Mohney breaks father's career goal-scoring record in Butler's 4-0 win over Mercer
BUTLER—Like father, like son.
Golden Tornado senior standout Landon Mohney deposited a pair of goals in the initial ten minutes of Butler's 4-0 boys soccer victory over Mercer Tuesday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.
The second strike boosted Mohney into first place on the list of the boys' all-time goal scorers, surpassing his dad and head coach, Troy Mohney.
The younger Mohney notched four markers in total, pushing his career sum to 65. He also became the first Butler soccer player to reach 100 total points in a single campaign.
At midfield not four minutes after the opening kick, Mohney settled a floating ball off his chest and over to a teammate before racing forward and taking a long pass. From there, he put it past Mercer goalkeeper T.J. Ferrans and pulled even with his dad.
Minutes later, the second of Mohney's five first-half shots dribbled left of the pole. Taking a free kick soon after, he lifted the record-breaker over a wall of white shirts and into the top left corner of the net.
“I was happy,” Landon said. “Beating (my dad's) record meant something special because it upholds the Mohney legacy and keeps it at the school.”“Having him break the record is just so special,” an emotional Troy said. “I couldn't be happier. He deserves it. He's worked extremely hard his whole life. He's way better than I am.”Troy's older son, Tate, reached 50 goals in his Golden Tornado career. He recently played at Div. III Elizabethtown College before entering the transfer portal.Two schools — Hampton and Grove City— pulled out of playing the Golden Tornado in the weeks leading up to the game — the former because of a rescheduled section matchup and the latter due to a banged-up roster. Last Thursday, Mercer agreed to visit.“We have nine days from right now until we play a playoff game,” Mercer coach Chris Ellis said. “It was a good game on turf against an excellent opponent.“In our region where we play, in District 10 ... we don't play anything like this all year. It provided a platform for us to see what soccer is played like at a higher level than what we're at.”Butler had chances to extend the lead to three in the first half, but none would connect. In the 21st minute, Ferrans dove to his left to bat away Noah Nichols' shot. Mohney's fourth shot of the match was deflected wide in the 25th minute, the ensuing corner kick fought off by the visitors.Mohney slipped a third goal into the bottom left corner in the 47th minute. He'd do it again in the 48th.“He was obviously the class on the field,” Ellis said. “At one point, I said to my assistant coach, 'I'd like to play them without Landon.' It's great to play against kids like that.”Butler juniors Isaac Boring and Schuyler Hensler and seniors Aidan Soley and Gavin Varner were among those with shots in the win. Sophomore goalie Drew Knight made a save for the Golden Tornado in the game's closing minutes.WPIAL playoff pairings will be released Wednesday. Landon will need five postseason goals to tie Troy's single-season high of 37.
