EAHS Boys Soccer All Stars

Five members of the Elizabethtown Area High School boys soccer team have been named Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two all-stars. E-town had three players named to the all-section first team, goalie Quinn Cozzens and midfielders Kevin Romanauskas and Sean Strangeway. Defender Jason Good was named to the second team and midfielder Nathan Clarke was named an academic all-star.

Strangeway led the Bears this season with six goals and also had one assist. Romanauskas added five goals. Cozzens earned three shutouts in goal for the Bears, who went 9-6-2 this season and qualified for the District Three playoffs.

Good was the anchor of E-town’s defense and Clarke added one goal and one assist this year.

Boys Soccer District Playoff Brackets

The EAHS boys soccer team may have missed out on the league playoffs, but they will be the District Three Class AAA playoffs, which begin on Monday with a home game against Manheim Central at 7 p.m.

Here are the first round matchups:
No. 17 Ephrata at No. 16 Daniel Boone. (Winner plays No. 1 Red Land).

No. 25 Mechanicsburg at No. 8 Governor Mifflin.
No. 24 Cocalico at No. 9 Carlisle.
(Winner of these two games meet in next round).

No. 20 Central York at No. 13 Exeter. (Winner plays No. 4 Central Dauphin).

No. 21 Wilson at No. 12 Garden Spot. (Winner plays No. 5 Dallastown).

No. 18 Lampeter-Strasburg at No. 15 Twin Valley (Winner plays No. 2 Red Lion).

No. 26. Spring Grove at No. 7 Conestoga Valley.
No. 23 Gettysburg at No. 10 Hershey.
(Winner of these two games meet in next round).

No. 19 Lower Dauphin at No. 14 Hempfield. (Winner plays No. 3 Warwick).

No. 27 Waynesboro at No. 6 Manheim Township.
No. 22 Manheim Central at No. 11 Elizabethtown.
(Winner of these two games meet in next round).

Here's the schedule:
Play in round (that's the games listed above): Monday, Oct. 20.
First round: Thursday, Oct. 23.
Quarterfinals: Saturday, Oct. 25.
Semifinals: Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Finals at Hersheypark Stadium: Saturday, Nov. 1.

Bears-Bucks to play for Section title

(Ethan Luscian scored one of E-town's five goals yesterday).

Conestoga Valley and E-town both took care of business yesterday and will play on Saturday afternoon for the Section Two championship.

The Bears needed CV to beat Garden Spot yesterday to have a shot at the section title, and that's exactly what the Buckskins did, beating the Spartans 5-1 to knock Garden Spot out of first place and to put themselves in a tie with E-town for first place. E-town kept the pace with a 5-1 win over Lebanon thanks to two goals by Sean Strangeway, and one goal each from Josh Reem, Ethan Luscian and Joey Funck.

It's pretty simple, really, the winner of the game will win the section and will get to the league playoffs. The loser, however, might not even get to leagues. Right now, E-town and CV are both 9-4-2 (29 points), and Spot is 9-5-1 (28 points). Garden Spot should be able to get to 10 wins tomorrow against Solanco, putting them at 31 points, meaning they would make the league playoffs over whoever loses in the E-town/CV game.

The Bears and the Buckskins have only played once this year, and they battled to a 2-2 tie back on Sept. 20. If the Bears win and get into the League playoffs, they will begin on Tuesday, where E-town will likely do battle with Section Four runner up Lancaster Catholic (7-6-0). Now, if the Bucks and Bears tie again, things could get a little interesting, because they would then be in a three-way tie with Ephrata, should the Mounts beat Lebanon tomorrow, which they likely will. To be honest, I'm not sure how a three-way tie would be settled, especially since E-town is 1-1 against Ephrata this year. But we'll cross that bridge when and if we get there.

Hold on to your seats, soccer fans, because Saturday will be one heck of a game.

