Raiders roar to win
BUTLER TWP — The Butler boys lacrosse team came out strong, but Seneca Valley came back stronger.
In Friday's nondivision matchup at Art Bernardi Stadium, the Tornado held a 3-2 advantage late in the first period before Seneca Valley answered with six consecutive goals and went on to post a 14-6 victory.
"More than anything, our depth came through in the second and third quarters," said Raiders coach Peter Hoffman, whose team outscored Butler 10-1 during that span.
"We run three midfield lines, which allowed us to transition more and get some easy opportunities," Hoffman added.
The Raiders (15-0), who play in the WPIAL's Division I, received goals from nine different players.
"Our younger guys went in at the end and they were able to keep up the level of play. That's a nice solution to have come playoff time," Hoffman noted.
After Sean O'Rourke's goal 1:03 into the game gave Seneca Valley a 1-0 lead, Butler scored three of the next four goals to take a 3-2 advantage.
With the Tornado a man up, Cody Bachman scored, then Nathan Barthlow followed with a goal assisted by Bachman.
The Raiders' Rob Fyock scored the equalizer with 3:48 left in the quarter, but Butler (15-2) retook the lead when Bachman scored 51 seconds later.
It took the Raiders just 18 seconds to tie the game when Will Koontz found the back of the net on a skip shot 25 yards away.
"We came out with a lot of intensity. We came out strong," said Butler coach Ed Swierczyk. "We had a desire to shock the world. (Seneca Valley) had a little more manpower.
"They're No. 5 in the state and No. 39 in the nation, and they proved it," Swierczyk added.
In the second quarter, Seneca Valley scored the next five goals, including one by Michael Dudenhaver and two apiece by O'Rourke and Jake McAndrew, to stake Seneca Valley to an 8-3 advantage.
Butler's Cole Harvey broke the string with a goal 29 seconds later to make it 8-4 at the break.
Seneca Valley accounted for all five goals in the third period, when McAndrew, Sean Dailey, David Hall, Mason Pynos and Andy Hickman scored to give the Raiders a 13-4 lead.
Butler, which plays in Division II, did tally the first two goals of the fourth quarter, from Bachman and Barthlow with assists by Harvey and Cody Conklin, respectively, to make it 13-6 with 4:51 to play.
Seneca's Brendan Thomas scored with 2:10 remaining to close out the scoring.
Despite the loss, Swierczyk was upbeat about how his squad performed against the Raiders.
"I was pleased at our ability to run with them," said Swierczyk, "to show this program, for as young as we are, what we can do.
"Seneca Valley started out at Division III, just like we did, and we certainly want to be able to get to that point."
