1 is good enough
JACKSON TWP — With a 1-0 lead entering the second half against Seneca Valley Thursday, Butler coach Troy Mohney wanted his team to keep things basic.
"We made sure to point out that we had the lead and to not take too many chances, just keep going forward," said Mohney.
That goal, scored by Wade Grubbs with 22 minutes, 46 seconds remaining in the first half, stood up as the Golden Tornado improved their Section 2-AAA title hopes with the 1-0 victory at NexTier Stadium.
Butler (15-1-1, 8-1 in the section) is just ahead of Pine-Richland (11-2-2, 8-1-1) in the section race. A win over visiting Shaler Tuesday will clinch the title for Butler; a tie and the Tornado will share the crown with the Rams.
Despite the loss, the Raiders (6-8-1, 3-5-1) still have playoff hopes as a win over host North Allegheny Monday night coupled with a Butler win over Shaler (6-8-1, 4-4-1) will give the Raiders a third-place tie.
"Going into a game like this against a team like Butler, you know you'll need a strong defensive game," said Seneca Valley coach George Williams. "They have a strong team. They can score at different angles. Again, we made a mistake at a bad time."
The Raiders, who have lost four 1-0 games in the past five games, including three straight, looked to have Grubbs' shot blocked.
Raiders goalie Mike Stevens deflected the shot, but it bounced over his head and the ball beat a scrambling Stevens into the net.
"He got a hand on it, but it eked in," said Williams. "Good teams find a way to win. I thought we played a really good game. We had three or four shots about a foot off target. A bounce here or there ...
"It's been frustrating in the second half (of the season) to find the net. We had a strong performance tonight. The seniors played a good game. All the guys played well,"Williams added.
The last time the two teams met, Butler came away with a 3-2 victory in double overtime on Sept. 21.
Thursday's game took on more of a defensive battle.
"I didn't go in with a score in mind," said Butler coach Troy Mohney. "We wanted to keep a clean slate."
Stevens made 11 saves for the Raiders while Butler netminder Tim Duffy finished with five.
The Tornado are on the verge of a championship, but Mohney, in his first season, knows it won't come easy.
"Ours is a very tough section," said Mohney. "There's not an easy game. The kids have learned a lot about themselves. There's 10 section games and every one is a tough one.
"I knew I had a great bunch of kids. We lost only two seniors from last year, so the expectations were high all season."
