Mon Valley Pipeline: Westminster’s Caterino earns D3 Player of the Week honors

By JOSE NEGRON

jnegron@yourmvi.com

Entering his junior soccer season at Westminster, Tyler Caterino had only found the back of the net on a few occasions. 

The 5-8 midfielder played in 37 games with six starts through his first two seasons in a Titans uniform and scored three goals during that span. 

Add in the seven games he played in to start the 2021 campaign, and Caterino, who has been starting at forward this season, was still looking for an offensive outburst. 

Then, in his team’s regular season finale Sunday, the Monessen graduate had perhaps his most impressive performance of his collegiate career, scoring his first career hat trick in Westminster’s 4-0 victory over St. Vincent. 

“It was kind of funny because throughout the season, I’ve been coming really close to a lot of goals and assists but just haven’t been able to get that last lucky bounce or shot off,” Caterino said. “All of my teammates and coaches have been really supportive and encouraging of me to keep shooting and keep trying because it was going to come. Luckily for me, my teammates put me in really good scoring positions on Sunday and I was able to finally put some goals away in a big game.” 

After coming so close to scoring time and time again, Caterino said his three-goal performance brought him a sense of relief. 

It also helped him garner United Soccer Coaches D3 Men’s Player of the Week honors Tuesday. 

“It had felt like all of my hard work had finally paid off,” the 2018 Monessen graduate said. “Coming into the game, we all knew the challenge in front of us and what it meant to the team. We really came together and created some amazing goal-scoring opportunities, and fortunately enough, I was the one that was able to put them in the back of the net.”

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Friday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.