PETERS TWP — Butler girls soccer coach Steve Perri knew his team was in for a challenge against Peters Township's Regan LaVigna and Hannah Stuck.

In the second half of Wednesday's WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal playoff, the forward and midfielder, respectively, proved Perri's concerns were warranted.

In the 44th minute, LaVigna took a pass from Natalie Daube, created enough space between herself and a Butler defender and put a shot from 25 yards into the back of the net.

The score tied the game at one goal apiece. Ten minutes later, it was Stuck's turn. Her header off a corner kick from Kaila McFerran proved to be the deciding goal in the Indians' 2-1 win on their home turf.

“Those were the players we were worried about and, as it turned out, that's who scored their goals,” Perri said. “A lot of our girls have played against them in club. We knew what we were getting from them.”

Butler (11-6-2) stormed Peters Township's net late and had several scoring chances. There were two corner kicks — in the 64th and 72nd minute. Both balls were headed by a Butler player, but resulted in a goal kick.

In the 77th minute, freshman forward Chloe Weiland had a boot from 30 yards smack off the crossbar.

Butler's last chance, a shot off the foot of Aidyn Trettel in the 78th minute, was stopped by goalkeeper Emma Sawich.

“It got a bit scary there near the end,” said Peters Township coach Pat Vereb, “but we were able to stay organized and just couldn't let them get loose.”

“We had a few opportunities, but we didn't play a full 80 minutes,” said Perri. “We didn't deserve it in the second half.”

After withstanding an early rush from the Indians (15-3), Butler took the lead in the 12th minute. A corner kick from the right of the net by McKenna Robinson was first headed by Gabby Boden. Sawich made the save, but allowed a rebound that Boden made her pay for.

Though the Tornado were unable to build on their lead, they had the better of the play for the remainder of the first half.

“I thought we actually played better this year when we were down,” said Perri. “But playing the No. 3 seed on the road, yeah, you're not going to turn down a 1-0 lead at halftime. For the last 30 minutes of the first half, we played our game.”

“We didn't respond well after Butler's goal,” said Vereb. “They recently beat Seneca Valley and Penn-Trafford, so that tells you they're a good team. We knew we'd have our hands full.”

The Indians were on the ropes, but were rescued by two familiar contributors in LaVigna and Stuck.

“You need your top players to make plays at crucial times,” Vereb added. “Those two have been doing it all year.”

Sawich made six saves for the Indians. Paige Miller stopped five shots for Butler, which knocked off defending WPIAL champion Penn-Trafford last weekend for the program's first playoff win in 15 years.

“At the start of the season, my goals were two-fold,” said Perri. “I wanted us to get to the playoffs and get past the first round. We did that.

“I still think this was a winnable game for us, but I can't be anything but proud of the girls.”