MOUNT LEBANON TWP — With her team trailing 7-1 early, Seneca Valley girls lacrosse coach Katie Smolter called a timeout.

It was a useful one.

The Raiders responded, closing the gap against Mt. Lebanon to 7-5 late in the first half.

But the Blue Devils' speed ended up being too much for Seneca Valley. The Raiders simply couldn't keep up in an 18-8 loss at Mt. Lebanon High School Tuesday night in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.

“As soon as we had the timeout, we all talked and got back into the game,” said junior midfielder Olivia Rupert. “But we kind of ran out of steam. They're a really fast team.”

Speed does indeed kill. It killed the Raiders.

“We used our speed well,” said Mt. Lebanon coach Brian Kattan. “The girls work hard conditioning-wise inside the season and outside the season. We've been lucky in that way.”

Perhaps the fastest of the fast for the Blue Devils was Emelia Krakora, who blazed her way through the heart of the Raiders' defense for five goals in the match.

Seneca Valley (10-8) had trouble slowing her down — or even keeping up with her.

“She knows how to use her speed,” Kattan said. “She's been doing a great job all season.”

Smolter said Mt. Lebo's speed may have caught her young team a bit by surprise.

But she was happy with the way her players fought back against the Blue Devils with four consecutive goals — two from the stick of Emily Meredith — to get within striking distance of the lead after the poor start.

“We were on a little run there,” Smolter said. “We're young. We're a young team. That's a positive thing. We had three freshmen out there. We had seven new starters in our lineup. I think even the pace of the game was a rude awakening, especially against a team like Mt. Lebo. They're fast. They're everywhere. They're always on you. They're always in your passing lane. It's hard to defeat. But we're getting there.”

Early turnovers also doomed Seneca Valley as Mt. Lebo took advantage of those miscues to score six consecutive goals after Kat Listwak gave Seneca Valley a 1-0 lead out of the gate.

The Raiders trailed 10-6 at the half. But it didn't take long for Mt. Lebanon to take commanding control in the second half with two goals in the first 65 seconds.

Seneca Valley got as close as 12-8 after a goal from Rupert that was fired into the net from 10 yards out with 20:12 remaining, but the Blue Devils held the Raiders scoreless after that and closed out the game with another 6-0 run.

“They played whistle to whistle,” Smolter said. “I'm happy with that. I'm happy with our effort. We're using it as a learning experience. Lebo is always good and we're always happy to play against them because it makes us better.”

Mt. Lebo knocked Seneca Valley out of the playoffs last season as well.

The Blue Devils will face Fox Chapel Thursday. Those two teams opened the season against one another with Mt. Lebo winning 12-9.

“Can't really get much from that, though,” Kattan said. “It was 30 degrees and sleeting sideways. This will be a much different game. It's fun.”

Just as Smolter felt, Rupert said she and her teammates have nothing to hang their heads about after this loss.

“We worked out butts off,” Rupert said. “Even though it wasn't the outcome we wanted, we worked hard.”