Inside the Numbers ... actually, no, they're just numbers

I've compiled some stats out there on the EAHS football, boys soccer and field hockey teams so far this season for my fellow stat nerds, so here's what I got:

FOOTBALL:
Passing:
Kyle McNeil: 33-62 (51%), 646 yards, 10 TDs, 7 INTs.
Rushing:
Conrad Heisey, 79 carries, 567 yards, 6 TDs, 7.1 yards per carry.
Shane Rosenberry, 76 carries, 448 yards, 6 TDs, 5.8 ypc.
Mitch Weidman, 49 carries, 348 yards, 4 TDs, 7.1 ypc.
Receiving:
Jeremi Jones, 8 catches, 201 yards, 5 TDs.
Mitch Weidman, 8 catches, 116 yards, TD.
Steven Nunez, 5 catches, 143 yards, TD.
Shane Rosenberry, 3 catches, 48 yards.
Conrad Heisey, 3 catches, 21 yards.
Josh McMasters, 3 catches, 75 yards, TD.
Brock Rutherford, 2 catches, 37 yards, TD.
Brendan Kain, 1 catch, 5 yards, TD.

DEFENSE:
Tackles:
Shane Rosenberry, 54.
Alex Kirchner, 39.
David Kennedy, 38.
Jared Danneker, 24.
Shaun Buller, 23.
Sacks:
Alex Kirchner, 8.
Shane Rosenberry, 2.
Shaun Buller, 2.
David Kennedy, 1.
Jared Danneker, 1.
Interceptions:
Steven Nunez, 2.
Mitch Weidman, 2.
Mich Light, 1.
David Kennedy, 1.
Fumble recoveries:
Shane Rosenberry, 2.
Brendan Kain, 2.
David Kennedy, 1.
Larrian Payne, 1.
Mitch Weidman, 1.
Jared Danneker, 1.
Fumbles Forced:
Shane Rosenberry, 2.
Alex Kirchner, 1.
Larrian Payne, 1.
Dylan Allison, 1.
Shaun Buller, 1.


FIELD HOCKEY
Goals:
Carley Rosenberger, 6.
Jenna Rosenberry, 3.
Anna Libby, 3.
Abby Fuhrman, 2.
Erin Miller, 2.
Jamie Ahern, 1.
Jordan Scully, 1.
Paige Strayer, 1.
Jamie Dullinger, 1.
Mandi Shearer, 1.
Caryn Bailey, 1.
Becca Bigler, 1.
Assists:
Abby Fuhrman, 3.
Mandi Shearer, 2.
Jamie Ahern, 2.
Anna Libby, 1.
Leah Hayward, 1.
Caryn Bailey, 1.
Kayla Koser, 1.
Jenna Rosenberry, 1.
Kylie McKain, 1.
Heather Catalfano, 1.


BOYS SOCCER:
Goals:
Kevin Romanauskas, 5.
Brian Savage, 5.
Sean Strangeway, 4.
Joey Funck, 4.
Austin Florey, 2.
Ryan Sostack, 2.
Josh Reem, 2.
Drew Reinhold, 2.
Shane Long, 1.
Nathan Clarke, 1.
Assists:
Ryan Sostack, 2.
Josh Reem, 2.
Sean Strangeway, 1.
Brian Savage, 1.
Jason Good, 1.
Austin Florey, 1.
Joey Funck, 1.
Shane Long, 1.
Nathan Clarke, 1.

Section race down to the wire

With two games remaining, the Section Two boys soccer race is certainly close.

Quickly, since I'm swamped with the print edition today, here's a look at what to expect.

First, here are the current standings. I'm only including the top four, since Solanco and Lebanon are eliminated.

1. Garden Spot – 9-4-1 (28 points)
2. E-town – 8-4-2 (26 points)
2. Conestoga Valley – 8-4-2 (26 points)
4. Ephrata – 8-6-0 (24 points)
Last night, Garden Spot beat Ephrata 1-0 to take sole possession of first place and the Spartans are now in the driver's seat. If they win out, they are section champs, but a couple of things could happen. Let's take a look at what each team has remaining on their schedule.

Garden Spot: Oct. 8 vs. CV; Oct. 10 @ Solanco
E-town: Oct. 8 @ Lebanon; Oct. 11 vs. CV.
CV: Oct. 8 @ Garden Spot; Oct. 11 @ E-town.
Ephrata: Oct. 8 @ Solanco; Oct. 10 @ Lebanon.

