Chris Cekella told his Seneca Valley North U12 boys soccer team to expect to win entering the PA West Open.

At no point did that attitude benefit the team more than in the championship game.

The SV North Wild Dogs were matched up against Bedford, an undefeated team that had outscored its opponents 48-4 during the season and had not given up a goal in the PA West event, held June 15-17 at Edinboro University.

Cekella's message to his players prior to the tournament must have been going through their minds as they prepared to take on a seemingly unbeatable team.

"I told them to expect to win," said Cekella. "Don't hope, wish or pray to win ... expect to win."

The Wild Dogs did win, beating Bedford 1-0 to claim the championship.

"We had a good core of players and they all worked as a team," said Cekella.

"Teams came from as far east as Bedford, as far south as South Park, as far north as Erie and there was even a team from Weirton, W.Va. there," he added. "The competition was very good."

The tournament concluded the 2007 spring season, which began in early April.

SV played in Division II and compiled a 5-0-3 record against stiff competition that included teams from Mars, Freedom, Wilmington and Neshannock, among others.

"Offensively, we take the ball in space and work it back across the field," said Cekella. "Defensively, we asked a lot of skilled kids to play back and it became a well-oiled machine. We became very inter-changeable on that side of the field."

The PA West event was an open tournament, meaning teams joined the field on a first-come, first-serve basis. But the Wild Dogs went there to win.

"I was going for hardware," said Cekella, in reference to the championship trophy. "I knew we had a team that was capable of it."

Seneca Valley was placed in Group C and emerged with a 2-0-1 record after defeating Slippery Rock (3-0) and South Park (3-1) and tying Highlands (1-1).

Next up was a semifinal clash between the Wild Dogs and Freedom, with SV prevailing 2-1, sending the team to the championship round.

"The players have been together since the U6 team," said Cekella. "And they played U8 and U10 before getting to U12."

The fall youth soccer season begins in August and the Wild Dogs are looking to stay together as they move up to the next age division, to the dismay of their opponents.