Tigers aim to continue ‘building process’ this fall
By JEREMY TEPPER
MVI Sports
As Anthony Jacobs enters his fourth year at the helm of the McKeesport girls soccer team, the building process continues.
When Jacobs took over, the Tigers had fallen out of the WPIAL due to their lack of competitiveness, forced to play an independent schedule.
The Tigers will still have to play an independent schedule this season, but they’ve slowly become a lot more respectable, going 5-8-1 last season and closing out the year by winning three of their last four games.
“We’re still building. We’ve been building for the last two, three years. I feel like our team as a group is getting better together. We used to only have a couple good players, but now we have a full team of good players,” said Jacobs.
“We’re starting to build up and we’re trying to get back in a section again. We’re hoping next year we could get in if we start winning more games.”
Carrying a chip on their shoulder from being an independent, the Tigers hope this year is finally the one they break through with a winning record.
Jacobs has built a foundation of upperclassmen, including four seniors that he hopes will anchor his team.
His offense, he figures, will be solid. Kendall Obley should be a key offensive threat, scoring and distributing. So too should Sara McLaughlin, a sophomore who was a primary offensive threat for the Tigers last season before getting hurt early in the year.
“Offensively, we’re pretty good. I’m not worried about offense,” said Jacobs
“We have some people that are more seasoned and ready to go but I would think overall as a group we’re going to be relying on five or six of them to be explosive.”
Jacobs also has confidence in his junior goalkeeper Hannah Smith.
“She gets peppered with shots and she’s kept us in games. She’s a very good goalie,” Jacobs said. “If there’s a one on one break, I expect her to come up with the ball.”
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