Raiders Regroup
BUTLER TWP — For the first half, it seemed the Seneca Valley girls soccer team was stuck in reverse.
Unable to mount any serious scoring threats against a strong Butler defense, the Raiders regrouped at the break, scoring three second-half goals in a 3-2 Section 2-AAA victory Monday.
“We took one girl out of the back and moved her forward,” said Raiders coach Dave Sylvester, whose team notched its eighth consecutive triumph. “We were able to get one, then we got another.”
Sophomore midfielder Kalyn Serman scored with 5:24 remaining to give the Raiders (8-1, 5-1) the lead for good.
It didn't start out well for the Raiders when Macy Stalnaker took an Alexa Gray pass and scored just 2:16 into the game.
“That first goal put us on our heels and we played a little defensive,” said Sylvester. “I was very nervous about this game, with the grass and the wet field.”
The goal, however, helped give the Tornado (5-5, 1-5) some confidence, especially in the first half.
“That's something we've been missing,” Butler coach Steve Perri said about the goal. “We've had some opportunities and didn't finish it. Today, we did finish it.”
Butler goalie Mackenzie Troyan made eight saves in the first period, most of which were of the routine variety.
In the second half, however, Seneca Valley tallied two goals in a 3:17 span to take a 2-1 advantage.
Senior forward Morgan Williams, a Kent State University recruit, tied the game with 34:43 to play, then senior forward Alex Bilka followed up with a goal in front of a hard-charging Troyan with 31:26 left.
Butler, however, did not fade away as Gray scored the equalizer with 14:19 left off a helper from Stalnaker.
“That second goal was from two players we've relied on,” Perri said. “That's two players, who, in the past if they didn't score, we didn't win. They've stepped it up and have been leading the team.”
Both teams have been relying on a lot of underclassmen this year as five freshmen started, including three by the Raiders.
“We have four seniors and five juniors, so we don't have a lot of upperclassmen help,” said Perri. “We have 14 freshmen this year and we'll have about 16 next year.”
Notes:Four of Butler's five section losses have been by one-goal margins. ... Seneca Valley has outscored opponents 24-6 during its winning streak. The Raiders' lone loss was a season-opening defeat to Hampton 1-0, Butler lost to the Talbots by the same score on Friday. ... The SV junior varsity team won 3-0.
