Some things never change.

Butler and Karns City have been dominant girls soccer programs in recent years and coaches Marlene Peoples and Joe Meshanko expect more of the same this fall.

The Golden Tornado have played in the PIAA Class AAA championship game two of the past three years, including last year's 1-0 loss to Owen J. Roberts.

"I think we have a shot at it again," Peoples said. "We have enough players back to replace the players we lost.

"We may not have the big goal scorers, but the competition will be tougher and the games lower scoring. A balanced attack could be effective for us," the coach added.

Karns City has won the District 9 championship six consecutive years and the Gremlins lost only two starters from a year ago.

"This team is experienced and our freshmen are top shelf," Meshanko said. "This could be the best team we've had in quite a few years.

"All the parts to the puzzle are there. And we have three or four girls who play Saturday (select) soccer, which always helps," he added.

Here is a capsule look at Butler County girls soccer this season:

Coach:Marlene Peoples, fifth yearLast year:21-3-2, lost PIAA Class AAA championship gameKey losses:Annie Lowry forward, 30-goal scorer), Jess Onufer (goalkeeper, school record for shutouts), Jenny Kienzle (forward), Ashton Graham (defense), Katie Richey (forward)Key returners:Seniors Elise McCaskey (midfield, eight goals), Julie Lineman (defense), juniors Jamie Albert (midfield), Kelly Hilderbrand (forward), Lindsay Hohn (midfield), Lauren Rodgers (defense), Jen Schwab (midfield), sophomore Lisa Rodgers (goalkeeper)Peoples says:"Our section is tougher now and I don't know if we'll see as many overall goals scored. That may benefit us in that we can get away with a balanced offense that has a few girls scoring eight or nine goals each. We do have a number of players who can put the ball in the net. The girls have come to camp strong and they're working hard together."

Coach:Christine Medwig, sixth yearLast year:Lost in WPIAL quarterfinals to SewickleyKey losses:Maria Lutz (goalkeeper), Amanda Thiery (midfield)Key returners:Five senior starters in Lacey Cochran (midfield, 23 goals, 13 assists), Olivia Hess (midfield), Nikki Woitas (defense), Jerrica Boroski (defense), Leah Zeilder (defense)Medwig says:"Four or five of these girls have been starters together since they were freshmen. They know how each other plays. We have some speed this year and that will help us. We've been to the playoffs three straight years now."

Coach:Ernie DeSue, first yearLast year:UnavailableKey losses:UnavailableKey returners:Seniors Megan Ferderber (stopper), Christa Campbell (sweeper), Deb Marin (forward), Ashley McKnight (center-midfield), Jessica Nichols (forward)DeSue says:"I coached the Grove City boys program for nine years and I've been trying to get the girls acclimated to the system of play I want them to use. My goal is to just get the best out of every girl on the team. If that means five wins, 10 wins or all wins, it doesn't matter as long as they do their best."

Coach:Joe Meshanko, eighth yearLast year:13-9Key losses:Alexis Gaggini (goalkeeper), Samantha Pistorius (midfield)Key returners:Seniors Jessica Smith (sweeper), Britney Green (midfield), Amanda Double (middle back), Lauren McGarvey (middle back), juniors Brittni Grenninger (forward, 34 goals, 20 assists), Kristen Barnmhart (forward, 20 goals), Adrian Olzak (midfield), Nikki McElroy (forward)Meshanko says:"I think we'll be much better than last year. We're more mature and our freshmen (Allyson Kepple, Julianne Scott, Michelle Sweeney, Kylee Rankin) are top shelf. We lost nine seniors last year. This year, we lose only two."

Coach:Amy Travis, second yearLast year:8-8-3Key losses:Carrie Melis (sweeper), Candice Jenkins (midfield), Ashley Riemer (forward)Key returners:Seniors Sam Brown (goalkeeper), Nicole Reiser (midfield), Liz Burgard (defense), sophomore P.J. Abels (midfield, 11 goals, four assists)Travis says:"We have a strong freshman class coming up. We have 14 freshmen on the roster and only 13 upperclassmen in the other three grades. Amanda Sharbaugh is a freshman forward who could help us, and Eva Gudding is a senior exchange student from Norway who is a nice player. Our returning players are very skilled and we're excited about this team."

Coach:Dale Giovengo, eighth yearLast year:16-3Key losses:Mallory Bugel, Veronica Jeremko, Amanda Lyons, Brittany Vincent, Amanda Dressel, Mandy BarrowKey returners:Seniors Nikki Frisbee (midfield), Michelle Logan (midfield), juniors Stephanie Romanias (midfield-goalkeeper), Margaret Bugel (midfield), Megan Eidenshink (defense), sophomore Angela Higgins (forward), Rachel Williams (goalkeeper)Giovengo says:"We lost a lot of goal scorers, but we still have some girls who can score goals. How well we defend will be a big issue. You try to create a balanced team. I'm hoping some of our girls can step it up on defense so I don't have to move any of my midfielders back there. We're in a tough section and we're still one of the smallest teams in Class AAA, which makes things hard for us."

Coach:Dave Sylvester, fourth yearLast year:11-8-1, 8-4 in section, lost to Franklin Regional in WPIAL first roundKey loss:Julie Quail (forward)Key returners:Seniors Carrie Wack (sweeper), Kathleen Andreone (midfield), Kim Chapman (forward), juniors Ashley Rees (midfield), Tara Dohn (defense), Cassie Berlin (forward)Sylvester says:"We have a talented bunch of girls and they're jelling really well together. Cassie Berlin transferred into our district from Maryland and she's an outstanding player. Taking Blackhawk out of our section and putting Pine-Richland in doesn't help. Every night will be brutal. We have to keep everybody healthy because we're going through a meat grinder."

Coach:Blair Gantz, fourth yearLast year:17-5Key losses:Kate Perry (forward), Lynn Jefferies (midfield), Kelly Stewart (midfield), Jess Anderson (forward)Key returners:Seniors Beth Reefer (forward, 26 goals, three-time team MVP), Liz Bicehouse (sweeper), sophomores Jence Rhoads (forward, 14 goals), Kelsey Drennen (midfield), Jen Badgett (defender)Gantz says:"We're back in Class AA after playing two years in AAA, so our schedule should be a bit easier. Our goal is to win the conference and get to the playoffs. We should have a fast team and Grove City should be our toughest opponent."