Kevin Truman wanted to find a way to help the Penn Hills boys soccer program find a way back to the WPIAL playoffs. While the Indians’ coach felt like they had made tremendous progress, they couldn’t find enough punch on offense to emerge from Section 1-4A.

What Penn Hills hopes to do moving forward is to find enough depth to put more wins in the column. The Indians closed the season with a 1-0 win over Springdale, finishing 4-12-1 overall and 1-9 in Section 1-4A.

“We were able to keep games close with Norwin, Central Catholic and Plum, but we would run out of gas,” Truman said. “It’s hard when the other team has a 75-25 edge in possession. Eventually, you will run out of gas.”

Penn Hills saw its defending improve tremendously. The Indians allowed 4.1 goals per game last season but saw that number drop to 2.6 this season.

Penn Hills had an experienced keeper in net, as 6-foot-9 senior Jadon Robbins was in charge of trying to turn away a lot of shots.

He was one of three Indians players who were chosen for all-section. Chase Delehunty also was picked, as was Hamilton Anyang, who was named honorable mention.

Truman said Robbins wants to play in college but hasn’t committed yet. Robbins is going to a few camps to play in front of college coaches in November, Truman said.

“He’s done well,” Truman said. “He’s made major improvements in the two seasons I’ve worked with him on the mental part of his game. He’s always been a good shot stopper. He keeps a level head and communicates well.”

With his big frame in net, Robbins was able to make a lot of stops to keep Penn Hills in matches.

“He’s very agile,” Truman said. “He moves from side to side well. He has good footwork. I’m sure Jadon thinks of himself as a soccer player and not just as a goalkeeper.”

Penn Hills was able to bounce back from a tough start to get in the conversation for the playoffs. The Indians started the season 0-3-1 before winning their section opener 2-1 over Gateway. Penn Hills lost a pair of one-goal decisions to Hempfield, which snatched the final playoff spot.

The Indians were limited to five goals in their 10 section matches. Truman said Penn Hills wanted to do a better job of holding possession but had mixed results.

“I coach soccer,” Truman said. “I don’t want us to just smash the ball down the field and try to get on the end of one. We wanted to possess the ball and build from the back.”

Truman said he was happy with Penn Hills’ progress overall.

“I liked the attitude of the players,” Truman said. “They were a coachable group of players. They had a high compete level.”