PINE TWP — The Butler High boys soccer team will have to wait to claim the top spot in Section 2-AAA.

Five minutes and 40 seconds into overtime, Pine-Richland junior forward Victor Osio lined up for a free kick 25 yards from Butler's net Thursday night at Pine-Richland Stadium.

Osio's shot was just out of the reach of Butler goalkeeper Mark Malecky, who dove to his left in an attempt to make the save.

The goal gave the Rams a crucial 2-1 victory. Both teams entered the game tied for the section lead with records of 3-1-1.

“We have three goals every year,” said Rams' coach Jon Conner. “First, we want to get the top spot in the section. We want to play in the WPIAL finals and earn a berth into the state playoffs.

“We have four section games remaining and I told our players that they are all pivotal,” he added.

The Golden Tornado (7-4-1, 3-2-1) took a 1-0 edge into halftime thanks to Adam Suter's goal in the 17th minute of play.

For the first 31 minutes of the second half, Butler held onto its lead, but the complexion of the game changed.

“Our guys got away from what we did well in the first half, which was creating scoring chances,” said Tornado coach Troy Mohney. “We started panicking. We tried to defend for our lives.”

It worked until Pine-Richland's Drew Klingenberg put his foot into a corner kick to the left of Butler's goal in the 72nd minute of play.

The ball sailed into the mass of players battling for position in front of Malecky, who was unable to stop junior defender Pat Sullivan from scoring on a header.

Conner saw improved play all over the field from the Rams (6-2-3, 4-1-1), beginning in the second half.

“I thought we picked up the pace of the game,” he said. “We possessed the ball in Butler's half of the field and that was huge for us.”

Malecky made eight stops for the Tornado. His counterpart, Rams' sophomore Kevin Killeen, had five saves, including one in overtime.

Butler's loss, coupled with Seneca Valley's 3-2 win over North Allegheny Thursday, gives SV sole possession of second place in the section.

But a lot can happen between now and the end of the section slate in mid-October.

“I told our guys that we have to take care of our last four (section) games and we'll see where that leaves us,” Mohney said.

Butler's next section contest will come Tuesday when it hosts Shaler.