UPPER ST. CLAIR — The Butler and Upper St. Clair girls soccer teams appeared to be evenly matched through the first half.

The scoreboard, however, did not reflect that by the end of the night.

Four second-half goals earned a 6-1 victory for the Panthers in Monday's WPIAL Class 4A first-round playoff game.

“This wasn't the draw both of these teams deserved,” said Butler coach Steve Perri. “We should have been playing each other much later in the playoffs, but it is what it is.

“We felt we had a solid game plan coming in, but their stars shone brighter than our's did.”

Despite trailing 2-1 at halftime, Butler managed several legitimate scoring chances in the first 40 minutes. One paid off, with Brittnie Spithaler's free kick from 18 yards out sailing past Panther keeper Jill Rocco to tie the game at 1-1 in the fifth minute of play. It was Spithaler's team-leading 10th goal of the season.

USC topped Butler in shots on goal in the first half 10-5, but the Golden Tornado managed a pair of corner kicks in that span to none for the Panthers.

The Tornado (10-7-2) were looking to tie the game once again in the opening minutes of the second half when their chances of winning received a self-inflicted blow.

In the 42nd minute of play, USC's Marissa Krenn took control of the ball on the right side of the field. With Butler defenders closing in, she sent an arcing pass just in front of Butler goalkeeper Anna Voelker.

The ball bounced toward the left side of the net and a Butler defender, attempting to gain control of the ball, instead knocked it past Voelker and the Panthers (11-5) celebrated the gift and their 3-1 lead.

“We wanted to create momentum in the opening minutes of the second half,” said Perri. “Instead, the own goal happens. I'm not going to say it was the dagger, but it hurt.”

From there, things snowballed on Butler. USC's Nikki Gibbons scored less than three minutes later. Abi Perri and Landy Mertz capped the scoring later in the second half.

Upper St. Clair graduated a lot of seniors from last year's team that won the PIAA Class AAA championship.

“We're fortunate enough to be pretty talented this season,” said Panther coach Dave Gray. “But we're also young. It has shown this season because we'll look really good one night and not so good the next. But we played well tonight and were able to open things up more in the second half.”

Mertz, a speedy sophomore, ended the game with a hat trick. She scored both of USC's goals in the first half, the initial score coming just over three minutes in. She then beat Voelker with a shot from the right side of the net in the 18th minute.

“She has a pedigree. Her sisters and brother all played soccer here,” Gray said of Mertz. “She has the ability to change the game herself and she showed it tonight.

“Butler is a good team and we knew it coming in,” Gray added. “We felt it was a difficult draw for us.”

Voelker made 11 saves while Rocco stopped five shots.

The Tornado reached the WPIAL playoffs this year for the first time since 2003.

“There were three games this season in which we were up 1-0 and ended up losing. With the talent we have, that should not happen,” Perri said. “But overall, it was a very positive year. We were able to take some big steps for a program that had been down for years.”

Class A

A goal just 75 seconds into the game proved to be enough for Bentworth in a 1-0 first-round victory over Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.

The Trojanettes (5-14) were able to keep things close with a Bentworth squad that will enter the quarterfinals with a 16-1 record.

“It shows how far we've come,” said CWNC coach Emily Karr. “We have a pretty inexperienced team and we had a very tough schedule, both in and out of section.

“Tonight was a good indicator for next year.”