Here's what that all means (try and stay with me here):
We'll assume that Ephrata will win its final two games, which they should. That will put them at 10-6-0, worth 30 points.

Garden Spot should end with a win against Solanco, which would put them at worst at 10-5-1, worth 31 points. So barring an upset by Solanco, Ephrata is essentially eliminated.

E-town should have no trouble with Lebanon.

So the big two games are CV @ Garden Spot tomorrow and CV @ E-town Saturday. If CV beats Garden Spot (and E-town should be rooting hard for that), then the section will essentially be decided on Saturday. The Bears can still win the section, but they need CV's help. If Garden Spot loses one of its last two and the Bears win out, they will be section champs, because that would make spot 10-5-1 and E-town would be 10-4-2, and would win by a point. Here's where it gets tricky though. If CV wins out, it would win the section. Now, if Spot, E-town and CV all go 1-1 over the last 2 games (which is possible) and Ephrata wins out, GS would still win the section, but Ephrata would move up to second place. Whew. We'll know a LOT more after Wednesday afternoon, and I'll post something first thing Thursday morning.

The bottom line for E-town is this: they need to win out. Sure, they can squeak into the L-L playoffs by going 1-1 down the stretch, but they will need help from other teams to do so, and that's not something you want to rely on. If they win out, they're in the league playoffs. They might not be section champs, but they'd be in the playoffs. A lot hinges on that Garden Spot/CV game on Wednesday. I'll check back Thursday.

Boys soccer update

(Photo by Chris Bradley).

The E-town boys soccer team lost to Hempfield at home last night, 2-1. It was the first loss for the Bears in nearly three weeks.

E-town was playing without Kevin Romanauskas and Ryan Sostack, who missed the game with illnesses, and their presence in the midfield was missed. The Black Knights were all over the Bears in the first half, controlling the action for the most part and keeping the Bears from getting anything going offensively – E-town did not record a shot or a corner in the half. Hempfield got an early goal from Ryan Rohrer and scored again 10 minutes later on a goal from Caleb Kendig. Both times, the Hempfield player dribbled around defenders in the box and earned open shots on goal.

But in the second half, E-town picked up the intensity and played much better. They got a goal with three minutes left from defender Shane Long off of a long throw in by Jason Good. Long held the back post very well on the play, and when the ball got through to him, he buried it. At the time of Long's goal, E-town was playing a man down after Mitch Capelli was given a hard red card for tripping. And with 1:23 to play, Brian Savage was also given a red card, putting the Bears at a two-man disadvantage. Capelli and Savage will both now be unable to play in E-town's next game on Monday, when E-town travels to face McCaskey.

The good news for E-town is that the loss did not hurt them in the section standings. Had the Bears beaten Hempfield, they would have taken over first place in the section as Ephrata lost to Manheim Township. But as it stands now, E-town remains in second place, one point behind the Mounts.

Here are the Section Two standings as of today, as well as scores from last night's games. There are only six regular season games left, so it looks like the section race will get very interesting and is a four-team race at this point.

Ephrata: 7-2 (21 points)
E-town: 6-2-2 (20 points)
Garden Spot: 6-3-1 (19 points)
Conestoga Valley: 5-3-2 (17 points)
Solanco: 1-9 (3 points)
Lebanon: 0-10 (0 points)

Last night's scores:
Hempfield 2, E-town 1
Manheim Township 4, Ephrata 2
Garden Spot 7, Penn Manor 2
Conestoga Valley 7, McCaskey 0
Warwick 3, Lebanon 0
Cedar Crest 4, Solanco 3 (OT).

Boys Soccer update

OK gang, we're finally back on track here at the Den. Since we haven't been around the wide world of E-town sports in a while, let's go around and do some updates.

We'll kick things off today with the E-town boys soccer team, which is in the process of another outstanding season.

