Don't mistake youth for lack of talent.

Butler is expecting big things out of its sophomore-laden boys lacrosse team this season.

The Golden Tornado are coming off an 8-10 season that ended in the Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association Division II quarterfinals.

First-year coach Ed Swierczyk is eager to see Butler take the next step.

"We've got a group of very strong athletes," Swierczyk said. "I'm very impressed with them."

The sophomore invasion starts up front with attackers Jarrod Oesterling, Tyler Kotch (32 goals, 11 assists last season) and Cody Conklin (17 goals, 16 assists).

"Kotch is probably our most prolific scorer, but they all have the ability to score," said Swierczyk. "Conklin is our feed man, while the other two are go-to-the-goal type players."

Sophomore Cole Harvey will lead Butler's corps of midfielders.

"He's the best athlete on the team and he's a born leader," Swierczyk said. "He can really take charge of a team."

Defenseman Nate Cleary is the team's lone starting senior and will be joined by sophomore Nick Elliott.

Another sophomore, Alex Hill, will start in net.

"He's a good anchor for us," Swierczyk said. "Hopefully within the next year, he'll be considered one of the top goalkeepers in the area."

The WPSLA season might just be getting under way, but Butler recently concluded a strong showing in an indoor league.

"We played 11 games against some really good teams — Franklin Regional, Hampton, Fox Chapel — and we ended with just four losses."

Kiski School knocked Butler from postseason play last season.

And Swierczyk, who previously was head coach at Pine-Richland, said Kiski School and Fox Chapel are the teams to beat in Division II.

But he's not conceding anything.

"Our goal is to win Division II," he said. "And there's no reason why we can't do that if we play together as a team."

Other Division II North opponents include North Hills, Erie McDowell, Shaler, Quaker Valley and Erie Cathedral Prep.

The Golden Tornado open the season Wednesday at Pine-Richland.

Seneca Valley

Taking over a team that has three returning all-league performers has a way of making the transition a lot smoother.

For the past four seasons, Pete Hoffman was the head coach at Shady Side Academy. Now he's in charge at Seneca Valley.

"We're pretty excited about our group," he said. "The team lost just three seniors from last year, so we've got a lot of returning starters."

Three of them include junior attacker Colin O'Donoghue, who tallied 25 goals and 13 assists for last year's team, which finished 8-9 overall after a Division I quarterfinal playoff loss to North Allegheny.

SV's other returning all-league performers include senior midfielder Evan McGoogan (18 goals and 12 assists) and senior defenseman Jesse Puskar.

Seniors Matt Hamill (midfield) and A.J. Lacey (defense) also figure to play key roles at their respective positions.

Senior goalie Ryan Mayeda returns for his third year after averaging just under 10 saves per game in 2007.

SV's opponents in Division I North include Central Catholic, North Allegheny, Shady Side Academy, Sewickley Academy and Pine-Richland.

"The North Division should be a lot stronger than the South this year," said Hoffman, who is making sure his team is ready for it.

"We've created a real strong out-of-league schedule," the coach said. "We're focusing on getting the best production out of the team in every game.

"If we can do that, we should be in a position to win a lot of games."

The Raiders will open the season Friday in Philadelphia.