CM girls soccer excited for new season

By John Lipez

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – If experience counts, 2023 could be a nice season for the Central Mountain girls’ soccer team. 13 letterwinners return for Coach Ryan Veltri’s team, the most in a while as program numbers are up.

There are 32 at the high school level and another 25 or so in junior high, pleasing coach Veltri, “We are very happy with the increase in numbers and have worked hard to build upon those numbers over the past two years.”

Asked about team strengths, coach Veltri was quick to cite the experience: “With 13 returning letterwinners and a large senior class, the experience of those returning players will help us navigate a tough schedule we have this season. The increase in numbers has also been a strength as the past two years a very big area of concern was our numbers. After reflecting on the last season’s numbers, it played a vital role in how we competed and measured up against a lot of the teams we played. Strong senior leadership will play multiple roles, one being the experience while the other is that they will be role models for the underclassmen and a large freshman group, we call that ‘passing it back.’”

An area of concern, according to the coach, is team defending when not in possession of the ball. “We want to be a good passing team but we have gotten in trouble in possession. When we lose the ball, we have to be organized and disciplined defensively as a unit. We cannot allow as many goals against as we have in the past two seasons.”

Keeping the team healthy throughout the year will also be important, “That caused us a lot of line-up changes last year so we are hoping that we don’t have to go down that road this season.”

The coach said expectations mirror those of every season, “We need to build a culture that will encourage a family atmosphere, following the core values of the program, making sure we are well led, play for each other and put the program first.” He said the team hopes to be more competitive this season, find itself mixing it up in the PHAC and turning some heads with its style of play. “Our expectations are to get enough wins to qualify for districts, a place that this program has a tradition of and we need to get back there.”

Coach Veltri told The Record he knows the schedule will be challenging. “The Heartland is one of the toughest leagues in the state. Two state champions came out of the PHAC, that isn’t something that should be ignored. It is never easy, and it will be a grind every time we step on the field. We have been at the bottom of the table the past two years, a place that we shouldn’t be, but, a lot of that comes down to the competitive spirit of the teams we play in the Heartland. If we can get past some of these teams, we will be battle tested for any District Six team we will face.” He noted Central Mountain does not have many District 6 teams on its schedule “so it is hard to measure how we would match up against them in the District tournament and that is something we will have to remedy with scheduling in the future.”

And some final thoughts from coach Veltri:

“We are excited to see what the 2023 season looks like. We are hoping to be more competitive in the league, maybe shake some things up that we have struggled with in the past. We will see what the response will be in pre-season to determine how we establish ourselves this season. We are hoping to be dynamic and fun to watch, a specific playing style, with a competitive edge and participating with a passion. The program is surrounded with great support. All assistant coaches are Central Mountain soccer alumni, and they have walked in the shoes of those they are now coaching. It has been a great honor to watch the coaches give back and support the program they were a part of. They have put in a lot of time in the off-season, working on their craft while also coaching the youth of the area, it’s exciting from that aspect!”

The Lady Wildcats open the season with two District 6 foes: Thursday, Aug. 31 at Penns Valley, followed by the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 9 with Bald Eagle Area, game time 11 a.m.