Late heroics
BUTLER TWP — Under six minutes remained in what appeared to be a much-needed section victory for Butler's boys soccer team.
But an old nemesis had other ideas.
Seneca Valley scored a pair of goals in a span of just over three minutes, escaping Art Bernardi Stadium with a 2-1 victory over the Golden Tornado Thursday night.
“We got out-worked in the first half and we knew what we needed to do in the second half to win,” said SV coach George Williams.
With the score knotted at one, SV senior midfielder Ben Francis booted a free kick from 50 yards in the 78th minute. The ball sailed toward the upper left of the Tornado net, where goalie Peyton Seibert jumped, but did not make contact with the shot. The ball bounced off the crossbar and hit Seibert's back as he was coming back to the ground and settled in the back of the net.
The victory keeps the Raiders (8-1, 7-0) undefeated in section play while the Tornado (5-3, 4-3) suffered their third consecutive section loss.
Butler had led 1-0 since Tyler Gillis' header off an Emery Douthett corner kick in the 38th minute.
“I think we came in a little too comfortable,” said Francis, “but in the end, we wanted it more. It's huge for us to go 7-0 in the first half of the section schedule.”
Butler coach Troy Mohney had doubts that one goal would be enough to win the game.
“We limited Seneca's chances for most of the game,” he said, “but our kids were trying to win this game 1-0. We didn't do much on the attack in the second half. We did get forward after they tied it, but unfortunately, their kid gets that shot from 50 yards.”
SV's first goal was made possible by Zach LaValle, whose hustle broke up a clearing attempt by the Tornado in the 75th minute. The ball bounced to forward Connor Schmidt, who won a 1-on-1 battle with Seibert, who made six saves in the game.
SV goalkeeper Adam Davies had four saves.
“Overall, I thought we played well defensively, except for that corner kick they scored on,” said Williams. “We had a lot of holes there, but Butler has a lot of dangerous players and we were able to keep them at arm's length.”
The Tornado's loss is a bitter pill to swallow, especially since their previous two section contests did not turn out well.
Butler was undefeated entering its game against Allderdice last Saturday. The Tornado had scored an emotional win over North Allegheny just two days before and Mohney referred to the 4-1 loss to the Dragons as “a letdown game.”
Then on Tuesday, the Tornado suffered an 11-1 loss at Fox Chapel.
“We were down 4-1 at halftime and made some adjustments to try and get back into the game,” said Mohney. “We allowed a fifth goal and we kind of threw in the towel after that. Things got away from us.”
In any event, Butler needs to turn things around and fast in a very tough section.
“Our next (five) games are all section games and they will determine whether or not we make the playoffs,” said Mohney. “We have to move on from this.”
