Springdale’s girls soccer team electrifies community; group heads to state championship
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Lincoln Haas just couldn’t help himself.
The first grader was one of roughly 450 Acmetonia Elementary School students who lined the school’s halls Friday morning, patiently waiting for the parade of the state championship-bound high school girls soccer team to walk by their classroom.
As the teachers and students waved posters, took pictures and screamed Dynamo chants, Lincoln ran out to give his sister, goalkeeper Baileigh Haas, a big hug.
It’s one of the many symbolic tales of the dream season the Springdale girls soccer team has had this year, infused with family bonds, playoff success and a boost in school and community pride.
“We have a really good bond this year,” said Haas of the team, which shortly after hopped on a W.L. Roenigk bus headed to Mechanicsburg ahead of their 7 p.m. PIAA Class A championship game against Dock Mennonite Academy. “Everyone gets along like sisters.”
The march through Acmetonia concluded a morning’s worth of festivities for the team, including an early-morning gathering at the high school’s Rachel Carson room, where they took pictures and watched a highlight and send-off video made by their peers in a video production class.
They then made their way to the Marshall Auditorium stage, where they were greeted with chants and pep talks from teachers, parents, administrators and their youth coaches from the Harmar Soccer Club.
“These girls are not just fantastic soccer players; they are even better young ladies,” Principal Andrew Leviski said. “Watching how they have brought together a school community is truly remarkable.”
Strong bond
Senior Molly Hurley said the team’s success wouldn’t have been possible without the bond the girls have.
“This group is so close to each other,” Hurley said. “We know each other really well. That’s helped us stay strong.”
Springdale has lost only once this season, a nonsection game against Burrell. They defeated Winchester Thurston in the WPIAL championship on Halloween.
Senior Carissa Walsh said the playoff games have been the most fun.
“We’re such a tight-knit group this year. We’re really close and that helped us on the field,” she said. “The community has always been so strong. They’ll always be there.”
The team “refuses to lose,” said Springdale student and fan Casey Dale, 16.
“In the WPIAL final, they were losing two times and came out winning 5-3,” he said. “The game turned on its head.”
Dale and Alex Wylly, 15, are on the boys soccer team and have led the student section throughout the girls’ playoff run.
Wylly said the student section grew as the team’s playoff run continued. He thinks the student section’s support gives a boost of confidence to the players. He looks up to coach Marc Bentley, having attended his soccer clinic when he was younger.
“Coming this far is the best,” Wylly said. “We’re only about 60 a grade — 300 students in total at the school — and we’re here with 15 girls and we’re going to the state championship.”
Haas agreed: “Seeing the crowds we get have been helping us with our mental state. It’s exciting. They see how much potential we have. They enjoy being at our games and how strong we play.”
What’s even more impressive is that not many public schools advance as far in the state playoffs in smaller classifications, which often are dominated by private or parochial schools.
But what public schools like Springdale have that the private ones don’t, said Molly Hurley’s mother, Sally, is a strong sense of community pride.
“It’s been phenomenal,” Sally Hurley said. “People I haven’t seen in a long time have been showing up to the games, people I graduated high school with have been showing up to games. At a small school, everybody knows everybody.
“We’re so blessed to have this community rally around us.”
‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’
Senior Briana Ross said many of the girls on the team have been in the same classes throughout their time in the Allegheny Valley School District.
“We’ve been playing together for a very long time, and everyone clicks with each other,” Briana said.
Senior Brooke Taliani said those connections contributed to the team’s success.
“Our team has the strongest connection this year,” she said. “We’re all friends, and we all get along with each other on and off the field.
“It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s exciting to have everyone supporting us. We will do anything we can to make our community proud.”
The bonds go beyond just player to player — they extend from player to mother or player to sister: Coaches Bentley and Makenna Krebs are married; players Cara Leahy and Genevieve Conklin’s mothers have played Dynamo soccer; and numerous girls on the team have sisters who are girls soccer alums.
Eighth grader James Leahy, Cara’s brother, said he is proud of what his sister and her teammates have been able to accomplish.
“It’s really impressive, going to the games to watch them play,” he said. “I’m really proud of her.
“The whole state playoffs have been fun. We’ve been at the games cheering them on. She’s been fantastic.”
Sisters Addison, 11, and Rikki Haas, 12, also watched with pride as older sisters Bailiegh and Makenna walked through the halls of Acmetonia with the team.
“It’s really cool that they made it this far,” Rikki said. “I love watching them play.”
Added Addison: “I think we’ll do really good. And even if we don’t win, we still made it this far, and that’s awesome.”
Robert Taliani, Brooke’s father, said the team’s success is a culmination of their dedication and passion for the sport.
“Being a small district, you don’t expect to get this far,” he said. “But the opportunity they have, they’ve worked for it. And it’s energized not only them but the whole community. All their hard work has paid off.
“We’re all excited for them. We hope they enjoy the experience.”
Winning history
Springdale soccer has a rich history, district spokeswoman Jan Zastawniak said.
Decades ago, the Harmarville Hurricanes took the Allegheny Valley by storm. The amateur soccer team was owned by the Harmar Coal Co., and many of its players worked in that industry. They were national champions in 1952 and 1956.
Those athletes passed down their love for the sport to their children, as they put down their roots in the Springdale area.
“There’s been a foundation of soccer here in the community for years and years,” said Amy Zastawniak, a second grade teacher at Acmetonia and Jan’s aunt.
Her two daughters, Ashley and Brittany, also were on successful Springdale girls soccer teams in the 2010s.
“It is a big community sport that these kids have been involved in since kindergarten,” she said. “It’s been a strong sport in our community.”
The boys soccer program at Springdale started in the 1950s, Jan Zastawniak said. It won 11 championships between 1958 and 1973. The team actually won twice in 1965 because the WPIAL moved boys soccer from a spring to a fall sport that year.
The girls team started in 1995 after being part of a co-op with Deer Lakes High School for years. They found success right off the bat, winning WPIAL titles in 1996 and 1997, and being state runner-up in 1997. Kelli McGinty Leahy — Cara and James’ mother — was part of that team.
The girls program won the WPIAL championship in 2009, in addition to this year’s WPIAL title. Player Tessa Derringer’s older sister, Kaylee Aikens, was on the 2009 team.
The soccer program also has had two All-Americans: Louis “Skip” Yakopec in 1970 and 1971, and Lindsay Slomer in 1997.
“Soccer is the most awarded sport in the district,” Zastawniak said.
This year’s team hopes to make history by bringing back a PIAA title to Springdale. They would be the first team to do that.
In addition to 1997, the girls team advanced to the state championship game in 2009 and 2011.
“I’ve been to the last three,” Zastawniak said. “I’m not missing this one.”