Raiders deliver a swift kick
JACKSON TWP — In his 16 years at Seneca Valley, George Williams always has expected highly competitive games against Butler.
In those same 16 years, he has expected the same from his team.
With the chance to win the Section 3-AAA title hanging in the balance Thursday, Ryan Mershimer tallied two second-half goals — the first off a direct free kick — to give the Raiders a 2-0 victory.
The section crown was SV's third in the past six years, The others came in 2005 and 2008. The Raiders (13-2, 9-1) finished one game ahead of Pine-Richland this season.
"We kept our patience, our focus and chipped away until that free kick," said Williams. "That kind of broke their back.
"Butler didn't quit. We scored and they came back. They had that push, then our guys scored again," he added.
Neither team generated many scoring chances in the first half, as Butler goalie Kevin Knechtel had three saves and Seneca goalie Jordan Case had two.
"We wanted to make sure (Seneca Valley) did not have a lot of space to turn and move to the net," said Butler coach Troy Mohney. "We wanted them to pass the ball and stayed marked near midfield.
"They controlled the ball really well. We had a hard time stringing passes together," he added.
"Butler's a well-coached and well-organized team," said Williams. "They kept us from getting dangerous in the first half.
"We knew it would not be an easy night," he added.
An Andreas Fatschel shot two minutes into the second half hit the top of the crossbar to deny the Raiders the lead, but Mershimer earned a direct free kick from 20 yards out four minutes later.
His shot went toward the front of the goal, where the ball deflected hard off a Tornado defender and flew into the net with 33:43 remaining.
With 29:50 left, Mershimer doubled the Raiders' lead, driving a loose ball past Knechtel.
The Butler goalie made three saves in the second half to finish with six, but the two goals were too much for Butler (2-6-2, 4-8-4) to overcome.
"It's been a frustrating season in the fact we've competed in every one of our section games," said Mohney. "We've been the better team in quite a few of them. Unfortunately, we've been unable to find the back of the net."
While the Raiders captured another section title, Williams knows they don't come easy.
"It feels great every time," said Williams. "We know how competitive this section — we don't want to see any team in our section in the playoffs — so to come out on top is extremely gratifying."