The Bears are 6-1-2 overall and have the fewest losses in Section Two. In fact, here are the latest Section Two Standings.
E-town – 6-1-2
Ephrata – 7-2
Conestoga Valley – 6-2-2
Garden Spot – 5-4-1
Solanco – 2-8
Lebanon – 1-9

Ephrata has more points (21) than E-town (20) and CV (20), but the Bears have a better winning percentage than both. E-town lost to Ephrata 1-0 back on Sept. 5 and tied CV 2-2 on Saturday, Sept. 20. It's definitely a great battle in Section Two that should go down to the wire. And Garden Spot could certainly put itself up in the mix before it's all said and done.

The Bears got off to a bit of a slow start, tying Garden Spot in their opener and then falling to Ephrata in their second game. But after that, goodness. E-town went out and beat Warwick in overtime and then reeled off four more wins in a row, including a win over Manheim Township. Township and Warwick both have only one loss in league play so far this year – and the Bears are responsible for them.

After the tie with CV last Saturday, they rebounded to beat Penn Manor 1-0 in double OT.

The offense has been solid, scoring 23 goals in nine games so far, for an average of 2.5 per game. Here are the offensive stats for the Bears:
• Brian Savage, five goals, one assist.
• Sean Strangeway, four goals, one assist.
• Joey Funck, four goals, one assist.
• Kevin Romanauskas, three goals.
• Austin Florey, two goals, one assist.
• Ryan Sostack, two goals, two assists.
• Drew Reinhold, two goals.
• Josh Reem, one goal, two assists.
• Jason Good, one assist.
• Shane Long, one assist.

But the defense has been simply outstanding. E-town has allowed only seven goals so far in nine games, and has not allowed more than two in a game yet. The Bears have four shutout wins, including three in their last four games. The defense is led by Jason Good, Shane Long, Mitch Capelli and goalie Quinn Cozzens, who is one of the very best keepers in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

E-town will host Hempfield tonight at 7 p.m., the third place team in Section One. They are calling for rain tonight, so there is a possibility of the game getting pushed back. If that happens, I'll post here as soon as I know.

But keep your calendar circled for Oct. 4 at Ephrata and Oct. 11 vs. CV at E-town College, because those will be two huge games.

Boys Soccer heating up

After getting off to somewhat of a slow start, the E-town soccer team is starting to heat up, cranking out two straight wins, both against Section One opponents.

The Bears got a thrilling 2-1 win in overtime against Warwick, as Sean Strangeway scored early in the overtime period to give the Bears their first win of the year. After the game, Strangeway called the win "season changing", and I think he might be right. E-town played pretty well in its first two games, but had only a tie and a loss against section opponents to show for it. And against Warwick, the Bears were frustrated offensively and fell behind 1-0 before Brian Savage (more on him in a minute) sent it to OT with a beautiful goal with eight minutes to play.

E-town carried the momentum into yesterday's game with a dominating 4-0 win over Cedar Crest – E-town's highest scoring output of the season. And E-town will look to continue its roll tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Manheim Township. The Bears battled the Streaks in a great game in the L-L playoffs last year, taking them into double OT I believe, before Township ultimately prevailed. E-town is on a roll, though, and they'll give Township a run tomorrow. It should be an excellent game.

Losing all-state player Peter Davis to graduation was certainly a blow to the E-town offense this year, but they did get Savage back. He missed all of last season with a knee injury and has been one of the best players on the team so far. He's got a motor that doesn't stop and he plays a very physical style of soccer, something that can help a team scratch and claw to get goals and ultimately win a lot of games. With Savage's return and the emergence of Strangeway, Josh Reem, Ryan Sostack and Kevin Romanauskas, something tells me that E-town has a great chance of repeating as Section Two champs and will be headed back to the L-L and District Three playoffs.

If they can keep finishing plays with goals, the Bears are going to be tough for anyone to beat.

EAHS Boys Soccer Preview

(Josh Reem will be a key player for the Bears this season.)

Head Coach: James Sostack, 14th season, 2007 Section Two coach of the year.

2007 Record: 11-7-1 overall. Section Two co-champions. Beat Lancaster Mennonite 2-1 in Lancaster-Lebanon League quarterfinals. Lost to Manheim Township, 2-1 in double overtime, in L-L League semifinals. Lost to Wilson, 1-0 in overtime, in first round of District Three Class AAA playoffs.

