Doug Woods knew this season wasn't going to be easy.

The fourth-year coach of the Knoch boys' soccer program had to replace seven starters from last year who graduated and understood replacing those players would be quite a task.

Luckily, for the Knights, Wood's underclassmen accepted the challenge. Knoch (9-7-1, 8-4) secured its sixth consecutive WPIAL Class AA playoff berth with a 3-2 win against Freeport last week.

"Our goal every year is to go to the playoffs," Wood said. "Six years in a row is great for our program, and it's nice for the school. It's also nice for our program that our players can look at that and compare it to the other sports. It's a special thing."

After squeezing out a section championship with a season-ending win against Mars last year, Knoch finished 15-3-1, losing to South Park in the third-place consolation match of the WPIAL playoffs. The Knights were able to put together a five-game winning streak down the stretch this year to secure the third playoff spot out of Section 2-AA.

The Knights, however, opened the regular season with three consecutive losses to No. 9 Kiski Area (Section 1-AAA), section rival and No. 2-ranked Hampton and No. 4 Burrell (Section 1-AA) before shutting out Deer Lakes and Kittanning by 4-0 scores.

"We had a tough start to the season and we played three good non-conference games," Wood said. "We needed those three games to figure out where we needed to put people on the field and make the best possible decisions.

"We watched some kids with little varsity experience step up and decided where to put some of those people."

Those decisions paid off for the Knights.

Knoch plays in a very competitive section, considering Mars Area (16-1-1, 12-0) and Hampton (13-3, 10-2) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in Class AA, respectively. The Knights lost to Hampton, 4-1 and 6-0, as well as to Mars, 3-0, on Sept. 26. They closed the regular season against the Planets on Tuesday.

"Obviously, those two teams rank as the top two in the WPIAL and are very good teams," Wood said. "We played well against them and they're ranked for a reason.

"They were good games to prepare us for the playoffs because if we see them again, we're going to give them a game. But we're going to need to play perfect."

Wood's son, senior forward, Kevin Wood, paces the Knights in scoring with 14 goals and 13 assists.

"He's our leader," coach Wood said. "He makes things happen. He's been a starter for four years and has the experience; he sees the field very well.

"He makes it easy as a coach. He's surrounded by underclassmen, so he helps those players on the field. He's very unselfish and it shows by the number of assists he has. He knows an assist is just as good as a goal."

Wood's younger son, sophomore center midfielder Kory Wood, as well as sophomore forward Klaus Ondrizek, each have chipped in with nine goals.

"The kids have continued to play together as a team," Wood said. "We've had the senior leadership and have been able to play well both offensively and defensively."

Chris Ludwiczak, a senior captain, has provided some of that leadership as the Knights' center defender.

"He really stepped up this year," Wood said. "He has underclassmen at the left and right of him. He has improved and has been our main focus defensively and he's been very consistent with his play."

The Knights have been without the service of senior goalkeeper Cullen Hinderliter, who was sidelined after a summer baseball injury. Knoch, however, has survived in the cage by platooning sophomore goalkeeper Phil Kletzli and freshman Andy Fritz.

"The two young guys have done a decent job even with their lack of experience," Wood said. "It has been challenging for both of them, but each game they have gotten better and more comfortable."

Hinderliter, however, has been medically cleared to play. He saw some junior varsity time last week and could continue to see time this week and during the playoffs.

Still, Wood is confident with his present roster entering the playoffs.

"We have to play a complete game," he said. "If we go out focused and start strong by scoring the first goal, I think we can beat anybody."

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