Nov 3, 2021 4 min read

McMURRAY – The Charleroi boys soccer team saw its season end Wednesday in the WPIAL Class 2A consolation game with a 6-1 loss to Ambridge at Peters Township High School.

Head coach Jon Ducoli knew his team was going to be in for a fight as it played without two key starters, Dom Yocolano and Arlo McIntyre, while the team’s leader, Eben McIntyre, was questionable with a hamstring injury that he has been battling for weeks.

“For what we had to work with, there is no reason for the boys to hang their heads,” said Ducoli. “We filled roles, changed positions around and they did the job they could.

“We had guys stepping up off the bench that don’t typically see a lot of time.”

The Cougars (15-4-1) fought hard and goalkeeper Nate Mazon was blistered early and often. The Bridgers (13-6) took 27 shots, compared to three for Charleroi, and the sophomore made 15 saves, including several from point-blank range.

“Nate is a beast,” said Ducoli. “He is what keeps this team going.

“He made some beautiful saves and if a ball gets past him, he just works that much harder for the next save.”

Ambridge took a 1-0 lead when Will Gruca scored the first of his four goals on a header off a direct kick with 30:51 to play in the first half. More importantly for Charleroi, Eben McIntyre subbed himself out after giving his all for almost 10 minutes and did not return until there was 4:30 left in the match.

“He came back on so he had his last couple of moments of his high school career on the field,” said Ducoli of McIntyre, a Pitt commit. “The team sparked despite the score being what it was.”

Watching McIntyre in warmups, there was question as to whether he would play at all, but he gave the team all he could.

The Cougars tied the match at 1-1 with 25:32 to go in the half when Jake Caruso scored off a cross pass from Ty Patterson.

However, Ambridge scored three goals in a 3:23 stretch to put the match away, and Ducoli spoke about the goal that gave the Bridgers a 2-1 lead.

“Whenever you come back to tie it and then they put one back in, it definitely puts you back on your heels,” he said. “That’s what they did, and they played a nice game.”

Gruca scored on a penalty kick to make it 3-1 with 20:23 left in the half, and he added another with 19:01 to play on a cross from Chris Woten.

With 17:00 to play before intermission, Woten scored to give the Bridgers a 4-1 lead which they held into the second half.

In the opening 40 minutes, Ambridge had 19 shots on goal with Mazon recording nine saves.

Gruca and Nathan Lambert added second-half goals for Ambridge.

McIntyre, considered the best soccer player in the history of the Charleroi boys program, finished the season with 70 goals and 167 for his career. The 70 are the third most in one season in PIAA boys soccer history while the 167 are fourth most all-time in a career for a boy.

Ducoli spoke about seniors (Eben McIntyre, Yokolano, Caruso and Denver Radomile) as well as the future, which will be bright as the Cougars started four sophomores and two freshmen Wednesday night, not including the Arlo McIntyre.

“We only had two of our seniors be able to play this evening,” he said. “We are graduating four but still have a hard core left with this team and we are going to add some extra guys coming up.

“This is a great experience. You can’t train for experience any better than coming off the bench and playing in a playoff game.”

The senior class finished with an overall record of 65-10-1.

“The guys coming in, they have big shoes to fill,” Ducoli said.