If the end justifies the means, then none of the previous seven losses will matter to Seton-LaSalle if it can win the PIAA Class A boys' soccer title tomorrow against Christopher Dock, the District 1 champion.

Last season, Seton-LaSalle went 25-0 and won the Section 3, WPIAL and PIAA Class A titles.

It was dominant throughout the season, and only two teams stayed within one goal of the Rebels.

Any talk of perfection this season was out the window four games in after a 1-0 loss to Class AAA Central Catholic. Before the regular season ended, the Rebels had lost six games.

They finished third in the section behind Bishop Canevin and Sewickley Academy. They never even had a chance to defend their WPIAL title, losing to Greensburg Central Catholic in the semifinals.

But thanks to another state playoff run including a 2-1 double overtime win in a rematch Tuesday with Greensburg Central, Seton-LaSalle is in the same position as last year going into the last game of the season with a state title up for grabs in a 10 a.m. game at Hersheypark Stadium.

Considering the loss of two All-Americans from last season, Dave Del Greco and Alex Fischetti, the regular-season struggles could have been expected.

On the other hand, considering the returning players and the tradition at Seton-LaSalle, the state playoff run also could have been expected.

"You can't replace those guys," Thomas said of Del Greco and Fischetti. "We had games last year we could have lost, but Dave stepped up or Alex stepped up.

"Last year we did not lose and this year we have seven losses and a lot of the losses can be attributed to the coaching staff. When you play enough games, you are going to win some and lose some."

Thomas had been a part of the staff with former coach Aaron Panczyk since 2002, but this year he took over full coaching responsibilities.

Thomas was trying different formations and different starters throughout the regular season, and by the time the playoffs rolled around, Seton-LaSalle was starting to resemble more of the 2008 outfit.

The return to Hershey was set up by a come-from-behind win against Greensburg Central.

After a scoreless first half, the Rebels were caught off guard defensively and, after a miscommunication between two defenders, Ethan Shula scored an easy goal, giving Greensburg Central a 1-0 lead 20 seconds into the second half.

It was a tough but not unusual situation for Seton-LaSalle, which found itself on the wrong end of six one-goal games this season.

James Del Greco, the younger cousin of Dave, came up with the equalizer with less than 14 minutes to play in regulation.

In the overtimes, Seton-LaSalle peppered the Greensburg net with shots before striking.

Del Greco sent a pass to Ty Trainor who beat one defender and sent in a shot from 6 yards to seal the game in the second overtime.

Trainor led the Rebels with 24 goals this season, and Del Greco had 23. Fifteen players scored for Seton-LaSalle this year.

Ty Balzer led the team with 17 assists and Trainor added 14.

Defenders Sean Clark, Jeff Cancelmi and Justin Kotek are all taller than 6 feet and all three have been offered spots to continue their careers in college.

"These players have been there before, they know what it takes," Thomas said.

"They have played in these games previously but they were not the leaders in those games. There was pressure on those guys to get back to that big game.

"We had a chance in the WPIALs and came up short, and now we have a chance in the biggest game of the year."

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.