Boys’ Soccer Playoff Run Comes to an End
November 5, 2012
The boys’ soccer team game came into playoffs as the number 8 seed in the WPIAL playoffs and the first team that they were going to play was Mount Lebanon.
Earlier in the season the Seneca Valley boys’ team beat Mount Lebanon at home by a score of 5-1. However, the Raiders could not get comfortable because the boys from Lebo wanted both revenge and for their season not to end.
Both teams came out that night to play with quality scoring opportunities in the first half from both teams, but the goalies held strong. However, three minutes into the second half, Mount Lebanon scored on a corner kick to make it a 1-0 game.
A quick end to the Raider’s season seemed inevitable, but the Raiders didn’t give up. They fought back and senior captain Ryan Vilella scored for the Raiders tying up the game with about twenty minutes left in the game. The brutality of these two teams was driven by the passion in each of the player’s hearts.
Despite a last second quality opportunity by the Raiders that missed, the game went back and forth and went into overtime. After about 8 minutes of overtime there was a foul against the Raiders in the opponent’s box. In the pressure situation Brandon White buried the penalty kick in the back of the net.
The boys’ soccer team stormed the field and moved on to the next round were they would play the number one team in WPIAL, Peters Township at their home field.
In this clash of the titans the Raiders were underdogs, but that didn’t bother them. They came out of the gate with intensity and matched Peters’ ferocity. Freshman Matt Saluga scored for the Raiders, but Peters came back and scored quickly.
At the end of regulation time, it was still a tied game so the game was going to go to overtime. After several minutes of intense fighting, Peters shot the ball from 30 yards out in to the top corner of the goal to end the Raiders soccer season. The Raiders finished the year with a record of 14-5-1.