Key Returners: Josh Reem, senior, F; Adam Morton, senior, MF; Mitchell Capelli, senior, D; Kevin Romanauskas, senior, MF; Shane Long, senior, D; Jason Good, junior, D; Sean Strangeway, junior, MF; Quinn Cozzens, senior, GK; Nathan Clarke, senior, MF; Ethan Luscian, senior, D; Brian Savage, senior.

E-town returns nine starters from last year’s section championship team, setting the Bears up for another good season.

Reem will be the team’s primary offensive force and will be needed at forward to provide scoring for E-town. He was a second-team all-section player last year.

At midfield, the Bears are loaded. The midfield will be led by Romanauskas, a first-team all-section player a year ago, and a smart player with a lot of skill. Morton, Strangeway and Clarke are also good in the middle of the field and will be used to control the pace of the game and set up scoring chances for E-town.

The Bears’ defense will be led by Cozzens, a first team all-section goalie last season. Cozzens recorded five shutouts last year and is athletic with good hands. He’ll keep E-town in a lot of games by making some outstanding saves.

Long, Good, Capelli and Luscian will be playing in front of Cozzens. All are tough defenders and know their section opponents and how to keep them off balance. The Bears allowed an average of only 1.3 goals per game last year and return the core of that defense with another year of experience under their belts.

Savage could be an x-factor for E-town this year. He was a starter on defense as a sophomore before missing all of last year with a knee injury. He returns for his senior season this year and gives E-town another talented player who can play defense or at midfield. If he can get back to where he was before the knee injury, he could be one of the keys to the Bears’ playoff hopes.

Key Losses: Tyler Aldinger, MF; Peter Davis, F; Bryan Kob, MF; Weston Parrett, D.

The loss of Davis, an all-section and all-state player who led the team in scoring, leaves a big hole in the offense that the team will need to work to replace. Davis was unstoppable at times last year and his shoes will be difficult to fill.

Kob was a steady midfielder who made a lot of plays for the Bears. And Parrett left everything on the field in defense when he was out there. Both were excellent players on last year’s team.

Aldinger was hampered by an injury last year, but had a good tenure in his time in E-town.

Key Newcomers: Ryan Sostack, junior, MF; Michael Van Horn, junior, D; Harry Rhodes, senior, GK; Drew Reinhold, sophomore, MF; Joey Funck, freshman, D/MF.

E-town brings in some good talent this season and, based on the amount of injuries the Bears suffered last year, they need to be ready to play starting with the season opener.

The most immediate impact from this group will likely be from Sostack, who could have a spot as a starter in the midfield.

Strengths: Experience, defense.

The amount of injuries the Bears saw last year did have one positive outcome – it gave a lot of players the chance to get on the field. Because of that, E-town will be one of the most experienced teams in the L-L League. Not many teams win their section, advance to the league semifinals and return nine starters the next year. The Bears are playoff-tested, and that should make them tough to beat.

“While unpredictable, we could be a dark horse in a talented L-L League,” Sostack said.

With the return of Savage this year, E-town’s defense will be stout. They are all smart and athletic and opponents will have a tough time finding the back of the net against them.

Weaknesses: Consistent scoring, depth.

In a lot of games last year, Davis was the offense. He routinely found holes in the defense and used his speed and touch to get off good shots, score 19 goals and assist on 12 more. The Bears had only 10 goals that Davis didn’t score or assist on last year. E-town must find a player that can earn the respect of opposing defenses enough to key on – and that guy could be Reem.

The Bears do have plenty of goal-scorers, though. Reem, Romanauskas and Strangeway can all score, but will need to do so consistently to keep the pressure off of E-town’s defense.

Outside of the nine returning starters, E-town’s bench isn’t very deep, which means that it can’t afford the amount of injuries it suffered a year ago.

