Seneca Valley Girls Advance to Lacrosse WPIAL Title Showdown

After weeks of playing under dark clouds and dodging rain, the girls lacrosse team stormed into the WPIAL Division I championship game with a methodical and patient 14-8 victory over Peters Township Tuesday night at North Hills High School Stadium.

The Raiders (14-4) will face Sewickley Academy in the final at 8 p.m. Thursday under the lights at North Hills.

“We’ve played Sewickley Academy twice already, so this will be the third time we’ve seen them,” Seneca Valley coach Dina Hughes said. “They’re really a tough team. They don’t have one or two all-stars, they have a whole team of all-stars. So this will be a difficult test for us.”

The previous two matchups resulted in close Raiders’ victories by three goals and one goal.

Seneca Valley established an 8-2 lead at halftime against Peters Township, but the Indians scored two quick goals to start the second half.

Seneca Valley junior scored a key goal to break Peters Township’s momentum with 15:26 remaining in the second half. That gave the Raiders a 9-4 lead.

“I think we pulled it together after that, and didn’t let it get to us,” Hughes said.

After another Peters Township comeback attempt, senior Taylor Mayeda bounced a goal into the net to re-establish the Raiders’ five-goal margin at 10-5. With only 12:10 remaining in the game, the Indians knew they were running out of time.

Seneca Valley senior scored three goals and added a pair of assists, junior Morgan Midkill had three goals plus an assist, and Cundiff contributed three goals.

“Going into the game, we knew Peters Township was a really good team,” Hughes said. “I just thought we played really well as a team. The communication was good, and I think that’s what pulled us through.”

Also for the Raiders, Mayeda and Paige Corathers each tossed in two goals.

Seneca Valley senior goalie Lauren Moran made 16 saves.

The Raiders moved to 2-0 in playoff action.