Women’s Soccer: Weiler leading team every game on the field

Before every game, Kat Weiler moves through her routine.

She listens to a playlist featuring Rage Against the Machine’s “Guerilla Radio,” lays out her jersey in an identical position and puts on her socks first.

After that, the junior moves to the field, where she performs as a star defender for the Pitt women’s soccer team.

As dependable as her careful procedure, Weiler, who was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 6, has started and played in every game since she arrived on campus.

Like many younger siblings, Weiler followed in her brother’s footsteps when it came to choosing a sport.

The stand-out athlete stepped on the soccer field for the first time at age 4, because her older brother played in recreational leagues and her parents decided to sign her up, as well.

As a 9-year-old, she joined a club team that some of her teammates created and never looked back.

She shined as a four-year starter at Lake Braddock High School in Burke, Va., contributing on back-to-back state championship squads.

Now she’s a member of the backfield for a Pitt women’s soccer team that broke the record for most shutouts in a season school record-tying eight victories.

“I wanted to go to a city school,” Weiler said. “That’s a big reason I came here. Also, all of Pitt’s sports are really good. I wanted to come to a place where I could play as a freshman and contribute right away.”

As a first-year player, Weiler was one of three athletes to start all 18 games. She followed that season by starting in all 20 games as a sophomore.

But like any freshman, she still had lessons to learn once arriving on campus. One of the most important stages in her development was discovering how to channel her always-emotional play.

Pitt coach Sue-Moy Chin said that Weiler has developed the ability to control her passion for the game, something she had difficulty with when she first put on a Pitt uniform three years ago.

“She wants to win all the time, and sometimes it’s frustrating [to lose] when she works so hard,” Chin said. “She wants to run up the field and score the goal, too.”

Chin said Weiler matured and learned to trust her teammates, a statement with which Weiler agreed. Weiler added that she developed the ability to keep her composure in high-pressure situations, while adjusting to the highly competitive and fast-moving nature of college soccer.

Weiler arrived at Pitt with experience as a forward, a midfielder and a defender. Chin said the team needed Weiler in the back, so they converted her to play that position.

Now, Chin said, Weiler anchors the backfield along with senior Maura Caslin.

“She’s done a fantastic job of learning the position, understanding the situation and evolving,” Chin said. “She’s a tremendous person and a really dedicated player.”

That dedication allowed Weiler to become a leader for the record-setting Pitt squad, despite her quiet tendencies. Weiler admitted that while she tries to guide her team to the best of her abilities, she’s not a very outspoken person.

She tries to lead by playing with enthusiasm, Weiler said, and remaining calm while never giving up on games.

“She’s kind of a quiet leader,” Chin said. “She’s not very vocal, but she leads by example. She leads by being there every day in practice and working hard. I think the other girls feed off of that.”

As a central defender, Chin said Weiler is responsible for covering for her teammates, so leadership ability is necessary. Weiler added that the defense found success as a unit because they all learned how to help one another.

“It was definitely great chemistry between all four of us,” Weiler said. “We played as one unit. If someone ran past one of us, there would be another one of us right behind.”

Weiler brings several solid physical skills to the team, Chin said, including her organizational abilities and her one-on-one defense.

Most importantly, however, is the dedication and leadership Weiler brings to the field, Chin said. She takes it upon herself to organize the backfield and has grown into a very thorough defender.

“I’m disciplined and I’m a really hard worker,” Weiler said. “I love the game, so that makes it easier.”