Butler County 2026 boys soccer top storylines to watch: Butler seeks playoff return; Knoch, Mars’ new leadership
Every boys soccer team in Butler County enters this season with a different storyline to follow, whether that be replacing a ton of talent — looking at you, North Catholic — or breaking in a new coach, such as Knoch and Mars.
Before the teams hit the field to kick things off, let’s take a look at what to expect from the area’s crews.
The Golden Tornado fell painfully short of the playoffs last season. A younger crew is focused on making it into the dance this time around, even if it takes a little while for them to get up to speed.
“It’s been a couple years since we’ve done that now,” Butler coach Troy Mohney said. “Keep getting better every game and, hopefully by the end, we can get into the playoffs and then who knows at that point?”
The Yellowjackets have between 38 and 40 players on their roster, showing the program is trending in the right direction despite barely missing out on the postseason over the past few seasons.
“We’re gonna be a sound soccer team,” Freeport coach Brad Walker said. “I know high school soccer is fast, physical and a lot of helter-skelter play, but we’re teaching the kids a very crisp, clean style of play. ... We have a lot of tools in the tool shed to bring that to the table this year.”
Look for younger players to make their mark for the Gremlins as they chase another district title and aim for a deeper run in the state tournament.
“We’ve got more experience coming back. It’s just low depth right now,” Karns City coach RJ Carson said. “I think we have a great 11-12 players coming up, everybody’s gonna fill in a role perfectly. It’s just gonna be a lot of young kids that are gonna have to step up.”
Three starters return on defense — Xavier Bartoe, Josh Peters and Brody Zediker — in front of goalkeeper Brock Dittman.
Mitch Andrews played for the Knights and takes over the program this season. He’s been a JV or volunteer coach with the team since 2014.
“We already know what the players can do,” Andrews said. “We’re familiar with their behavior and who they are. ... It takes a lot of pressure off of us (not having to) learn a whole group of 30 kids.”
Knoch reached the WPIAL playoffs last season but graduated a good bit of talent, so “probably about half our starters saw significant playing time last year,” Andrews said.
Planets coach Joe Haefner doesn’t view his new team as one in transition after longtime coach Chris Knauf stepped aside after last season, but the first-year head coach is looking to see who takes on a larger role with varsity experience in their back pocket.
“It’ll be fun to kinda see, No. 1, who those players will be, and then how they actually perform once that opportunity comes,” Haefner said.
Seniors Jackson Zirnsak, a defender, and Mason Rocke, a forward, are two players the coach could see stepping up. Haefner also mentioned junior Angelo Maiure, who “got to play around two seniors last year, really good players in the middle of the field,” Haefner said. “So I think he kinda fits a mold of taking the next step.”
The Trojans return one starter from last season — midfielder Jackson Schlegel — after graduating 15 seniors from a section champion team a year ago.
“The challenge this year is we had the same general starting lineup and rotation for the last two years,” North Catholic coach Scott Schlegel said. “(It’s about) just getting kids on the same page — a lot of them have played JV together — but then mixing them in with the kids who have been getting those varsity minutes, and getting them to find that rhythm.”
Along with forward/midfielder Jacob Prex, the Raiders, last year’s WPIAL Class 4A runners-up, return key contributors — all seniors — in midfielders Zach White and Owen Ali and defenders Finn O’Donnell, Chase Lively and Luke West.
“We’re hoping to hit the ground running, and start off strong and finish even stronger,” Raiders coach George Williams said. “Every year is different. The players interact differently each year with the change. ... We’ve gotta figure out how that works.”
The Rockets, who were District 10 semifinalists a campaign ago, have eight returners, including seniors Zach Lasko (midfielder) and Cody Freehling (defender).
“I am hopeful to at least repeat as region champions and push to make a D-10 final,” Slippery Rock coach Kyle Hopkins said. “We put together a challenging non-conference schedule with playing three WPIAL schools.”
Those games are against Hampton (home), Ambridge (home) and Beaver (away).