Outlook: In the section, E-town has an excellent shot to repeat as champions. But they’ll have to go through Conestoga Valley, Ephrata and Garden Spot to do so. All three of those teams have the talent to win the section, so the Bears will need to be at their best all year long. But Sostack and his team are always in contention, and he said the rest of the league should keep the Bears on their radar.

“(We have) consistently finished in the top two (in the section), so the league should be careful not to forget their northern cousins who return nine starters,” he said.

With so many returning players, team chemistry will be high for the Bears and will help them work the ball around and make things happen.

“Chemistry and working as a unit will be essential if we hope to repeat as Section Two champions,” said Sostack.

E-town pushed league powerhouse Manheim Township to the brink in the L-L semifinals last year, falling 2-1 in double overtime. The Blue Streaks return another good team and it could come down to them and E-town again in the playoffs.

With what they have returning, E-town should find itself in the thick of the Section Two title race and playing deep into the L-L and District Three playoffs.

EAHS Fall Sports Schedules

After a long summer of virtually no posts here at the Bears Den, today we officially kick off the fall sports season.

As I type this, E-town athletes are on the practice fields sweating through two-a-days in hopes of coming away with some hardware this fall. And as they do that, I figured I'd post the schedules of each EAHS varsity. Remember to start visiting here more often, because the posting will be more frequent with sports getting underway. I've included scrimmages on these schedules in case you want to get out and see some preseason action. I'll be at the football scrimmage on Saturday morning and will post something here (not in the print edition of the paper) on that game.

OK, here they are...and welcome back fall. Good to have you.

FOOTBALL

All home games played at Thompson Field
Preseason:
Saturday, Aug. 16, vs. Cedar Crest (scrimmage), 9 a.m.
Friday, Aug. 22, at East Pennsboro Area (scrimmage), 6 p.m.
Regular season (section games in bold):
Friday, Aug. 29, at J.P. McCaskey, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5, vs. Muhlenberg, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12, vs. Manheim Township (Hall of Fame induction), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 20, at Solanco, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 26, at Conestoga Valley, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3, vs. Garden Spot, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 10, vs. Cocalico (Homecoming), 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 17, at Manheim Central, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 24, at Ephrata, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 31, vs. Lebanon (Senior/Parent Night), 7 p.m.
The Bears have something special planned for each home game, but I'll save that for another blog entry.

FIELD HOCKEY

All home games played at Jane Hoover Field
Preseason:
Saturday, Aug. 16, Scrimmage Play Day, 8:30 a.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Donegal (scrimmage), 4 p.m.
Regular season:
Friday, Aug. 29, at Exeter Township, noon.
Saturday, Aug. 30, vs. Central Dauphin, 10 a.m.
Thursday, Sept. 4, vs. Cedar Crest, 4:15 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5, vs. Tulpehocken, 4 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 8, vs. Warwick, 4:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, vs. Manheim Township, 4:15 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12, at Penn Manor, 4:15 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 15, vs. Hempfield, 4:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 17, at J.P. McCaskey, 4:15 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 19, vs. Conestoga Valley, 4:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Cedar Crest, 6 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 25, at Warwick, 4:15 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 29, at Manheim Township, 4:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 1, vs. Penn Manor, 4 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3, at Hempfield, 4 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 6, vs. J.P. McCaskey (Senior/Parent Night), 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Conestoga Valley, 4 p.m.
Notable dates:
Saturday, Oct. 11, League playoffs begin.
Thursday, Oct. 16, L-L Championship game.
Friday, Oct. 17, District playoffs begin.
Saturday, Nov. 1, District Championship game.

