Moon senior Angela Story thought her team had everything in place for this season. The Tigers returned the core of a squad that made the playoffs. The junior and senior class had been playing together since grade school. And Story finally was healthy after missing parts of the prior three seasons with injuries, including a torn knee ligament last season. Then suddenly, head coach Bernie Stiles was gone just two weeks before the start of preseason practice when he took a job out of state. 'No one really expected it,' said Story, a four-year starter on defense. 'It was out of the blue.' The Tigers had no coach and a good team but the answer wasn't far away. At the same time as the coaching job opened, Bill Pfeifer was making plans to move to Moon to be closer to his job at the Sportrac sports complex in Sewickley. Pfeifer, then the coach at Seneca Valley, heard of the opening, applied and got the job right before the start of practice.

The situation wasn't ideal as Pfeifer had to learn the names of 30-some girls and the inner-workings of a close, experienced team in just a few days. In reality, it couldn't have been a better fit. As of Thursday, the Tigers have lost just one game this season and clinched a Section 4-AAA playoff spot. Moon is gearing for a deep run in the playoffs, which begin Friday or Saturday, after two consecutive first-round losses. 'I thought there would be more problems with Bernie leaving and me coming in,' said Pfeifer, who left Seneca Valley after two playoff seasons. 'It was unexpected to the kids and parents. The seniors have really helped. The parents have been really good.' And so have the players, as the Tigers (13-1-2) avenged years of losing to the better teams in the WPIAL with victories over Mt. Lebanon and Thomas Jefferson. Moon lost to Lebo, 5-1, and TJ, 7-0, last year. 'It brought everyone's enthusiasm up and brought us together,' said Story, who defeated Lebo for the first time in her career. 'It showed people that we are really good. We've always been underrated.' Moon isn't underrated this year with a top-five ranking by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review throughout the season. The Tigers had given up just six goals this season before Friday's showdown with No. 2 Upper St. Clair in a non-section game. '(The players) are looking forward to it more than at the beginning of the year,' Pfeifer said. 'Seniors would like to win because they haven't beaten them since seventh grade.' This season isn't a complete surprise. Pfeifer had some idea of what he had coming in, and the players expected a good season. 'Actually, I thought it was going to be a very good season,' Story said. 'We've been together since seventh and eighth grade playing against the same girls from Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair. We were kind of hopeful.' Pfeifer has helped make things work by bringing the same philosophy to Moon that made Seneca Valley's program one of the best in the WPIAL. 'I think he's wonderful,' Story said. 'He's brought a lot of new stuff and made it fun at the same time. He's running a very good program.' Pfeifer's program begins with using a lot of players. 'When I talked to the assistant from last year and some parents, they told me we were maybe 12 or 13 kids deep,' Pfeifer said. 'We've been able to play 17 kids. We've gotten deeper and younger.' The use of several players, even ones without much experience, has benefited the Tigers. 'We're trying to get a lot of kids playing time because you never know who is going to get hurt,' Pfeifer said. 'If you lose a starter late in the season and have to pull someone off the bench at this point (without experience), it would be too late.' The result has been a deep team that doesn't depend on a select few to make crucial plays. 'I was going through stats and we have 18 kids with a goal or an assist this season, and that's out of 34 kids,' Pfeifer said. 'Over half the kids have a varsity point. We're spreading the ball around a lot of the time.' The wide distribution of playing time has helped the team as a whole. 'It gets everyone more involved and allows people breaks when they are worn down,' Story said. 'It's really good for the team. It's better to have everyone involved than just the starters. It helps tremendously at practice.' Freshman forward Liz Martin has taken advantage of her playing time by leading the team in goals with 12. 'I didn't know about her, she's been a surprise,' Pfeifer said. Katie Leonard, who has scored seven goals to tie Story and midfielder Julianne Jochman for second on the team, Suzie Moyer and Johanna Lidgren join Martin up front. Jochman, Erica Tancosh and sisters Carolyn and Jen Chew play the midfield. Story anchors the defense with Melissa Etchart, Casey Hall and Emily Meehan. Lindsey Carfanga is the starting goalkeeper and only has given up six goals this season while recording nine shutouts. 'It's someone different every single game,' Story said. 'It's a team effort from everyone.'

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