Raiders Roll On
ADAMS TWP — Canon-McMillan withstood the first two blows delivered by Seneca Valley.
It was the third one that the Big Macs were unable to answer.
Senior midfielder A.J. Mills took a centering pass from Luke Rupert and blasted a shot past Canon-McMillan goalkeeper Alex Hilbert in the 73rd minute. The goal proved to be the difference in the Raiders' 3-2 victory in a WPIAL Class 4A boys soccer semifinal at the Mars Athletic Complex.
“I saw Luke running down the right side,” said Mills. “I was at the 40-yard line, saw a lane and thought, 'This is my chance to shine.'”
Top-ranked Seneca Valley (16-2-1) will face Norwin (17-2-1), which downed Upper St. Clair 2-1, in the district final at Highmark Stadium at a time and date to be determined.
In the final 90 seconds of the game, the Big Macs came close to scoring the equalizer for the third time. A ball in front of SV's net was kicked out of danger by the Raiders, though it resulted in a corner kick with less than a minute to play. SV defended it and soon celebrated its dramatic win.
“We knew we just had to keep grinding, keep going at them,” Mills said. “We knew we were the better team tonight right from the start.”
SV has received big goals from numerous players all season long. It was fitting that the Raiders clinched the program's second berth into the WPIAL title game with goals from three different players.
Tanner Howard scored the first one on a header in the 18th minute following a free kick from teammate Keegan McVicker. SV's second goal came from Jackson Wotus less than three minutes into the second half.
The Big Macs (16-3), however, came back in both cases. They tied the game at 1-1 with Tom Samosky's header in the 23rd minute. Following a throw-in to the left of SV's net in the 64th minute, Austin McColpin waited for a bounce and beat goalkeeper Will Gallagher to knot the game at 2-all.
“After scoring a goal, it's natural to have a letdown,” said Williams. “Canon-McMillan is a strong team and capitalized on our letdowns tonight.”“Seneca Valley is a good team and we're a good team,” said Canon-McMillan coach Larry Fingers. “We traded punches the whole game. They were just able to score one more.”The first half proved fast and furious as the teams combined for nine corner kicks in the first 40 minutes.“I was not expecting that, but I can't say that I'm surprised,” Williams said. “That's the way they play and we have an attacking style, too.”Hilbert stopped three shots for Canon-McMillan. Gallagher denied the Big Macs five times.“This is a testament to our players,” said Williams. “They work for and with each other. It was a great team win tonight.”Mills was a sophomore on SV's team that lost to rival North Allegheny in the district championship game in 2016.“Getting there and losing was the worst feeling,” said Mills. “It means the world to me to be part of the team that gets back. This is our year. I don't care who we play.”
