Butler ousts defending WPIAL champion Penn-Trafford from girls soccer playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 20, 2018 | 9:09 PM

With his team trailing by a goal early, Steve Perri wanted the Butler girls to get to the perimeter and run wide on Penn-Trafford. He figured that could flip the game’s momentum.

Did it ever.

Defending WPIAL Class 4A champion Penn-Trafford allowed the Golden Tornado to play that way and, as a result, the Warriors’ season came crashing to a close in a 4-1 loss in a first-round soccer playoff game Saturday at North Allegheny’s Wright Field at Newman Stadium.

Butler (11-5-2) moves on to play No. 3 Peters Township (14-3) in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

“We were playing awesome for the first 20 minutes, and then I don’t know what happened,” Penn-Trafford coach Jackie Bartko said. “We lost all the momentum. Butler did a nice job of finishing.”

After senior Alexis Garia knocked in a deflected shot just four minutes in for No. 6 Penn-Trafford (12-5), No. 11 Butler scored four unanswered goals, including two by freshman Chloe Weiland.

It was 1-1 at the half after Weiland’s 22-yard blast in the 22nd minute made its way past Warriors’ junior keeper Megan Giesey, who made eight tough saves, including a few she literally punched away.

Giesey had just made a fantastic stop of a Weiland shot attempt a couple minutes earlier.

Perri saw that style he wanted take shape immediately when the second half started. A wave of Butler players moved down the right side and sophomore Gabrielle Boden knocked in a header just 45 seconds after halftime to make it 2-1.

“We saw how (Penn-Trafford) played on film, and we wanted to muddy the waters in the middle and force everything wide,” Perri said. “We have been down early before so that was not a problem for us. Our back four played great for us.”

No. 1 seed Seneca Valley (13-2) led the Golden Tornado, 3-0, in a section game last week but Butler rallied for four goals and won, 4-3.

“We needed to do a better job playing our game,” Bartko said. “We gave them too many chances.”

In the 59th minute, Weiland struck again, taking a nifty give-and-go from junior McKenna Robinson to give Butler a 3-1 advantage as the Warriors began to press defensively.

The goal followed a free kick and a foul by Penn-Trafford, which was plagued by several calls and a pair of yellow cards.

Whistles and Butler’s aggressive play snarled the Warriors and made a comeback a perilous journey — something Butler’s upset was not. Coaches think the Class 4A field is wide open.

“Our goal was to make the playoffs and get past the first round. The rest is a bonus,” Perri said.

Perri said the Golden Tornado’s last score was an own goal by Penn-Trafford but game officials gave it to senior Alyson Holt. The ball ended up in the net after a wind-aided corner kick in the 71st minute.

Bartko was pleased with Giesey’s play.

“She’s a great player, and we’re fortunate to have her back for another year,” Bartko said. “It’s unfortunate to see it end this way for us. It’s tough for our seniors. I am proud of our girls.”

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Butler, Penn-Trafford