Alive and kicking
The Butler boys soccer team had a regular season to remember.
The Tornado's task now is to produce in the postseason.
A look at the WPIAL Class AAA bracket reveals making it through the field will be like surviving a gauntlet.
Butler won Section 2 with an overall record of 17-1-1.
There's also defending WPIAL champion Plum (12-5), which advanced to the state quarterfinals last season.
Peters Township is 16-2-1 and finished as co-champs of Section 5 with Chartiers Valley after giving up 11 goals all season.
But first things first for the Tornado. And that means taking care of business against Baldwin in a first-round affair with a 7 p.m. start Tuesday at Butler's Intermediate High School field.
The Highlanders (12-7) placed third in Section 4. They managed a seven-game winning streak at mid-season, but have since dropped three of their last six games.
Butler coach Troy Mohney isn't about to take his opponent lightly.
"Even though we ended with a very good record, we have a tough opponent in the first round," he said. "You look at their schedule and all of their losses have come against tough teams."
Indeed, all seven of the Highlanders' losses have come against playoff teams.
Baldwin has surrendered 19 goals in 19 games.
Butler senior forward Doug Moran will look to expose that defense. He leads the Tornado with 17 goals, followed by a host of players between six and eight scores.
Butler made an early exit from last year's playoffs, losing to Chartiers Valley in the first round.
"We just need to take it one game at a time," said Mohney.
Planets' coach Blair Gerlach is hoping that a loss can turn into a good thing.Mars was victorious in every one of its first 16 matches, outscoring opponents 56-9 in the process.Then on Tuesday night, something weird happened — Mars lost.It was Hampton coming away with a 2-1 overtime win in the Section 2 finale."I think there will be less pressure on the guys now," said Gerlach. "They realized that they're human and capable of making mistakes."The Planets will attack the Vikings (9-8-3) with a balanced offense.Drew Glavin, Bob McKinney and Nick Perri have combined for almost 30 goals.Mt. Pleasant has not had a winning streak longer than three games this season. The team lost twice this season to Section 1 foe Southmoreland by a combined score of 6-0.Mars opened the season against Southmoreland and won 3-1.
The Knights (11-6) got the draw they thought they would — and it's a difficult one.Riverside is 14-2-1 and has eight shutout wins this season.But that hasn't stopped Knoch coach DougWood from thinking big."We plan on winning the first one," Wood said. "That may sound bold, but that's what we believe."Knoch may just have the kind of team to combat Riverside.Buddy Carr leads the team with 10 goals, but the Knights are a very balanced scoring team.Knoch also has a staunch defense, recording six shutouts of its own.The defense is led by senior stopper Eric Paul and sophomore sweeper Jordan Kennedy."(Paul) has been outstanding," Wood said. "I'd probably describe him as the quarterback on the field for us."
The Raiders (7-8-2) made the playoffs by knocking off North Allegheny, 1-0 in the Section 2 finale on Tuesday.The victory stopped a poor stretch for George Williams' team, which was 0-3-1 in its previous four games.The Colts (13-3-2) have seen two of their losses come in the last three games, to Peters Township and Cathedral Prep.SV dropped a 2-1 decision to Chartiers Valley on Sept. 2.Williams could not be reached for comment.
The Yellowjackets (15-1) simply haven't had much competition this season.Other than a 4-3 loss to Shady Side Academy on Oct. 3, Freeport has had only three games decided by less than three goals.The leader of the offense is sophomore Kayla Eckman, who has scored 36 times.The Yellowjackets' net is in good hands with senior Allison McClelland.That combination has led the team to the Section 3 title after finishing below .500 last season."I knew that we definitely had talent," said second-year coach Autumn Godot. "Our goal was to work as a team and play as a team."Freeport has also dominated as a team and looks to make Mt. Pleasant its next victim.The Vikings (14-3-2) finished second in Section 6 behind Greensburg Central Catholic and are coming off a three-game stretch in which they've scored 14 goals in wins over Charleroi, Jeannette and Hempfield.
Seneca Valley has been hit and miss over the last three weeks.The Raiders held a 10-1-1 record entering their match at Quaker Valley on Sept. 30.Since then, the team has gone 2-2-2 and has scored just eight goals in that span.One reason for the inconsistency is that starting goalkeeper Catherine Messmer has been out with an undisclosed injury. She could start against the Blue Devils."She practiced (Wednesday) and moved around pretty well," said SV coach Dave Sylvester. "I'd say there's a 90 percent chance she'll start Monday."Senior forward Jessica Meurer leads the Raiders with 16 goals.Mount Lebanon placed second in Section 4 behind Moon. The team enters the playoffs having won five of its last six matches.
The Knights (12-6-1) enter the postseason playing their best soccer of the season, particularly on offense.Knoch has scored 27 goals in its last four games — an almost unheard of total.The key has been balance. Amanda Sharbaugh has 33 goals this season, but the Knights can also turn to P.J. Abels (13 goals) and Alex Gordon (seven goals) for offense if they need it."Alex is doing very well on offense lately," said Knoch coach Amy Travis.North Allegheny (12-5-2) finished third in its section and has played many low-scoring contests. The Tigers won three straight 1-0 games down the stretch before toppling North Hills 4-2 to secure a playoff spot."NA is a good team," Travis said. "We kind of hoped we would get a home game, but it should be a very competitive, exciting game."
