The milestones keep coming for Moon Area girls soccer coach Bill Pfeifer, and he just keeps taking them in stride.
Pfeifer, the winningest girls high school soccer coach in Pennsylvania history, notched his 400th victory as the Tigers’ coach – and his 527th overall – Wednesday night in a 9-0 blanking of Bethel Park at Tiger Stadium.
The win gives Moon a 4-0-0 overall record on the season and a 3-0-0 mark in Class 3A Section 2 action.
Pfeifer, who was inducted into the Robert “Tick” Cloherty Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame last spring, said reaching the latest milestone was nice.
“The kids were excited – there are still kids here who were here when I got my 500th career win,” he said. “It was nice to share something else with them.”
Pfeifer, who turns 60 in January, said his won-loss record “is not just about me. I’ve been fortunate. I’ve been surrounded by good players, good coaches, good people at the school – and a lot of good friends.
“Without people like that, you don’t stay that long to get that many wins, or even just to be coaching that long.”
Moon Area girls soccer coach Bill Pfeifer won his 400th game at the school Wednesday night and now has 527 coaching victories overall — the most of any girls soccer coach in state history.
Pfeifer is in his second go-round at Moon. He coached there from 2001 to 2017 and then returned for the 2021 season after stops in Hopewell and Central Valley. His record at Moon is 400-56-16 and his career record is 527-87-24.
Pfeifer was named national coach of the year in 2022 when his unbeaten team went 24-0-0 and was ranked No. 2 nationally. His 2017 team, which finished 26-0-0, wound up ranked No. 4. On two different occasions his teams have put together win streaks of more than 50 games. He’s coached a team to at least one WPIAL title in each of the last four decades and he’s also had a team play in at least one PIAA state title game in each of the past three decades.
Moon Athletic Director Alan Alcalde called Pfeifer’s 400th victory at the school “an incredible accomplishment and a testament to his consistency, leadership and commitment to our student-athletes.”
“He has built a girls soccer program that competes at the highest level. His impact on the program as well as the Moon community goes far beyond the sport.”
The outcome of Wednesday’s game was never in doubt, which enabled Pfeifer to think about a few things as the clock wound down. “I had lots of thoughts – thoughts about people who’d been there before,” he said. “Players from the past. People who are not with us anymore.”
Quinn Arnold led Wednesday’s win with four goals while Anna Palma added three and Emma Jones and Ally D’Alesio each contributed one.
Jones assisted on three goals while Adriana D’Alesio and Madison Shaver each had an assist. Samantha D’Alesio earned the shutout in goal for the Tigers, who take on Pine-Richland Saturday.
Montour 6, Blackhawk 0
Irelynn Hobbs led the Spartans with a pair of goals and four other players added one apiece on the way to a win over the visiting Cougars in a Class 3A Section 2 match.
Brooklyn Young, Kaci Mitcheltree, Ava Domenico and Jocelyn Heckathorne each scored one goal for Montour.
Chartiers Valley 2, Carlynton 1
Mary Crawford netted the Cougars’ lone goal and Sophia O’Brien notched the assist in Carlynton’s loss to the Colts in a non-section match.
Chartiers Valley opened the scoring early in the game, but Crawford pulled the Cougars even when she scored off a corner kick midway through the first half. The Colts went in front for keeps about eight minutes into the second half.
Eden Christian Academy 3, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 1
Olivia Taylor scored off a free kick for the Chargers’ lone goal in their loss to the Warriors in a Class 1A Section 1 match.
BOYS GOLF
Moon Area 196, Upper St. Clair 200
Junior Ian Bonidie got hot down the stretch, playing the final four holes at 3-under-par to lead the Tigers past the Panthers in a match played at Montour Heights Country Club.
Bonidie tied teammate Cooper Fazio for low-score honors at 37, and Bonidie’s chip-in for eagle on the No. 9 hole was a key shot in the Tigers’ Class 3A Section 6 victory.
Matthew Koch shot 41 for Moon, followed by Eric Hartman at 43.
Sam Casciani shot 37 to lead Upper St. Clair, followed by Thomas Geonupules (39), Colin McKenzie (40), Jake Tear (41) and Sam Rush (43).
GIRLS GOLF
South Fayette 167, Moon Area
After starting the season with eight straight victories, the Tigers tasted defeat for the first time Wednesday, falling to the Lions at Moon Golf Club.
The loss leaves the Tigers with an overall record of 8-1 and a 7-1 mark in WPIAL Class 3A Section 2 action.
Olivia Valentino of South Fayette led all golfers with a score of 38 and teammate Emma Nickolas carded a 40.
Angelina Schild led Moon with a round of 41, followed by Liv DeGori (42), Aubrey Marasco (44) and Marleigh Therrien (51).
Ali Billings finished with a score of 43 for South Fayette and teammate Vanessa Kushner checked in with a 46.
Moon will compete in the MAC Championship Thursday at Fox Run Golf Club.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Keystone Oaks 3, Sto-Rox 0
The visiting Eagles pulled off a clean sweep of the Vikings by scores of 25-9, 25-11 and 25-9 Tuesday night in a Class 2A Section 2 match.
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