LaValle, Mohney earn all-state
Zack LaValle and Landon Mohney paced the Seneca Valley and Butler boys soccer squads, respectively, in scoring this season.
The Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association viewed them as more than simply team leaders.
Both were named All-State last week and are two of the 13 WPIAL players who made the 62-player field.
“There's a lot of quality guys on that list,” said LaValle, a senior forward who scored 14 goals and had eight assists in leading the Raiders to WPIAL and PIAA titles. “It's a great honor to be chosen.”
LaValle showed promise the last couple of years. His total of three goals and six assists in 2019 was not indicative of his ability. Many of the team's scoring chances fell to forward Luke Rupert last year, but his 19 goals and eight assists were lost to graduation.
SV needed players to step up this fall. Several did, with LaValle leading the way.
“Losing Luke was a big loss for us,” he said, “but I was prepared for (more scoring opportunities). My goal was to reach double digits in goals.”
Opposing teams learned early in the season that LaValle was a player who could change the complexion of a game. Aside from his own statistics, the heat he placed on goalkeepers undoubtedly led to goals from multiple teammates.
“He started out on fire and just kept going for us,” said Raiders' coach George Williams. “He was a scoring threat throughout the season.
“He was a captain for us and a three-year letter-winner.”
SV saw its record fall to 3-1-1 with a loss to Butler Sept. 24. It would be the only time the Raiders tasted defeat on their way to a 17-1-1 finish.
“That feeling we had after losing to Butler, we didn't want to feel it again,” LaValle said.
LaValle capped the run, and his scholastic career, by scoring in double overtime to hand the Raiders their first-ever state title with a 2-1 win over Neshaminy in Hershey Nov. 21.
Earlier in the game, he assisted on teammate Nathan Eastgate's goal that tied the game, 1-1.
“For Zack to get an assist and a goal in his final game, in the state championship, that's an amazing story for him,” Williams said. “He was an outstanding leader on an outstanding team.”
“It was a team effort,” added LaValle, who aims to play in college and is weighing his options. “For me, there's no better way to go out.”Mohney, a junior who played in the midfield and at forward for Butler, scored 17 goals and added six assists. He finished the regular season as the top scorer in WPIAL Class 4A.“It's pretty cool to be named All-State as a junior,” he said. “My older brother, Tate, was All-State as a junior and senior. I want to match everything he did, if not more.”“A lot of our scoring chances went through him,” said Troy Mohney, Butler's coach and Landon's father. “Teams keyed on him.”Landon has been around soccer his whole life. Troy Mohney has led Butler's program for 15 seasons and also runs Family Sports Center in Butler Township, where Landon has received much of his soccer training and workouts.“I was able to get a lot of work in there this year and I got a lot faster,” he said. “Butler has never won a WPIAL (soccer) championship and that drives me.”The exposure to the sport had Landon ahead of the curve at an early age. He played on a U9 club team when he was 7 and has earned valuable experience with the Olympic Development Program.“I'd like to play Division I soccer and for an MLS team ... earn a spot on the U.S. Men's National Team. Those are my goals,” he said.Lofty ones, for sure, but Mohney is willing to put in the work to give himself a chance to get there.“I love watching soccer and just being around it,” he said. “It gets my head off of everything else that's going on.”
