When Seneca Valley students return to class after the teachers strike, they will find a new addition to the school.

This was not from the work of any construction workers but rather the work of the girls' soccer team who brought the school its first WPIAL girls' championship Saturday night with a 2-0 win over Upper St. Clair in the Class AAA finals.

"This is huge for the school, the community and the program," Raiders coach Dave Sylvester said.

They finished the regular season 17-3-1 and knocked off Franklin Regional, 3-2, Peters Township, 2-1, and Penn Trafford, 4-1, before the championship game against the Panthers.

Seneca-Valley went 9-2-1 in Section 2-AAA but was denied the section title by Pine-Richland (10-1-1). The teams split their regular-season meetings with each other many expected them to meet again in the playoffs.

"Yeah I think deep down the girls were hoping to see them," said Sylvester.

Pine-Richland was knocked out by Upper St. Clair in the semifinals.

Seneca beat the Rams, 3-2, at home but dropped a 2-1 decision at Pine-Richland earlier this season.

Sylvester came into the playoffs knowing he had a solid bench that could go four or five deep if need be.

After a scoreless first half during the title game, sophomore forward Mandy Cerminara was summoned from the bench and she made the difference in scoring the game's first goal.

"The depth of the bench showed, especially Saturday. We brought in some girls with fresh legs," Sylvester said.

Brianna Meurer added an insurance goal for the Raiders.

"We played well enough to win. We came out strong to start the second half and once we scored, we relaxed a little bit and went after them," Sylvester said.

After a similar second-place finish in the section last year, Seneca Valley received a tough draw with Mt. Lebanon in the first round. The Raiders were eliminated in the first round, losing on penalty kicks.

This year was no different as undefeated Peters Township was up in the second round for the Raiders. Lauren Royal scored off a header and Katherine Messmer added a second goal to laed the upset, only the second time Peters has allowed more than one goal in a game. The other time was also against Seneca in a 4-2 Peters win in late September. The loss was Peters Township's first after going 21-0.

Oddly enough Seneca Valley received its toughest challenge in the first round of the tournament. The Raiders jumped up early on Franklin Regional, 2-0, before watching the Panthers rebound to tie the game, 2-2.

Meurer put the game-winner in with less than three minutes to play in regulation.

Unfortunately for the Raiders (17-4-1), their run ended Tuesday night with a 2-0 loss to Mt. Lebanon in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.

Mt. Lebanon also ended the Raiders' seasons in 2004 and last year.