Riverhounds Development Academy graduates record number of players

With 39 standouts committed to play collegiate soccer, and more on the way, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Development Academy announced a program record for graduating players.

“The variety of schools that the players will be attending shows the positive impact of our developmental platform and recruiting network,” RDA director Scott Gibson said in a news release. “While this spring was cut short and the seniors were not provided an opportunity to compete one last time for the club, we want to send our congratulations to all and look forward to seeing them soon so we can give them a proper send off.”

Highlights from the year include Pitt commit Luke Peperak taking part in the ECNL National Training Camp. Peperak, a former Connellsville star, is headed to Pitt. Five additional boys — Nino Civitate of Canon-McMillan, Giuseppe Croce of Mt. Lebanon, Darek Panucci of Moon, Austin Rocke of Mars and Anthony Rowan of Connellsville, were part of the ‘Hounds’ Pathway Program, which allows older RDA boys to train alongside professional players.

The 2002 RDA girls team reached the semifinals of the ECNL Showcase Cup, while RDA player Taylor Hamlett helped lead Mars to a PIAA championship.

Here is a list of RDA players and their college commitments:

Girls

Justine Appolonia (Yough) – Youngstown State

Izzi Boyd (Pine-Richland) – Ohio

Claudia DeMartino (Fox Chapel) – Catholic University of America

Olivia Dorsch (Franklin Regional) – Penn State Behrend

Taylor Hamlett (Mars) – Middle Tennessee State

Dani Iannuzzo (Norwin) – Slippery Rock

Hannah Kirkpatrick (North Allegheny) – Tampa

Chloe Kuminkoski (Moon) – Loyola-Maryland

Elaina Longjohn (North Hills) – William & Mary

Julianna Marshall (Serra Catholic) – St. Francis (Pa.)

Molly Piso (Hickory) – Drexel

Savannah Schoonmaker (State College) – New Hampshire

Maggie Storti (Oakland Catholic) – Case Western

Boys

Tyson Antosh (Peters Township) – Mercyhurst

Gavin Benson (Waynesburg) – Western Illinois

Nino Civitate (Canon-McMillan) – West Virginia

Giuseppe Croce (Mt. Lebanon) – Duquesne

Daniel Ibrahim (North Allegheny) – Johns Hopkins

Caleb Miller (West Allegheny) – Haverford

Anthony Panko (Connellsville) – Seton Hill

Darek Panucci (Moon) – Oakland

Luke Peperak (Connellsville) – Pitt

Patrick Phillips (Montour) – Slippery Rock

Austin Rocke (Mars) – Marshall

Anthony Rowan (Connellsville) – Marshall

Conor Suchar (Moon) – Penn State Behrend

Matt Van Kirk (North Allegheny) – Grove City

Griffin Wirth (Quaker Valley) – Allegheny

RDA East

Jacinda Devart (Grafton) – Waynesburg

Alex Eitner (Uniontown) – Gannon

Marissa Grubbs (Belle Vernon) – Penn State Behrend

Langley Pritts (Connellsville) – Waynesburg

Megan Noss (Preston) – West Virginia Wesleyan

Emily Shaw (Norwin) – Lock Haven

Madison Shoemaker (Connellsville) – Clarion

Hadley Sleith (Yough) – Clarion

Joey Terreta (Geibel) – Seton Hill

Jocelyn Timlin (Bentworth) – West Virginia Wesleyan

Kassidy Wolfe (University) – West Liberty