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WPIAL soccer: Seneca Valley boys soccer dominates Mt. Lebanon in playoff opener, Tyler Prex nets pair

JACKSON TWP — Leading 1-0 at halftime, Seneca Valley’s boys soccer team was looking for a boost.

The Raiders got one — courtesy of the opposition.

Less than three minutes into the second half, SV was the recipient of an own goal as Zach Garma tried splitting through a pair of Mt. Lebanon defenders, driving aggressively toward the net. In trying to kick the ball out of danger, a Blue Devil player inadvertently delivered a backward kick into his own net.

The play sparked a bevy of goals that keyed a 6-0 Seneca Valley win over Mt. Lebanon in a WPIAL Class 4A playoff game Tuesday night at NexTier Stadium.

“You could read their body language after that goal,” Raiders coach George Williams said. “It took a lot out of them. Own goals are always tough to take, especially in a spot like that.”

Mt. Lebanon coach Mike Gullo admitted the unfortunate play took a lot out of his team.

“100%, it did,” he said. “It’s hard to come back from that. We were deflated a bit and Seneca Valley took full advantage.”

The No. 7 seed Raiders (13-5) travel to Peters Township (15-1-1) to take on the second-seeded Indians in the next round on Saturday. Game time has not been announced.

Seneca Valley’s lone goal of the first half was scored by Sami Malkamaki in the 34th minute. Two minutes after being robbed of a goal by Blue Devil goalkeeper Noah Patrick’s sprawling save, Malamaki blistered a shot from 27 yards out that sailed past Patrick, into the left corner of the net.

The Raiders score times in the first 12 minutes of the second half to quickly put the game away. Following the own goal — credited to Garma — Tyler Prex scored with 29:21 remaining, heading in a shot off a corner kick by younger brother Jacob Prex.

Barely a minute after that, sophomore Zach White scored from a scrum in front of the Mt. Lebanon net to give the Raiders a 4-0 lead.

“Once we got a couple of goals, play opened up a bit,” SV senior Tyler Prex said. “The scoring opportunities were there and we cashed in a few of them.”

The Raiders added two more goals. With 21:12 to play, Garma’s shot was stopped by a sprawling Patrick, but the rebound deflected over to Tyler Kuhar, who tucked the ball into the open net. Tyler Prex added his team-leading 20th goal with 9:35 remaining.

“It took us a while to get going, but we t kept coming,” Garma said.

Seneca Valley had a 16-2 edge in shots on net. The Raiders’ starting goalkeeper, Noah Eastgate, faced no shots on net. Freshman Kye DeMaster replaced Eastgate with 16 minutes to play and came up with a pair of saves.

SV took six corner kicks to Mt. Lebanon’s four. The Blue Devils (11-8) endured their worst loss of the season.

“It’s hard to leave a field with dignity after losing by five or six goals, but our kids played hard to the end,” Gullo said. “We’ll be back.”

Related Article: Slippery Rock boys won their region. Can new-look roster make a run in District 10 soccer playoffs? Related Article: WPIAL soccer playoffs brackets announced: Healthy Seneca Valley girls eyeing run after section title

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