined and organized for each game. It is not an easy season; we have three games in the first four days when the season opens so we will have to figure out how to get as much out of the girls as possible. It is a big mountain to climb but the girls are eager to gain some respect this season.”

Any additional thoughts?
“The program has seen some dark years but the energy and excitement right now during the difficult days of pre-season show promise that we are getting back to the days when it meant a lot to be a Lady Wildcat soccer player. We talk a lot about the alumni and the teams of the past and I think the current team wants to be mentioned with some of those teams. They have a great attitude right now so we are hoping that as we grind through a difficult season, we can find positives every day.”

The Lady ‘Cats had a scrimmage last Saturday at Hughesville and were to host State College on Wednesday of this week. The regular season is to open at Penns Valley next Monday at 6 p.m.

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