Seneca Valley boys soccer’s one goal enough to sink Butler
BUTLER TWP — Through the first 53 minutes of Thursday night’s WPIAL Section 3-4A clash with Seneca Valley, Butler’s defensive effort was reflected on the scoreboard. It took a well-put-together play for the visitors to break through.
On a give-back pass from Owen Murray, Raider senior forward Jacob Prex — an All-WPIAL honoree last season — tilted the game in his side’s favor, zipping one past Golden Tornado senior goalkeeper Thad Mago and into the bottom left corner of the net.
Seeing the quality of that scoring play, Seneca Valley coach George Williams was encouraged, but wants to see such production more often, knowing what the attack is capable of.
"The goal we put together was beautiful," Williams said. "I would obviously like to see more of it. We've got a lot of good talent, and we're on a good roll right now. For me to be able to feel like we didn't play our best tonight — and still come out with a win — is always a good thing in this section.“
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Seneca Valley’s Tomis Spudic beats Butler’s Jude Perhacs (7) in a boys soccer game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Justin Guido/Special for the Eagle.
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Butler’s goalie Thaddeus Mayo (29) makes a save on Seneca Valley’s Jacob Prex (10) in a boys soccer game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Justin Guido/Special for the Eagle.
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Butler’s Jackson Stewart (6) runs into Seneca Valley’s Luke West (3) in a boys soccer game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Justin Guido/Special for the Eagle.
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Seneca Valley’s Fynn O’Donnell hits a bicycle kick against Butler in a boys soccer game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Justin Guido/Special for the Eagle.
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Seneca Valley’s Jacob Prex (10) celebrates with teammates after he scored a goal against Butler in a boys soccer game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Justin Guido/Special for the Eagle.
Butler entered the night having not scored a goal in its previous five outings, a drought that will extend into a non-conference fixture with Knoch on Saturday afternoon. Golden Tornado coach Troy Mohney tried to use a defense-heavy formation to hold down the Raiders' offense, which worked for a good bit.
"We know, playing that way that we're only getting a few chances going forward, and we're trying to limit what they do, and they bought into that," Mohney said of his team. "Unfortunately, we gave the one up. It was a beautiful play. We just couldn't quite hang with them."
Through their last five, the Raiders have pinned up 19 markers, allowing only one — that coming in a 1-0 defeat to North Allegheny, which sits atop the section table.
“We did a lot of good things,” Williams said. “We kept them away from our goal. We didn’t let them score. And they had a lot of fight in them tonight, and we were able to keep that from getting dangerous.”
Butler’s scheduled section matchup against Pine-Richland on Tuesday was postponed, meaning the Golden Tornado still have a little over half of that slate to play.
"We've got some young guys ... so, in my opinion, we're gonna keep getting better as the season goes along," Mohney said. "My goal is still to make the playoffs."
