Adrienne Steele of Seneca Valley tries to get a shot past Mount Lebanon's Marlee Benke Tuesday in the Raiders' 10-7 loss in the WPIAL semifinals. DAVE PRELOSKY/BUTLER EAGLE

By Derek Pyda
Eagle Staff Writer

WEST VIEW — Forced to play catch-up the entire game, Seneca Valley simply ran out of time.
The Raiders trailed 6-2 at halftime before scoring five second-half goals, but they weren't enough as Mount Lebanon came away with a 10-7 WPIAL girls lacrosse semifinal win Tuesday at North Hills' Martorelli Stadium.
After the Blue Devils went up 9-3 with 15:42 left in the game, the Raiders fought back with goals by Shannon Quail, Ashley Argyros and Adrienne Steele in the span of 2:14 to make it 9-6.
"We're a second-half team," Raiders coach Dina Hughes said. "Our girls knew they had what it takes to compete with Mount Lebanon and we were able to make some things happen.
"The girls played their hearts out tonight."
Mount Lebanon's final goal, coming from Rallie Jackson with 10:41 left, halted SV's playoff run.
The Raiders didn't score again until Lindsay Flavion's tally with 3:06 left to make the score 10-7.
Mount Lebanon (14-4) proved to be the better team in the first half, due in large part to crisp passes that set up many goals.
Maria Dattilo and Lori Banky each scored within the first 4:10 of the game.
Flavion got the Raiders (14-6) on the board soon after, but the Blue Devils increased their lead to 4-1 on goals from Banky and Abbey Falk.
"Mount Lebanon's a good team," said Hughes. "They've got great skills and they're well-coached. This was the first time we played them this season."
Amy Cross' goal with 12:07 left in the first half pulled SV to within 4-2, but the Raiders found themselves down by four at the break.
Goalie Kasha Komosinski made nine saves for Mount Lebanon, including seven stops in the second half.
Katy Sterling had four saves for the Raiders.
Flavion led SV with three goals, the first of which earned her the program's all-time scoring mark, passing Erin Bernhard (111).
Flavion ends her career with 114 goals.
"Her play has been an asset to the team, in particular on offense," said Hughes. "We're really going to miss her next year."
Though their season ended with a loss, the Raiders took a big step forward in 2008, making it to the WPIAL semifinals for the first time.
"This season was definitely a steppingstone," said Hughes. "Hopefully, it will be a wake-up call to the girls (coming back) that they have what it takes to take it one step further.
Blue Devils coach Lauren Manion declined to comment following the game.