McKeesport, PA. – The 2019-2020 Penn State Greater Allegheny Soccer team featured a new look with many of the team’s stars coming in as freshman. The young talent may not have translated into a sixth straight Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) playoff run, but a win in their final game of the regular season propelled the team into the off-season as they look to continue to grow.
Entering 2019-2020, PSUGA brought back just three starters from the previous season and filled in the gaps with first-year players who brought a lot of promise to head coach Dale Odim and his team. The year started with two tough non-conference losses to Point Park and Johnson & Wales but through those struggles, PSUGA got a taste of what things would look like when conference play rolled around.
The team would get their first win of the season when they defeated Westmoreland County CC 3-0 in their final non-conference game of the year. They continued their string of success earning a 2-2 tie with Penn State Hazleton in their conference opener moving their record to 1-2-1 through the first four games.
PSUGA battled through the rest of their conference schedule, but just couldn’t overtake any of their opponents over their next seven games. They saw their record drop to 1-9-1 and 0-7-1 in conference play as they headed into their final game of the regular season. The seniors would take over on Senior Day scoring three goals, including the game-winner by Dario Marina (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS) in overtime, leading PSUGA to a 3-2 season-ending victory.
While the record was not what the team had hoped to earn, there were strong individual efforts that show promise for the future. Junior goalkeeper Colin Bucsok (Pittsburgh, PA./Thomas Jefferson HS) continued his successful career making 97 saves on 126 shots on net for a .770 save percentage. He also broke the PSUGA Soccer career-records for saves (262) and Minutes in Net (2883:20) as he continues to write his name in the PSUGA record books.
Sophomore Namy Makiese (Pittsburgh, PA./Allderdice HS) and freshman Kevin Kirby (Atlanta, GA./Mountain View HS) were two of the underclassmen who led the way on offense. Makiese finished second on the team with 22 shots, 12 of which falling on goal. Makiese also tied his career-high with two goals this season, tying for second on the team in his first year as captain.
Kirby is a three-sport athlete at PSUGA and had a good showing in his first sport of the athletic season scoring one goal while appearing in all 11 games for the Men’s Soccer team. Kirby proved to be one of the most efficient shooters for PSUGA tying for the team lead with a .800 Shots on Goal percentage taking five shots and having four land on net.
One big piece that PSUGA will not have next season is Marina. He had a career year, leading PSUGA soccer in almost every offensive category. He scored a team-high five goals on 27 shots, 19 on goal, while collecting 10 points on the year. All four of those are new career-highs for Marina who stepped into more of an offensive role with the team after serving as a primary defender for the last three seasons.
The PSUGA Soccer team heads into the off-season looking to continue to get better while recruiting talent to add to this year’s team. As they look towards 2020-2021, PSUGA soccer is looking to make a return to the PSUAC playoffs once again.
