Fall Sports Recap
Poland has a wide variety of sports that you could play in the fall, including Football, Cross Country, Volleyball, Golf, Soccer, and Tennis. In this article, I’ll be recapping the 2023 seasons for all of these fall sports.
Starting off strong is Girls Varsity Soccer. The girls team played very well this season, going 14-6 overall and going an astonishing 12-0 in the NE8 conference. The team had some standout players this year, including Sophia Generolovich and Leanne Williams. Generalovich broke a school record with the all-time scoring record. Williams was the starting goalie for the team and rarely let the other team score; she had an average of 5 saves per game. The girls went very far in the playoffs, but unfortunately lost in the state district finals to Champion with a score of 2-1.
Next up is the Boys Varsity Soccer team. The boys also played well this year, going 9-4-6, which isn’t too bad due to the competition they had this season. The boys went 5-1-4 in their conference. The boys won the first game in their playoffs against Girard, but lost to Mooney in the second round. Some of the team’s standout players were Michael Daley, the Tsikouris twins, and Matt Matiste.
The next team is the Girls Volleyball team. The Girls Volleyball team went 3-18 overall, and 2-10 in their conference; the wins that the team did have were against Niles McKinley winning 3-0, their second win against Niles McKinley winning 3-0, and their third win being a tough game against Springfield winning 3-2. Some of the standout team players were Olivia Minehart, Nadia Zarbaugh, and Emerson Gomen.
One of the most surprising teams this season was the Boys Golf Team. They made it all the way to states this year with golfer Angelo Rinaldi, and, besides State, they won the NE8 conference championship scoring 320, placed very well in Districts, and placed well in Sectionals. Golfer Rinaldi also broke a school record hitting 31 on 9 holes. Some of the standout golfers were Angelo Rinaldi, Matthew Marone, and seniors Dom Elia and Zach Livosky.
Going to Girls Golf, they had an outstanding season winning the NE8 conference championships and placing 5th in the districts championship. Some of the standout golfers were Kylie Kapics, Nina Gordon, and Olivia Loftus.
Girls Tennis is difficult to recap because it is an individual sport. However, Lucienne Hopps won the NE8 player of the year, which is a very coveted prize for someone to achieve. Sofia Elia also got 1st team all NE8. Another standout player was Carmella Guzman.
Another sport that is hard to show is Cross Country because of its individuality. There were some runners that made it to Districts, though, that included Lucas Knez, Ian Vandervort, Sean Zura, Mila Milosivic, and many more. Some of the standout runners this year were Kate Harrell, Derry Daily, and Alex Cook.
Finally, being Polands’ pride and joy, is the Football team. The Football team performed incredibly well this year, going 10-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The team got bounced in the first round of the playoffs to Struthers, which was a nail-biting game from start to finish. Overall, the Football team played great all season and the hype is going to carry into next year as well. Some standout seniors were Cole Fulton, Danny Nittoli, Dom Pagano, and Antonio Medina. Other standout players that aren’t seniors include Vito Komara, Pano Xipolitas, and Tyler Canfield.
We interviewed Principal Kevin Snyder about the fall sports and on the upcoming winter sports. He talked about the most surprising team, and the expectations for the fall sports.
“I would say the Boys Soccer team because of the amount of students who graduated last year; it was really surprising that they peaked at the end. They also have a lot of young kids; it [the team] would probably be the one that stood out the most. … I was proud of every team, but it was cool that this team came out of the season losing a ton of players and playing well,” quoted Snyder.
“My expectations are success, academically and athletically, and your expectations have to be realistic with your team, the league, and the region. … I just want all of the players to be healthy too. We hope to get academic all-Americans playing out there,” said Snyder.
Special thanks to Mr. Snyder for the interview, and, most importantly, thank you to all of the players representing our school in this fall sports season!
