Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

It’s no exaggeration to say the 2004 Upper St. Clair boys soccer team had maybe the most dominant season in Western Pennsylvania high school soccer history. With a veteran roster that included 17 seniors and 10 in the starting lineup, coach Uwe Schneider’s Panthers went 27-0 that year, won the WPIAL title and repeated at PIAA Class 3A champions. Clearly the best team in the state, they also finished the season ranked No. 1 nationally in a StudentSports poll after defeating West Chester Henderson, 2-0, in the state finals at Hersheypark Stadium. The team also was ranked No. 1 by National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Never before had a WPIAL boys soccer team won consecutive Class 3A titles, but this group wasn’t like most others. With seven future college players on the field, the team was unmatched all season. Upper St. Clair scored 111 goals, allowed only nine and shut out 18 opponents. No team scored more than a single goal against USC’s defense. In the WPIAL playoffs, USC defeated Hempfield, 9-0, Peters Township, 5-0, Fox Chapel, 3-0, and Chartiers Valley, 3-1, in the finals. The PIAA playoffs included wins over Allderdice, 5-0, Fox Chapel, 3-1, Manheim Central, 2-0, and West Chester Henderson, 2-0. Combined, USC outscored its eight postseason opponents 32-2. Senior forward Andy Machi led with a team-high 22 goals, and senior midfielder Scott Dillie had 17. Machi later played at Penn State and Dillie played at Virginia Tech. Five others also went on to play college soccer: goalkeeper Andrew Baldasare (West Virginia Wesleyan), goalkeeper Joe Diederich (Xavier), Brett Fackenthal (West Virginia Wesleyan), Cam Griffin (Davidson) and Mitchell Minerd (Allegheny). The other starters were Matt McClintock, Eric Feduska, Cole Conboy, Michael Walters-Slezak and Chris Sukenik. The seniors finished their high school careers with a 31-game winning streak that stretched over two seasons.