Oct 15, 2014 5 min read

Ryan Julian was a junior on Trinity’s boys soccer team in the fall of 1995. Competing in WPIAL Class AAA, the Hillers defeated Upper St. Clair and McGuffey, drew with Peters Township and finished with a 16-2-2 overall record.

With the WPIAL taking only two teams from each section, Trinity had to wait until the last night of the season to find out if it would end a lengthy playoff drought. It came down to Upper St. Clair playing Peters Township with the Hillers needing the Indians to win.

Upper St. Clair won on a penalty kick to knock Trinity out of playoff contention.

It has been 19 years since that grim October night, and while Julian’s role has changed from player to coach, nothing can match the redemption his team feels after breaking the program’s 28-year playoff drought.

Julian, the Hillers’ head coach for the past three seasons, has seen a group of players grow from having lingering doubts to a strong conviction in success.

“We always say, ‘Believe, Trinity’ because when I first got here, I felt like I had to convince them to believe they are able to compete and they are good enough,” Julian said.

Julian’s mantra rang true this season as Trinity went on a seven-game winning streak after starting the season with a non-section loss to Class AAA’s Chartiers Valley. The Hillers twice played to a draw against Section 6-AA champion Ringgold, picked up a redemption victory over Washington and took second place in the section.

It all comes to a head Monday night when No. 9 Trinity (8-1-3, 12-3-3) travels to Mars High School to face No.8 seed Knoch (10-4, 12-5), the Section 2-AA runner-up, at 6 p.m. Girls soccer will begin first round playoff games Saturday.

Since the Hillers clinched a playoff spot, the players have heard plenty of talk from teachers who remember the program’s glory days of the 1980s and the positive reception from fellow students has been surprising.

Three years ago, Trinity went 0-10 in Section 5-AAA and finished with just three wins. There hasn’t been much to cheer about since Julian wore the blue and white.

“My freshman year, we barely won any games,” senior midfielder Preston Kulla said. “It’s crazy to believe we won 12 this year and our goal differential is plus-one. We really have a good group and it’s exciting.”

Trinity has been a force since dropping down to Class AA this season. The key for the Hillers has been Kulla’s ability to move to both ends of the pitch and versatility throughout the lineup. The all-section midfielder can be used to cover the opposing player’s top forward or can give Trinity an additional scoring threat.

“(Kulla) is the hardest working player I’ve ever coached,” Julian said. “Kulla works so hard back on defense, but his repsonsibilies are attack and he’s able to do both. That’s very rare to be in two places at once in high demand.”

Senior Dawson Hilk can also play multiple positions and junior forward Austin Armstrong has formed a dangerous one-two punch with sophomore Alec Belcastro. The result has been a stout defense in the back and an offense that has become opportunistic.

It has also helped having the majority of starters back from last year’s team that won four games in Section 4-AAA.

“It’s all been very exhilarating,” Hilk said. “We’ve had ups and downs, but we’ve grown. We’ve worked the ball around more and we’re clicking on all cylinders right now. I’m anxious to get out there and play.”

The Hillers players find themselves in the unknown. They don’t know much about the Knights, how to mentally approach a playoff game or having to wait seven days between games, but Julian has delivered simple instruction – train harder than ever and treat the game like a business trip.

He can attest that competing in the WPIAL playoffs doesn’t happen every day. Sometimes it can even take nearly 28 years for a program to reach the postseason.

“We have a 28-year chip on our shoulders,” Julian said. “We have to do whatever we can to help our situation. Having to play an away game in Knoch’s backyard fuels us. The committee obviously doesn’t respect our section, so it’s time to prove it and everyone else wrong.”

All first-round playoff games for girls are Saturday. The boys first round is Monday. Preliminary round games are Saturday. In Class AAA girls, No. 2 Peters Township hosts No. 15 Baldwin at 3 p.m., and No. 10 Canon-McMillan is at No. 7 Franklin Regional at noon … In Class AA girls, No. 6 South Fayette travels to Belle Vernon to play No. 13 Mt. Pleasant (1 p.m.) and No. 8 Hopewell hosts No. 9 Ringgold at 3 p.m. … In Class A girls, Chartiers-Houston will face top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic at Penn Trafford (2 p.m.), No. 3 Charleroi plays No. 14 Riverview at Yough (2 p.m.) and No. 12 Bentworth plays No. 4 Seton-LaSalle at Peters Township (1 p.m.)…In Class AAA boys, No. 3 Peters Township, the defending WPIAL champion, hosts Fox Chapel Monday at 8 p.m., and No. 10 Canon-McMillan is at No. 7 Norwin (7 p.m). … In boys Class AA, No. 5 Ringgold will face No. 14 Thomas Jefferson at Peters Township (6 p.m.) and No. 4 South Fayette hosts No. 13 Central Valley (8 p.m.) … In Class A, No. 14 Bentworth will play No. 3 Vincentian at Penn Trafford (6 p.m.) and No. 6 Monessen plays No. 11 Greensburg Central Catholic at Franklin Regional (6 p.m.).