WPIAL soccer playoffs brackets announced: Healthy Seneca Valley girls eyeing run after section title
Injuries can derail a team’s season in any sport. Seneca Valley girls soccer treated them as hurdles to clear, and the Raiders have done so in impressive fashion.
Junior forward Ashlee Libby, who was named All-WPIAL last year after scoring 18 goals and adding six assists, was injured in the season-opener in late August and missed half the season.
The Raiders graduated star goalie Mia Humphreys last spring and Abby Rombach, who was slated to move into the net, was also injured, forcing sophomore Sydney Postler into the starting lineup.
But the Raiders did not let either absence keep them from marching to their first section championship in six years. They capped the Section 3 crown with a 5-0 win over North Hills last week. SV (12-2-2, 7-0-1) learned it had earned the No. 2 seed in Class 4A when the WPIAL playoff brackets were released Wednesday.
The Raiders received a first-round bye and will be in action Oct. 24 when they host the winner of Monday’s game between Upper St. Clair and Butler.
Libby is back to her play-making form since returning to the field, scoring nine goals.
“While she was out, Cassie Leonard really stepped up for us,” SV coach Mark Perry said. “She has 12 goals and nine assists. Karly Majeski has nine goals and Maddie Marcotte has nine assists.
“We’ve had some tight section games this season against Pine-Richland and North Allegheny (both 1-0 wins) and Butler (2-1 win) when we found a way to score enough to win. In those games, our defense limited the other team’s scoring chances and we capitalized on our own chances, whether it was in the flow of play or on a set piece.”
The Raiders took a challenging stretch to open the season in stride.
“We played four games in six days against Cumberland Valley, Altoona, Latrobe and Peters Township,” Perry said. “We came out of that stretch 2-2 and haven’t lost since.”
In fact, the only games the Raiders did not win in their last 12 were a 2-2 tie against Fox Chapel in mid-September and a scoreless stalemate against North Allegheny on Oct. 7.
Through it all, Postler has been steady as SV’s last line of defense, earning eight shutouts.
“She was very inexperienced and there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that, but she’s done a great job for us,” Perry said.
Having a stout defense in front of her has kept Postler from facing a lot of shots.
“We’re working better as a unit now than we were at the start of the season,” said Gia DiTullio, one of three starting center backs along with Cassidy Stopchick and Addison Cravotta. “Sydney has the best foot skills and that has helped her.”
Two wing backs, Gianna Donatucci and Kailee George, have helped to thwart opponents’ scoring threats and started ensuing rushes into the opposite end.
The Raiders’ last section title came in 2018, a season which also saw them win WPIAL gold. Last year, SV lost just three games all season, but one of them was a defeat to Canon-McMillan in the district quarterfinals.
“We had more firepower last year, but it turned out to be our downfall because we tried to score individually,” DiTullio said. “We’re united this year and are playing better as a team.”
Following are first-round matchups involving Butler County teams.
Class 4A: No. 10 Mt. Lebanon (11-7) at No. 7 Seneca Valley (11-5), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Class 3A: No. 11 Penn-Trafford (10-5-1) at No. 6 Mars (13-1-4), 2 p.m. Saturday
Class 2A: No. 11 Southmoreland (11-7) vs. No. 6 North Catholic (14-4), 6 p.m. Monday at Mars H.S.
Class 4A: No. 10 Butler (9-8) at No. 7 Upper St. Clair (9-5-2), 6:30 p.m. Monday
Class 3A: No. 11 Oakland Catholic (8-7) at No. 6 Mars (15-2), 8 p.m. Monday
Class 2A: No. 12 Belle Vernon (9-9) at No. 5 Freeport (11-1-1), 8 p.m. Tuesday
No. 11 Yough (12-6) vs. No. 6 North Catholic (13-3), 8 p.m. Tuesday at Freedom H.S.
