BUTLER TWP — Scoring goals has always been a big part of Troy Mohney’s game.

Winning games has always been more fun.

It’s the combination that is landing the former Butler High School soccer star and current Golden Tornado boys soccer coach into the Butler Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mohney will be inducted along with Shawn Bellis, Lyneil Mitchell, Annie Lowry, Mark Maier and Mark Farabee during a 5 p.m. ceremony Sept. 5 in the high school cafeteria. The inductees will be honored on the field prior to the football home opener against Baldwin that night.

“My kids are pretty excited about it and I’m honored to be going in,” Mohney said. “Soccer has always been my passion.”

Mohney has three sons. The oldest, Tate, 14, plays soccer on Butler’s freshman team. Landon, 10, and Blane, 8, play soccer as well.

“My youngest one got sick of being dragged around to the other two’s games,” Mohney said, laughing. “We never forced soccer or any other sport on them. But I serve as the academy director of Northern Steel soccer, so they’ve been around the game and picked it up.

“The youngest hated it at first, but now he enjoys playing.”

Mohney graduated from Butler in 1995 and owns school records of 37 goals scored in a season and 63 scored in a career. He was a four-year starter for the Tornado.

A two-time all-state selection, Mohney was Section 2 Most Valuable Player and was twice selected Butler’s Offensive MVP.

“It’s nice holding those records, but we had a great team,” Mohney said. “Without the great teammates who fed me the ball, there’s no way I could have accomplished those numbers.

“We had a great scoring system and everyone contributed to making it work.”

Butler reached the WPIAL playoffs three times and the state playoffs twice during Mohney’s prep career. He was Section Player of the Year and team captain in 1994.

He went on to play soccer at Division I St. Francis College, where he started all four years and led the team in goals and points three times.

Mohney never scored more than 10 goals in a season at St. Francis. His career-high was nine his senior year.

“That was a very small Division I school. We had maybe 1,500 kids in the entire college. It was smaller than Butler (high school),” Mohney said. “We played a big-time schedule and had trouble competing.

“But I was proud of what I was able to accomplish there.”

Mohney was a first team North East Conference player in 1007 and was team captain with the Red Flash in 1998.

He’s made the transition from player to coach a successful one.

“I just enjoy being around it,” he said of soccer. “I always try to teach the kids little points of the game to make them better.

“As a coach, it’s rewarding to give back to the kids. I get to work with 80 kids on the boys side twice a week at Northern Steel. That is so much fun.”

In nine years as Butler’s varsity boys soccer coach, Mohney has guided the Tornado into the WPIAL playoffs five times, including last season.

“Before our playoff game last year, I got 25 texts on my phone from people in the community, just wishing us luck,” he said. “Seeing the community get excited about it was fun. It makes us want to keep doing it.”