Charleroi boys looking for depth

An assistant last year, Tim Laskey takes over as the head coach for the Cougars this season.

After losing two straight WPIAL Class 1A title matches by a 3-2 scoreline and falling short in last year’s state championship, Charleroi’s boys soccer program will be looking to return to Highmark Stadium in a new classification with a new coach at the helm.

After spending 10 years in the program, Tim Laskey will be in charge of the team as it makes the jump to Class 2A this season and tries to offset the loss of seven seniors from last year. Gone are starters Jake and Joel Chambers, Bryce Large, Nate Mazon and Arlo McIntyre as well as Muhammed Cisse and Zach Chester.

Last season was also the final one in charge for Jon Ducoli, who had overseen the program for the past eight years. Now, the Cougars will look to compete in Section 4-2A alongside Brownsville, Derry, Greensburg Salem, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland, Waynesburg Central and Yough.

“We play a lot of the teams that we’ll play in section play in the futsal tournaments throughout the winter,” Laskey said. “I like the way that we match up with them. I wouldn’t say that it’s going to be a walk in the park and we’re going to dominate everyone like the past few years. I think we’ll have our work cut out for us, but I like how we match up.”

Returning starters like Landon Barcus, Gage Patterson and Dylan Klinger will be vital for Charleroi as they hope to continue to be competitive this season. Laskey said that those three in particular have been vocal leaders thus far as the squad looks to prepare for the upcoming campaign.

New freshmen have also caught his eye, including Otis McIntyre, Blake Pendo and Matthew Odoski. There’s a chance that those three play a large role in the team’s success moving forward.

They could be a part of the future depth that Charleroi is hoping to build moving forward. Watching on as an assistant coach for Charleroi’s 1-0 PIAA championship loss against Delaware County Christian, Laskey thought that the Cougars weren’t quite as deep of a team as they were outlasted in the second half and gave up a goal.

He doesn’t want that to happen again.

“We have to develop depth,” Laskey said. “One of the challenges we faced over the last years is depth off the bench and being able to put fresh legs in the game. One of the biggest things that I saw in our state championship loss was, they were putting five, six guys in every 10 and 15 minutes in the second half, and we weren’t.

“I want to be able to develop depth so that, on any given time, there’s 16 or 17 guys that I know I can start any day. That way, we can throw fresh legs out there, and we won’t see a drop off in play. I think we were close to that last year, but we just didn’t trust our instincts.”

Laskey and the Cougars will have plenty of numbers to work with. He said that there’s almost 30 players showing up for practices with varying experience levels.

“The roster is large,” Laskey said. “Right now, I have 29 players showing up. Last year, we filled it at 21. I have three freshmen that, based on their skill level, can be major players. There are some players that haven’t played soccer in a few years, but they’ve come out, so we’ll take them too. I’m looking at these guys like everyone has a chance to be a starter. Nobody has earned their spot yet.” Those players will have to be fluid when it comes to formation and position to play for Charleroi.

The Cougars will play differently depending on their opponents according to Laskey, who is a self-proclaimed tactician. He said that he ran the film sessions for the squad before and looks forward to continuing that.

“It’s all gonna depend on who we play,” Laskey said about how Charleroi will line up. “I’m a tactical guy. I like to watch the film and develop a game plan based on how they play. So it varies based on their formation. I do like to press, so we will be the aggressors in terms of trying to win the ball back.

“The game is all about triangles. I try to teach the game based on a triangular system. If you have a guy on your right and a guy on your left, you’ll always have an option.”

Charleroi will look to emulate the success that it’s had the past few seasons, but add a few trophies as well. The Cougars are hoping that they can overcome some adversity to continue winning, but they’ll face stout challenges along the way.