Heartbreaking
PITTSBURGH — Seneca Valley had played defense at such a high level for so long, maybe the Raiders were due for a lapse.
But that did nothing to temper the sting the team felt in the wake of Thursday's WPIAL Class AAAA boys soccer championship game at Highmark Stadium.
SV led North Allegheny 1-0 and the Raiders were under 2½ minutes from winning the first district crown in program history when the Tigers pulled even with Josh Luchini's goal on a header in the 78th minute.
Sean Atwater then scored just over nine minutes into overtime, tucking a shot from 12 yards in between SV keeper Dylan Good and the crossbar, giving the Tigers a 2-1 win and their first WPIAL title since 1999.
It was the first loss of the season for the Raiders (18-1-1).
Aside from a goal on a penalty kick by Kiski Area in a first-round playoff, Luchini's score was the first goal allowed by Seneca Valley since Sept. 15 — a span of 15 games.
“We left the wrong guy open at the wrong time,” Seneca Valley coach George Williams said of NA's first goal.
“With them scoring in the last few minutes (of regulation), we knew we had to focus even harder to get momentum back in overtime,” said SV senior midfielder Cole Dengler.
The Raiders' best chance in overtime came in the 83rd minute when Matt Happ got off an uncontested shot 20 yards from NA's net, but Tigers' goalkeeper Grant Glorioso made his eighth and final save of the night.
Atwater ended the game 6½ minutes later. He also scored the winning goal for the Tigers (15-2-5) in overtime of a 1-0 semifinal victory against Pine-Richland last Saturday.
“The resolve these boys have shown has been incredible. That's our whole season,” said NA coach Bobby Vosmaer. “There have been plenty of games we could have lost, but everybody pitched in. Some guys play the whole game, some guys play five minutes, but nobody has complained.”
The Raiders tallied four corner kicks in the first half, forcing Glorioso to make five saves in that span. It was in the 60th minute when SV's persistence paid off. The ball was played back into SV's attacking third where midfielder/defender Matt Stopar scored his fourth goal of the season against little resistance.
The Tigers' attention was placed elsewhere and it cost the team.
“We had to make sure (SV leading scorer) Happ was under control,” said Vosmaer. “He's a handful and then some. But we made a critical mistake and dug ourselves into a hole.”
The two teams are Section 1 rivals. During the regular season, they battled to a 1-1 tie in the first meeting and the Raiders claimed a 2-0 win in late September.
Good made five saves in Thursday's defeat, which is a bitter pill for the Raiders to swallow.
“We're disappointed right now, but still very proud of the boys,” said Williams. “They put in a lot of hard work and set some school records this season that I think will never be broken.”
The Raiders will turn their attention to the state playoffs, where they made a run to the PIAA title game last fall. SV will face the winner of Saturday's regional playoff game between McDowell and State College on Tuesday.
“This season started day one back in August and it's not over,” said Dengler. “We have heart and it's going to show in the state playoffs.”
