Windber's Steinbeck, Conemaugh Township's Giffin collect postseason soccer accolades

Windber senior midfielder Anna Steinbeck and Conemaugh Township junior midfielder Dylan Giffin had stellar 2022 seasons on the pitch.

Steinbeck was named to her second straight Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association all-state team while Giffin collected his first all-state honor.

"I am just super thankful for it," said Steinbeck of the all-state selection. "Having the opportunity to be named to the team and having a bunch of people around me who support me - my coaches, my teammates, my family - I am thankful. This is truly a blessing to have this opportunity."

Windber's success was much in part because of Steinbeck. The Ramblers went 19-1, winning WestPAC gold and repeating as District 5 Class 1A champs.

Steinbeck netted an impressive 48 goals to go along with 18 assists. Entering the season, Steinbeck needed 44 goals to reach 100 for her career. She surpassed the mark with five goals in a first-round playoff victory over Southern Fulton.

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The love of the game started when Steinbeck began playing the sport as a youngster and it has never wavered.

"My competitiveness really drives me. I've been playing since I was little and just fell in love with it," Steinbeck said. "My family is a soccer family. I would go to the field with my older brother and sister, and we would shoot on my younger brother.

"I have been surrounded with it my whole life. I've had so many opportunities to fall in love with soccer, and I have. It has given me so much. The competitive nature of the sport, the reward, the community and team aspect ... I just love it all."

Veteran Windber coach Paul Buza had high praise for the senior stalwart.

"She is the hardest working player I have ever coached," Buza said. "She eats, breathes and sleeps soccer. Everyone looks up to Anna, and she is very deserving of this honor."

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Meanwhile, Giffin led Conemaugh Township to a 15-4 mark. The team advanced to the District 5 Class 1A semifinals.

Giffin contributed a team-high 20 goals and 11 assists.

"This definitely means a lot to me. I wasn't expecting to get this as a junior," said Giffin of the all-state honor. "This makes me feel good about myself and feel like my work is paying off."

Giffin took his game to another level this season.

"Confidence has a lot to do with it," Giffin said of his success. "My freshman and sophomore year, I was kind of scared and wasn't ready to be a leader. This year, I decided that I wanted to be that guy to help everyone out and be there for them."

First-year Conemaugh Township coach Fred Mainhart knew he had a leader with Giffin on the field.

"He's the quiet leader, however, leads by example," Mainhart said of Giffin. "Anything we are doing at practice whether it is sprints or ball-handling, he's not going half speed. He puts the work in during the offseason with the club team he plays with out of Pittsburgh. If there's a kid that deserves this, he puts a lot of time in getting better in and out of the season."

Mainhart saw the impact Giffin had on the game.

"He's the type of kid that can take a game over," Mainhart said. "When we needed a momentum shift, he not only could score goals but set up goals as well. He made players around him better. Guys feed off him. When they saw him going full speed at all times, they wanted to pick up their level of play, too."

Adam Ripple is the Daily American sports editor. He can be reached at 814-444-5926. Follow him on Twitter @ARipple_DAsport. Follow Daily American Sports on Facebook and @dailyamericanmedia on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Windber's Steinbeck, Conemaugh Township's Giffin earn all-state honors