Experienced Raiders shut out Tornado girls
JACKSON TWP — Monday's Butler-Seneca Valley girls soccer matchup was a battle between youth and experience.
Guess which prevailed?
Defending WPIAL Class AAA champion Seneca Valley netted three goals in the first 25 minutes of play en route to a 4-0 Section 2-AAA victory over the Golden Tornado.
Six of Seneca Valley's starters are seniors and two others are juniors, while Butler has only two senior and three junior starters.
"The better teams you play, the better you are in the long run," said first-year Butler coach Sara Lettrich. "We'll try to improve. Seneca Valley is an outstanding team."
The Raiders (10-0, 7-0) recorded their fifth consecutive shutout Monday and their seventh overall. They've outscored their opponents 35-4 this season.
SV's Kate Kelly scored the game's first goal when she buried a Mandy Cerminara pass from across the goalmouth 5 minutes, 31 seconds into the contest.
When Tornado goalie Taylor Troyan blocked another Kelly shot, Karisa Fernandez scored off the deflection to double the Raiders' lead.
Then, with 15:38 left in the opening half, Cerminara was pulled down in the box, which resulted in a penalty kick. Cerminara's shot into the left side of the net opened a 3-0 advantage.
In the second half, the stellar play of Troyan kept the Tornado from slipping further out of the game. The freshman made 11 saves in the second half and 17 for the game.
Fernandez, however, closed out the game with 7:13 remaining when her kick from the left side of the field found its way into the right side of the net.
Butler's best opportunity to score came with 5:55 left when senior midfielder Ashley Oluschak's kick from the right side of the goal slid over the crossbar.
"We just tried to play our game and possess the ball," said Lettrich. "We didn't give up, so I credit our girls. Seneca Valley has a great team."
SV sophomore goalie Keara Lydon made two saves in the first half. Junior Ashley Wack played the second half, but didn't face a shot.
Seneca Valley hosts North Hills at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Butler hosts Mars at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
