Oct 26, 2016 2 min read

CORAOPOLIS – The strategy was sound: pack it in, play solid defense and hope to capitalize on a mistake.

Canon-McMillan put those tactics into play in its WPIAL Class 4-A soccer quarterfinals. For most of the match, it worked.

Against the top-seeded Seneca Valley, most of the time is just not going to cut it.

Matthew Happ took a nice pass from defender Louis Newell and scored 32 minutes into the match to spark the Raiders to a 1-0 victory over the Big Macs.

The loss ended the season for the Big Macs (11-8), who were the defending Triple-A champions when there were three classifications last season. Seneca Valley, the 21st-ranked team in the country, moved to 17-0-1. The Raiders move on to the semifinals against Upper St. Clair.

“They had one good chance and they scored,” said Canon-McMillan head coach Larry Fingers. “I was happy with our team, the way they played. The first half was a different system. We opened up in the second half and had some chances.”

Seneca Valley has allowed just three goals this season and had a streak of 11 consecutive shutouts. The two teams have played three times over the past two years. All three matches ended 1-0. Canon-McMillan defeated Seneca Valley in the WPIAL semifinals last season then lost to the Raiders in the state semifinals.

“Canon-McMillan is always very creative with what they put out there,” said Seneca Valley head coach George Williams. “When they play defense, we try to catch them off guard.”

Happ had two other second-half opportunities, firing a laser from 25 yards and sending one just over the crossbar a few minutes later.

“He’s an exciting player,” said Williams. “He’s dangerous every time he get the ball.”

Canon-McMillan had a couple scrums in front of the net in the final two minutes but couldn’t score.

“We lose seven seniors from this team,” said Fingers. “We lose a lot every year, but we have a good core coming back.”