Westmoreland County campus clippings: Latrobe grad Sofia DeCerb stands tall for JMU soccer

Sofia DeCerb was a tall task for opposing soccer players when she guarded the net at Latrobe — literally, she’s 6-foot tall.

Now, she is stopping shots at James Madison, and other teams also have to shoot low.

DeCerb, a redshirt freshman, has taken over the position for the Dukes (8-3-3, 6-0-1 Sun Belt Conference).

Through 14 games, the long-armed netminder had an 8-3-3 record and a 1.37 goals-against average. Her 41 saves ranked seventh in the conference.

DeCerb has four shutouts, including two in her last three starts.

Football

Edinboro: Senior linebacker C.J. Waldier (Yough) had eight tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, and senior safety Toby Cline added seven stops in a 29-28 loss to Clarion.

Seton Hill: Ky’Ron Cragette, a redshirt junior running back, ran for 150 yards and a touchdown, but the Griffins absorbed their third straight loss, 20-13, at IUP.

Washington & Jefferson: Grad linebacker Justin Johns (Franklin Regional) collected a game-high 12 tackles as the Presidents knocked off unbeaten Grove City, 27-19.

Waynesburg: Junior wide receiver Isaac Trout (Southmoreland) had four receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown in a 34-14 win over Bethany.

William & Mary: Senior safety Marcus Barnes (Jeannette) made six tackles as the Tribe moved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the CAA with a 35-28 victory over visiting Campbell.

Wisconsin: Redshirt sophomore Cade Yacamelli (Penn-Trafford) scored a 3-yard touchdown for the Badgers in a 23-3 win over Northwestern.

Yacamelli finished with 10 yards on three carries in the win.

Men’s soccer

Cal (Pa.): Sophomore midfielder Jake Gretz (Greensburg Central Catholic) scored his first goal of the season, and it was the only offense for the Vulcans in a 1-0 victory over Shippensburg.

Gretz had four goals and three assists last season.

Junior goalkeeper A.J. Visco (Penn-Trafford) has two appearances and one start. He is 0-1 with four saves.

Seton Hill: The Griffins (7-2-2) moved into fifth in the United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Regional top-10 poll.

Women’s soccer

Clarion: Junior Reese Aquilio (Norwin) scored an insurance goal for the Golden Eagles in a 2-0 victory against Cal (Pa.).

Coastal Carolina: Freshman goalie Aris Lamanna (Franklin Regional) has appeared in seven games, with three starts and does not have a loss on her record. She is 2-0-2 with 19 saves and a 1.15 goals-against average.

Duquesne: Senior midfielder/defender Mackenzie Leeder (Mt. Pleasant) has started all 15 games and has three assists for the Dukes (9-6, 3-5 Atlantic 10).

Pitt-Greensburg: Freshmen Dionna Santia and Riley Gesinski (Mt. Pleasant) scored unassisted goals to lead UPG to a 2-0 win over Mount Aloysius.

Senior goalkeeper Paige John picked up her fifth shutout of the season for the Bobcats.

UPG (8-3-4, 4-1) then shut out Hilbert, 9-0, as senior Sarah Tonkovich, senior Logan Jennings and Gesinski each scored twice.

Robert Morris: Junior forward Paloma Swankler (Norwin) leads the Colonials (4-5-5, 3-2-2 Horizon League) with five goals and 12 points. He 18 shots-on-goal also pace the team.

Westminster: Senior forward Brooke Horvath (Franklin Regional) scored her sixth goal of the season to lead the Titans to a 2-1 victory over Allegheny in PAC action.

Youngstown State: Westmoreland County is well represented on the Penguins’ roster.

Redshirt freshman Sara Felder (Greensburg Central Catholic) leads the Penguins (4-10-2, 2-6) with three goals, while junior Emma Rigone (Norwin) had a goal and two assists, redshirt sophomore Tatum Gretz (Greensburg Central Catholic) has one goal and one assist, and grad student Justine Appolonia (Yough) had one goal.

Men’s swimming

Clarion: Sophomore Henry Miller (Southmoreland) and senior Austin Prokopec (Penn-Trafford) teamed up to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1 minute, 32.77 seconds as the Golden Eagles defeated Gannon, 138-99.

Prokopec added an individual win in the 100-yard freestyle in 47.45 seconds, while Miller won the 100 breaststroke in 58.83 seconds.

Women’s tennis

Saint Vincent: Junior Carolina Walters (Latrobe) was named the PAC Player of the Week.

She went 2-0 in singles to complete regular-season singles play at 15-0.

Women’s volleyball

Carlow: For the third time this season, junior Rebecca Hess (Greensburg Central Catholic) was named the USCAA Specialist of the Week.

Hess, an outside hitter, had 42 digs over two matches, and had 13 kills in a loss to Alfred State.

Pitt-Greensburg: The Bobcats broke a 15-game losing steak in style, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to edge Mount Aloysius, 3-2, in the AMCC.

Sophomore Madison Friess and sophomore Mia Stohon each had 10 kills in the win, with Friess adding 20 digs.

Saint Vincent: Senior Vivian Poach had 51 assists to help the Bearcats defeat Westminster, 3-1. Freshman Meegan Williams added a double-double with 21 kills and 24 digs.

Williams was named the PAC Newcomer of the Week for the third straight time.

Waynesburg: Senior libero Jordan Stein (Norwin) had 17 digs and three aces in a in a four-set loss to Chatham.

Women’s tennis

Pitt-Greensburg: The Bobcats finished runner-up in the AMCC after a 4-0 loss to Penn State Behrend in the conference championship. UPG finished 7-3.

The team hadn’t lost to an AMCC opponent since 2019.

Women’s basketball

Seton Hill: Former Vincentian and IUP standout Lexi Griggs will join the Griffins’ coaching staff.

Griggs coached as an assistant at IUP for two-plus seasons. The former PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year was 112-18 as a player for the Crimson Hawks.

Before she came to Seton Hill, Griggs worked as the compliance and NIL coordinator at Robert Morris, and also was the director of basketball operations at North Carolina A&T.