Butler senior Megan Crawford, center, hopes to continue her torrid scoring pace for the Golden Tornado this season.Crawford led Butler in goals and helped the Golden Tornado qualify for the WPIAL playoffs with an 8-10 record.

JACKSON TWP — Graduation took a lot of talent from Seneca Valley’s girls lacrosse program, but that isn’t stopping the Raiders from thinking big in 2014.

SV returns five starters from last year’s squad that went 11-3 and reached the WPIAL Division I playoffs before dropping a heartbreaking overtime decision to Mt. Lebanon.

The starters include senior midfielder Alexis Pucci, senior attacker Makenna Kuntz, junior center Hannah Kendrick, junior defender Mollie Gallagher and junior midfielder Liz Milton.

Kendrick led the attack last year with 25 goals and 11 assists while Kuntz added 16 goals.

Pucci and Gallagher sparked the team’s defense with a combined 54 ground balls and six interceptions.

Second-year coach Katie Smolter is hoping that the returning experience, coupled with young talent, will lead the Raiders back to postseason play.

“This year we are working on playing together as a team,” she replied in an emailed interview. “We have a group of extremely talented individuals, but that means nothing if we don’t work together. We have spent a lot of the offseason conditioning and reviewing the basics.”

Following are preview capsules for the eight Butler County high school lacrosse teams.

Girls ButlerCoach: Annie Tigano, eighth yearLast year: The Golden Tornado were 8-10 overall and made the WPIAL playoffs.Top Projected PlayersAttack: Kayla Widenhofer (So.)Midfield: Megan Crawford (Sr.) last year’s leading scorer) and Olivia Kappler (Sr.)Defense: Lindsay Walters (Sr.), Rosza Krafft (Sr.) and Melissa Bartley (Sr.)Goalie: Kyleigh Jarosinski (Sr.)Outlook: “We have a lot of seniors with a lot of playing times,” said Tigano. “We are looking to return to the playoffs. We’ve made it three straight years.”

KnochCoach: Garett Butler, seventh yearLast year: The Knights made the WPIAL playoffs.Top Projected PlayersAttack: Emily Zilka (Sr.) and Tianna Wikert (Sr.)Midfield: Kayla Smith (Sr.) and Savanna Steffen (Sr.)Defense: Izzy Hartzell (Sr.)Goalie: Sarah Rager (Sr.)Outlook: “We get young very fast,” said Butler. “We have 17 players in our program with one year or less of experience. They need to learn quickly.”

MarsNote: This is the first year that the Planets are recognized as a WPIAL team, following three seasons as a club team.Coach: Rich Schoeffel, first yearTop Projected PlayersAttack: Cassy Buzzelli (Fr.)Midfield: Bella Alampi (So.) and Shannon Doyle (So.)Defense: Eden Fletcher (So.) and Kaitlin McKenzie (Fr.)Goalie: Charla Tate (Fr.)Outlook: “Our team is mostly sophomores and freshmen,” said Schoeffel. “We have some girls with a lot of talent and I think we’ll be pretty competitive.”

Seneca ValleyCoach: Katie Smolter, second yearLast year: SV was 11-3, placed second in its section and qualified for the WPIAL playoffs.Top Projected PlayersAttack: Makenna Kuntz (Sr.), Hannah Kendrick (Jr.) and Allie Head (So.)Midfield: Alexis Pucci (Sr.), Erin Brock (Jr.) and Liz Milton (Jr.)Defense: Taylor Pelonero (Sr.) and Mollie Gallagher (Jr.)Outlook: “Replacing the 11 seniors that graduated last year is tough, but we have a lot of younger girls who are stepping up to the challenge,” said Smolter.

Boys ButlerCoach: Jim Bollberg, first yearLast year: Butler was 7-9 and missed the WPIAL playoffs.Top Projected PlayersAttack: Chandler Harvey (Sr.), Jamison Smith (Jr.) and Clay Bachman (Jr.)Midfield: Jake Harrison (Sr.), Kyler Luchkiw (Sr.), Jake Lex (So.) and Sam Lex (So.)Defense: Trevor Monteleone (Sr.) and Christian Kovach (Sr.)Goalie: Josh Jablonski (Sr.) and Brandon Martin (So.)Outlook: “We want to grow the program,” said Bollberg. “The numbers are down and we need to take a step forward.”

Knoch Note: This is the first year of varsity competition for the Knights.Coach: Nathan Barthlow, first yearTop Projected PlayersAttack: Davis Miller (Jr.) and Mitchell Bachman (Jr.)Midfield: Kevin Carr (Sr.), Peyton Maziarz (Sr.) and Tres Sperling (Sr.)Defense: Greg Brooks (Sr.), Bryson Fox (Sr.) and Ty Gornick (Jr.)Goalie: Jarret John (Jr.)Outlook: “Our goal is to improve the program,” said Barthlow. “We want to be able to stick with other teams.”

MarsCoach: Justin Karam, second yearLast year: Mars was 7-6 in the regular season and made the WPIAL playoffs in its first year of varsity play.Top Projected PlayersAttack: Blake Thompson (So., leading returning scorer) and Zac Sicher (So.)Defense: Dane Zortman (Sr.),Goalie: Patrick Morrow (So.)Outlook: “We’re hoping to improve from last year’s record and make a run in the playoffs,” Karam said.

Seneca ValleyCoach: Lance Diamond, second yearLast year: The Raiders were 4-11 overall and placed sixth in their section.Top Projected PlayersAttack: Tanner Pfeffer (Sr., team leader in total points), Ben Jarrett (Sr.) and Mike Zoria (Jr.)Defense: Max Cicero (Sr.), Steve Rudolph (Sr.), Sam Barbe (Jr.) and Greg Bayne (So.)Goalie: Paul Cundiff (Jr.)Outlook: “We are returning all of our starters from both ends of the field,” said Diamond. “That will benefit us early on in our schedule.”