PENN HILLS' SOCCER FIELD RENAMED IN MEMORY OF NATE FERRACO #PGHSoccer

If you follow Western PA high school soccer, you may have noticed that last year Penn Hills High School hosted some of the WPIAL quarter-and-semifinals games at its newly redesigned soccer field located behind Linton Middle School.

In wake of a terrible tragedy last Winter, after the death of recent Penn Hills soccer standout (and football kicker), Nate Ferraco, the soccer-only field will have a new scoreboard in honor of his memory.

A 2015 valedictorian, Ferraco was recruited to Geneva College in Beaver County to study mechanical engineering and play soccer.

Riding back to Geneva from an indoor game last Winter with some of his Geneva teammates, Ferraco died as a result of a Jan. 24 vehicle crash in Butler County.

He was 18.

After the accident, a shaken, but galvanized Penn Hills community wanted to do something to honor Ferraco’s memory and his passion for soccer and his community.

Led by the efforts of Penn Hills girls head soccer coach, Ashley DeVito, the community raised nearly $20,000 in support of the new scoreboard.

“We just grew up together our whole lives playing soccer,” DeVito told the Tribune-Review.

“When Nate passed, the soccer community wanted to do something for Nate’s family. Whenever I was in high school, Nate would watch us play. The soccer community’s always been very close-knit.”

On August 13, Penn Hills held an unveiling of the new scoreboard.

In addition, Geneva College is hosting a season-opening tournament in Ferraco’s honor this weekend.   Teams participating in the two-day slate of games include: Geneva, Juniata College, Grove City College and Pitt-Greensburg.