PT’s Latsko to miss senior season with knee injury
Peters Township junior Veronica Latsko, the two-time Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls Soccer Player of the Year, tore the anterior-cruciate ligament in her right knee and will miss her senior season, her father, John Latsko, confirmed Friday.
Latsko, who plays club soccer for Century United, turned to her right immediately after scoring a goal in the Pennsylvania State Cup Championship at Slippery Rock University last Sunday and suffered the injury – without contact.
“She went down like a ton of bricks,” John Latsko said.
The goal was one of the prettiest of Veronica Latsko’s career, her dad said, which is saying something considering she’s scored 107 of them.
Latsko’s goal gave Century United a 1-0 lead, but the team eventually lost, 3-2.
“It was a pretty big loss,” John Latsko said.
A University of Virginia recruit, Veronica Latsko has been walking around without a brace, her dad said. She even attended Peters Township’s prom Friday night, despite also having a partially torn meniscus.
She’s scheduled to have surgery this Wednesday, during which doctors will take part of the patellar tendon and fuse it in where the ACL was.
The surgery will be done by Dr. James Bradley, John Latsko said. Bradley recently performed surgery on Steelers tight end Heath Miller, who tore several ligaments in his knee at the end of last season.
Latsko should be fully recovered by January, and her college coach, Steve Swanson, has already called her to offer reassurance of her spot on the team, John Latsko said.
Veronica Latsko has helped Peters Township to three consecutive PIAA Class AAA titles, including one this past season after the Indians finished 24-1. Latsko scored 36 goals and contributed 11 assists.
She’s also an excellent student and possesses a 4.7 weighted grade-point average.
“We were rattled,” John Latsko said. “I joked with her that it’s either UVA or CCAC. But she knows the big picture, and that’s to go to college and get an education.”
Hey, listen up
Pulling resources from his days as an offensive lineman at Pitt, Washington High School football coach Mike Bosnic brought in a former teammate, Darnell Dinkins, to talk to his players and parents yesterday.
Dinkins, who played eight NFL seasons with four organizations and won a Super Bowl ring with the New Orleans Saints in 2009, spoke about navigating the college recruiting process and possessing a strong work ethic.
Dinkins was a three-year starter at safety at Pitt but transitioned to tight end in the NFL.
He was an assistant tight ends coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2010 and joined the Rutgers University coaching staff as a tight ends coach in 2011.
PIAA schedule updated
Four softball teams and one baseball squad got their marching orders for the PIAA Tournament, with all five playing Monday.
The Canon-McMillan softball team will open the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament with a 4 p.m. first-round game against Hempfield, the No. 3 seed from the WPIAL, at North Allegheny.
In Class AA, Chartiers-Houston will play District 6 champion Phillipsburg Osceola at Penn State University, Start time for that one is 7 p.m.
Burgettstown will meet another District 6 champion, Claysburg Kimmel, at 2:30 p.m. at Penn State. Carmichaels has District 10 champion Saegertown for a 1 p.m. game at Penn State-Behrend.
California opens with Elk County Catholic at Brookville Area High School, first pitch 4 p.m.
What to watch
The Peters Township girls lacrosse team has a chance to make history today.
With a win over State College in the PIAA Division I quarterfinals at Mansion Park Stadium (3 p.m. start time), the Indians can become the first girls lacrosse team from the WPIAL to reach the state semifinals.
Peters Township has won the past two WPIAL Division I titles and topped Penn Manor, 17-15, in the first round of the state playoffs.