Soccer mania is prevalent throughout Butler County at this time of year.

Seven high schools — Butler, Seneca Valley, Mars, Knoch, Freeport, Karns City and Slippery Rock — offer boys and girls soccer programs.

Of those 14 teams, 11 qualified for the playoffs this year.

n Slippery Rock's boys and girls teams combined to go 27-0-1 in region play.

• Karns City's boys and girls squads combined for a 32-5-2 record in the regular season.

• Mars boys and girls teams combined to post a 26-8-5 record. The Planet boys start only one senior and won 16 of 19 games.

• Other teams posted outstanding records as well. Butler's boys were 15-4-1, Knoch's boys were 14-4-4. Seneca Valley's girls were 14-3-1 and Freeport's girls posted a 16-3-1 record.

In terms of consistent performance, soccer is the most successful sport in this county.

Every school district has a youth soccer organization with large numbers of players. That's where it all begins.

By the time they reach high school, the best of the best are the ones still playing the game. Put them together on a team, and you've got a winner.

Slippery Rock and Mars had coaching changes this season, but the programs didn't miss a beat. Quality soccer coaches are hard to find in a lot of areas, but not around here.

The next step is having a county team break through and win a state championship. Butler's girls have reached the state finals a couple of times, only to come up short.

Football might be the sport dominating the headlines in the fall, but soccer is the sport that is dominating on the field.

Kudos to Cory

Hats off to outfielder Cory Sullivan, a graduate of nearby North Allegheny High School, for getting to the World Series with the Colorado Rockies.

Reaching the big leagues is one thing. Getting to the Fall Classic is something else.

Bring Matt home

While the Boston Red Sox are close to winning the Series, Matt Clement is close to leaving the team.

The right-handed pitcher and Butler graduate missed the entire 2007 season rehabbing from shoulder surgery and will be a free agent in a couple of weeks.

Here's hoping the Pirates sign him to a one-year contract. Clement will be fully healthy for spring training and would come at a good price. Adding another veteran starter to the rotation couldn't hurt, and signing a local guy who can win games for you can't hurt at the box office, either.

Hot on ice

Don't look now, but the Butler varsity hockey program is in resurgent mode.

The Golden Tornado won only three games last year and hadn't won 10 games in three years.

Veteran coach Joe Honzo took the reins last year and guided the team to five straight wins in the Knoch Invitational after the season.

Add two preseason wins and a season-opening victory over Hempfield, and this long-dormant program suddenly had an eight-game winning streak.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle.