Seneca Valley's boys soccer team overachieved last year. Now the Raiders just want to achieve.

Slippery Rock wants to achieve, too - in the state playoffs.

"We did very well with just four seniors a year ago," Seneca Valley coach George Williams said. "That sets us up well for this season."

The Raiders finished 9-6-3 last season and were fourth in their section. Seven seniors lead the squad this season, paced by highly skilled forward Ahmad Salim, and 6-foot-six junior goalkeeper David Monteleone should be a force as well.

"This is a great group of guys and they're coming together," Williams said. "I'm very optimistic about our chances."

Anthony Buzard takes over the Slippery Rock program after Derek Gallo guided the Rockets to a 17-4 record and league title in his only year at the helm.

Buzard inherits a team that returns 25-goal scorer Ryan Zarichnak, 24-goal scorer Drew Craig and a stellar goalkeeper in Greg Walter.

"These guys have never made it past the first round of the playoffs," Buzard said. "They want to get that accomplished this year."

Here is a capsule look at area boys soccer teams this fall:

Coach: Malcolm Cook, fourth yearLast year: 4-8 in section playKey losses: Jonathan Blose, Danny Maticic, Jonathan Miller, Tony HorniacekKey returners: Seniors Aaron McCoskey (defense), David Rice (midfield), David Crissman (striker), Brian Franz (defense), Evan Gould (goalkeeper), juniors Matt Gamble (defense), K.J. Ludlum (defense), Steve Armahizer (midfield)Cook says: "We're very young with a lot of talent at the ninth and 10th grade levels. We may be a year away yet, but the kids have been working hard and we may surprise some people. Everybody's enthusiastic and this has been the best preseason camp since my first year."

Coach: Chris McGrady, 10th yearLast year: 10-9Key losses: Tim Tomayko, Eric Yagoda, Zach Weber, Brandon ShowersKey returners: Seniors Steve Kerr (midfield), Wayne Eckert (defense), Mark Vigliotti (defense), juniors Josh Shurina (forward, leading scorer with 15 goals, 11 assists), Sean Mientus (forward, 10 goals, 10 assists), Mike Ziedler (sweeper), Jeremy Gugino (defense), Aaron Dunmyre (goalkeeper), Bryant Hank (defense), sophomore Mike Woitas (forward, 10 goals, 9 assists)McGrady says: "We're moving up from Class A to AA, so the competition will be tougher. I expect us to be competitive. These guys are still fairly young, but they're used to playing with each other. If we keep away from injuries, we'll be OK."

Coach: Brian Beil, third yearLast year: 11-8Key losses: David Kerr (18 goals), Jeremy Gildersleeve (defense)Key returners: Seniors Andy Hay (midfield, 9 goals), Dan VanSlyke (forward), Bill McCormick (goalkeeper)Beil says: "We have a pretty strong group of players coming back and we're looking to establish more consistent play. We play in a very good league and haven't beaten Slippery Rock in four years. Dan VanSlyke was out with a back injury last year and getting him back will help."

Coach: Roy Parker, fifth yearLast year: 10-7Key loss: Dylan Parker (sweeper)Key returners: Seniors Nathan Knox (sweeper), Zach Angert (midfield), Mike Ryan (midfield), juniors Evan Crawford (defense), Dale Grimm (defense), Cody McElravy (defense), Zach Fleeger (goalkeeper), Mike Lopresti (goalkeeper), Aaron Ganter (midfield), Josiah Grubbs (midfield), Andrew Harmon (midfield), Chad Zabicki (midfield)Parker says: "We're strong in experience and we're strong defensively. It all comes down to whether we can put the ball in the net. If we can do that, I like our chances. We'll control the games, but we have to score. Mark Ferguson is a new junior on the team and he'll be a big help to us."

Coach: Gus Negrette, first yearLast year: Sub-.500 recordKey losses: Aaron Huselton (forward), Phil Kearns (goalkeeper)Key returners: Seniors Scott Wetzel (defense), Ben Greiner (midfield), James Morrow (midfield)Negrette says: "We have a lot of good sophomores (including defender Eric Paul, midfielder Ben Wetzel and forward Scott Herman) who will be starting for the varsity. My goal is to get this team to the next stage and that's the playoffs. They haven't been there and they're capable of getting there. We dropped down to Class AA this year and that should help."

Coach: Blair Gerlach, third yearLast year: 17-5-1, lost in first round of state playoffsKey losses: Nine starters, including Butler County Elite 11 all-stars Ben Knauff, Steve Perri, Nate LyonsKey returners: Senior captain Cameron Frank (midfield), junior Drew Siegel (goalkeeper)Gerlach says: "Last year, we had 13 seniors and they could all play. Even though we're young and inexperienced, our goal is to get back to the playoffs. We won our first scrimmage, 3-0, and hopefully we can build on that. These guys all get along with each other and that's half the battle."

Coach: George Williams, 10th yearLast year: 9-6-3Key losses: Cory Fogle (forward, leading scorer with 10 goals, 5 assists), Matt Mallary (sweeper, defensive and team MVP), Chris Meurer (forward), Mike Ehrenfried (midfield)Key returners: Seniors Ryan Elser (midfield), Justin Pecyna (defense), Ahmad Salim (forward), Justin Nock (midfield), Zach Nichols (forward), Tom Whitmer (midfield), Jeff Richards (midfield), junior David Monteleone (goalkeeper)Williams says: "We lost our offensive and defensive MVPs from last year, but David Monteleone is very tall and extremely athletic in goal. Our players add different things to the team. We have a lot of guys back and I'm anxious to start the season."

Coach: Anthony Buzard, first yearLast year: 17-4, won the section, lost in first round of state playoffsKey loss: Eric Greaves (goalkeeper)Key returners: Seniors Ryan Zarichnak (midfielder, 25 goals), Drew Craig (striker, 24 goals, 17 assists), Greg Walter (goalkeeper), Kyle Gereken (defense-midfielder), sophomore Craig Bicehouse (defense-midfielder)Buzard says: "I met with the kids before we started practice sessions because I've never seen them play before. They want to make it to the state tournament. These guys have never made it past the first round of the playoffs and they want to get that accomplished."