Raider lacrosse strikes gold!
COLLIER TWP — It is said that possession is nine-tenths of the law. When the fourth quarter rolled around in Friday's WPIAL Division I boys lacrosse title game, it was everything.
Just 11 seconds into the period, Shady Side Academy's Dan Mathieson scored to cut Seneca Valley's lead to 6-5. Seneca Valley then dominated possession for the rest of the game — keeping the ball for six and a half straight minutes at one point — in an 8-5 win over the Indians at Chartiers Valley Stadium.
It is the first WPIAL title in program history for the Raiders. They had lost in the semifinals the past three seasons.
“It means a ton,” said Seneca Valley coach Peet Poillon. “It's a hump we needed to get over. Our guys were mentally ready. They worked hard for this and I'm so proud of them.”
Seneca Valley's Mike Argyros led all scorers with four goals, the last one giving the Raiders (17-1) a 7-5 lead with 6:11 left in the game.
“It feels great,” he said of performing so well on a big stage. “I still can't believe it.”
After Mathieson's goal, the Indians won the ensuing faceoff, but SV's Luke Reed immediately forced a turnover, beginning SV's quarter of dominance.
The Raiders' ability to play keep-away over the final 12 minutes led to a 13-2 advantage in shots during the period.
Most of the Raiders' attempts sailed wide of the net, but they were awarded possession after all of them. With SV already holding the lead, this spelled doom for the Indians (9-9).
One SV shot that did find its mark was Derek Finney's second goal of the game, extending his team's lead to 8-5 with just 2:56 remaining on the clock.
Shady Side managed a shot with 2:28 left, but SV goalie Jake Succop made the save — his sixth of the night — thwarting the Indians' last legitimate attempt at making a run.
“We just couldn't get possession,” said Shady Side Academy coach Darrell Schmitt. “All the credit goes to Seneca Valley, their hustle and play.Thanks to Leland Jones' goal with just four seconds left in the first half, the Indians had pulled even (3-3) with the Raiders by intermission.The third quarter featured the most offensive activity in the game from either team.The Raiders scored three of the period's four goals, but also had five other shots in the quarter.Meanwhile the Indians succeeded in launching 12 shots in that span, though just one — Dan Marous' shot with 7:16 left in the quarter — ended up as a goal, tying the game at four.Succop made four stops in the period.“They were using one of their big guys to screen me, especially in the third quarter,” said Succop. “It was tough, but I just tried to see the ball and make the plays.”SV had defeated the Indians 8-2 on April 18. Shady Side entered the championship game with a so-so record of 9-8, but Poillon knew the Indians were worthy of the title-game appearance.“We knew Shady Side wanted to possess the ball and stay patient on offense and we had to match that,” he said. “We had to win the 50/50 balls.”“We had to run our offense to a tee and we did that in the first half,” said Schmitt. “In the end, the ball just didn't bounce our way, but we'll get better from this.”Argyros broke the ice with a goal 54 seconds into the game.SV senior David Hall scored both of his goals in the second period.Cole Fyock contributed three assists for SV while teammates Mason Pynos and Brendan Thomas both had one.Tyler Edwards and John Ellis also scored for the Indians.Seneca Valley will open the PIAA playoffs against rival Mt. Lebanon at 7 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny's Newman Stadium.
