Butler girls soccer gets close, but Lexi Smith, Seneca Valley slam the door in WPIAL section win
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Butler's Ashton Huff (17) stops a Seneca Valley shot in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Addison Cravotta (24) attempts to score with a header against Butler in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Kami Christensen (16) shoots against Butler in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Ashton Huff (17) blocks a Sceneca Valley shot in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Addison Cravotta (24) heads the ball against Butler's Lucia Leyland (40) in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Josyln Gillo (4) kicks the ball past Butler's Avery Singer (25) in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Sophia Lawryk (31) attempts to score against Butler in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle.
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Butler's Ashton Huff (17) attempts to block Seneca Valley's Sophia Sipp (43) goal in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Addison Cravotta (24) heads the ball against Butler's Lucia Leyland (40) in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Lexi Smith (17) celebrates her goal with teammates in a girls soccer game against Butler on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Addison Cravotta (24) attempts to score against Butler in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Sydney Postler (00) fights to keep Butler from scoring in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Lexi Smith (17) passes the ball away from a Butler defender in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Lexi Smith (17) passes the ball in heavy Butler traffic in a girls soccer game Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Butler's Art Bernardi Stadium. Andrew Jackson/Butler Eagle
BUTLER TWP — Butler drew closer on the scoreboard. The Golden Tornado could not draw close to the net afterward.
A goal by Lexi Rudish — off a log cross from fellow freshman Avery Singer — pulled Butler within 2-1 of Seneca Valley in the 54th minute of their WPIAL Section 3-4A girls soccer clash Wednesday night at Butler’s Art Bernardi Stadium.
But that was the only Tornado shot on net in the second half, and Joslyn Grillo scored a third Raider goal in the 71st minute to end any Butler comeback hopes and finish off a 3-1 Raider victory.
The closest Butler (7-8-1, 2-6) came to tying the game was on a free kick by Teagan Early — another freshman — from 50 yards out that was easily knocked away by the Raider defense with just under 11 minutes remaining.
“We’re a defensive team this year,” SV head coach Mark Perry said. “Our leading scorer has six goals. We get most of our goals on plays off corner kicks or throw-ins.
“All three of our goals the other night were off corner kicks, and we scored a couple off plays like that tonight.”
Seneca Valley (10-2-3, 7-2) opened the scoring with a goal by senior midfielder Lexi Smith in the 16th minute. Sophia Lawryk executed a deep throw-in from the right side that resulted in a scramble in front of the net. Smith wheeled around and drilled a shot home from 16 yards out.
“That’s all it was, really,” Smith said in describing her goal. “I just spun around and let it go.”
The Raiders took that 1-0 lead into intermission, but wasted little time adding to it. Lawryk booted a shot through traffic that found the net just 42 seconds into the second half.
Rudish scored her goal — only her second of the year — off a hustle play by Singer. The latter beat a Seneca Valley defender to the ball in a 1-on-1 race down the right sideline, dribbled toward the corner and delivered a long cross that connected with Rudish’s foot on the fly.
“We have a lot of freshmen playing very well for us this year, and those are two of them,” Butler head coach Dan Buzzard said. “That was a beautiful cross, and Lexi drilled that ball in on the fly. That is difficult to do.”
The final goal of the night resulted from a barrage in front of the Butler net off a Smith corner kick. A ball was headed off the crossbar, then Tornado goalkeeper Ashton Huff made a lunging save on the rebound.
The ball bounced out to Grillo, the sophomore making no mistake from less than 15 yards away.
“I’ve been practicing corner kicks since June,” Smith said. “I won that job and we’ve been working at it. I aim for Addison’s (senior defender Cravotta) head because she can get up over everybody. But we run a lot of plays off those kicks.”
“Lexi is one of the best midfielders in our league, and I think she was the best player on the field tonight,” Perry said. “She does a lot for us.”
Butler had the first four corner kicks of the night, all in the first half. Seneca Valley had the final five corner kicks and had a 12-4 edge in shots on net.
Sydney Postler made three saves for the Raiders while Huff had nine stops for the Tornado.
“Ashton has been tremendous in goal for us,” Buzzard said. “She’s a talented, athletic keeper who plays with reckless abandon. You need your goalie to be a little bit crazy.”
Both teams have clinched WPIAL playoff spots. Seneca Valley hosts Fort LeBouef on Saturday and Butler plays at Hampton on Monday in regular season action. The postseason begins Oct. 22.
