Girls Soccer repeats in Section Two

(Courtney Peffley led the Bears with 14 goals in the regular season).

Well, the EAHS girls soccer team made it pretty interesting down the stretch, but in the end, the Bears are the Section Two champions for the second straight year, beating Manheim Central 1-0 on Thursday to clinch the crown.

After E-town lost to L-S last Tuesday, the Bears' section title hopes weren't as clear as they were when they beat Ephrata on Friday, April 25. But in the end, E-town had one less loss that Ephrata or L-S, beating both of them by just one point in the standings. E-town was 11-2-1 in section play, while both Ephrata and L-S were 11-3.

The Bears rounded out the regular season by dropping a 2-1 decision to Hershey on Friday, but the game really didn't matter, since E-town's section and league playoff standings were already in tact. In E-town's last 34 regular season games over the last two seasons, the Bears have only lost six games. Wow.

Here is E-town's current goal-tally sheet. (Note: these are from my calculations and, as we all know by now, I'm an idiot. So please, correct me if I'm wrong – but I don't think I am).
Courtney Peffley: 14
Katie Leverentz: 12
Dani Faller: 3
Kristen Lowe: 3
LJ Funck: 3
Kristin Markham: 3
Meghan Gore: 2
Carly Rosenberger: 1
Erin Kurtz: 1
Rachael Heckman: 1

E-town has scored 43 goals and allowed 15 all season long. Amazingly, they have played in EIGHT overtime games this year – including three double-overtime games. They are 4-3-1 in those games, which means the only games E-town has lost this year have come on sudden-death overtime goals.

Their league playoffs begin on Tuesday night against Section One runner-up Conestoga Valley. The game is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. at Penn Manor High School. They will follow Hempfield-Donegal, which starts at 5:30 p.m.

CV went 8-3-1 in Section One this year, finishing two games behind Hempfield. But the Buckskins are the defending L-L Champions, so they know what it takes to win this tournament. For the Bears, they are looking to take the next step in the postseason. They had a phenomenal regular season last year, going 14-3, but lost to Manheim Township in the first round of leagues and fell to Central Dauphin in the second round of districts. This year's team is happy to be section champs, but they want to be playing on Saturday in the finals.

After Tuesday, the L-L semis are set for Thursday night at Manheim Central, with the finals also at Central on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Here's a quick look at CV. As I wrote earlier, the Bucks went 8-3-1 in Section One, finishing in second place behind Hempfield. They scored 24 goals and allowed just eight. E-town scored 37 and allowed 11 in section games. So both teams play stingy defense.

CV's offense is paced by players like Morgan Gerz and Sharee McCarty. On defense, backs Meredith Hayden, Lindsey Herr, Katie Neiss and Brit Simmons form a solid line in front of keeper Amanda McGowan.

I expect a very close game here between the two defensive stalwarts, with E-town winning by a one-goal margin. But I guess only time will tell, and we'll find out Tuesday.