BOYS SOCCER

Home games played at Field No. 4 (behind East High Elementary) and at Thompson Field.
Preseason:
Monday, Aug. 18, at Hershey (scrimmage), 3:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 26, vs. Lower Dauphin (scrimmage), 4:15 p.m., field 4.
Regular Season:
Tuesday, Sept. 2, at Garden Spot, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5, vs. Ephrata, 4 p.m., field 4.
Monday, Sept. 8, vs. Warwick, 7 p.m., Thompson Field.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, at Cedar Crest, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12, vs. Manheim Township, 4 p.m. field 4.
Tuesday, Sept. 16, at Solanco, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 18, vs. Lebanon, 7 p.m., Thompson Field.
Saturday, Sept. 20, at Conestoga Valley, 10 a.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Penn Manor, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 25, vs. Hempfield, 7 p.m., Thompson Field.
Monday, Sept. 29, at J.P. McCaskey, 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 1, vs. Garden Spot, 4 p.m., field 4.
Saturday, Oct. 4, at Ephrata, 7 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 6, vs. Solanco, 4 p.m., field 4
Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Lebanon, 4 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 11, vs. Conestoga Valley (Senior/Parent Night), 2:30 p.m., at Elizabethtown College.
Notable Dates:
Tuesday, Oct. 14, League playoffs begin.
Saturday, Oct. 18, L-L Championship game.
Monday, Oct. 20, District playoffs begin.
Saturday, Nov. 1, District Championship game.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
All home matches at Daubert Gymnasium
Preseason:
Tuesday, Aug. 19, at Elco (scrimmage), 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 26, vs. Lower Dauphin (scrimmage), 4 p.m.
Regular Season:
Saturday, Aug. 30, at Lancaster Mennonite Tournament, TBA.
Tuesday, Sept. 2, vs. Garden Spot, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 4, vs. Ephrata, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 9, at Lebanon, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11, at Manheim Central, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 13, at Falcon Classic, TBA, Cedar Crest High School.
Tuesday, Sept. 16, vs. Conestoga Valley, 7p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 18, at Solanco, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 20, at Cedar Cliff Tournament, TBA.
Monday, Sept. 22, vs. Middletown, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Garden Spot, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 30, at Ephrata, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 7, vs. Lebanon, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 9, at Conestoga Valley, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 14, vs. Solanco, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 16, vs. Lampeter-Strasburg (Senior/Parent Night), 7 p.m.
Notable Dates:
Tuesday, Oct. 28, District playoffs begin.
Saturday, Nov. 1, District Championship match.

GOLF

All home matches at Sunset Golf Course
Regular Season:
Tuesday, Aug. 19, L-L Match at Crossgates Country Club, 11 a.m.
Thursday, Aug. 21, home L-L Match, 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 27, L-L Match at Host Country Club, 1 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 4, L-L Match at Overlook Golf Course, 2 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, L-L Match at Fairview Golf Course, 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 16, L-L Match at Conestoga Country Club, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 24, L-L Match at Overlook Golf Course, 12:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 29, L-L Tournament at Host Country Club, 9 a.m.
Notable Dates:
Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 11, District Three tournament at Briarwood Golf Club, 9 a.m.
Monday, Oct. 13, Regional Tournament at Golden Oaks Golf Club, 9 a.m.

GIRLS TENNIS

All home matches at EAHS Tennis Courts
Preseason:
Monday, Aug. 18, at Pequea Valley (scrimmage), 4 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 22, at Lampeter-Strasburg (scrimmage), 10 a.m.
Regular Season:
Tuesday, Aug. 26, vs. Donegal, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 28, vs. Columbia, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 2, vs. Penn Manor, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 4, at Hempfield, 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5, vs. Warwick, 4 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 8, at Manheim Township, 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, vs. Conestoga Valley, 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12, at Cedar Crest, 4 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 15, at Ephrata, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 18, at Garden Spot, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 23, vs. Solanco, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 25, vs. J.P. McCaskey (Senior/Parent Night), 4 p.m.
Notable Dates:
Oct. 2-6, L-L Flight Tournament.
Oct. 10, District Team Tournament.
Oct 11 and 13, District Singles Tournament.
Oct. 14 and 18, District Doubles Tournament.

Cross Country

All home meets run at E-town course, starting behind Thompson Field.
Note: Dates, locations and times are for both boys and girls teams.
Preseason:
Friday, Aug. 22, Tri-Meet Scrimmage at Lower Dauphin, 3 p.m.
Regular Season:
Friday, Aug. 29, at Hershey, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 2, L-L Meet at Penn Manor, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 6, Cross Country Relay Meet at Manor Middle School, 8:45 a.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 9, L-L Meet at South Hills Park, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 16, home L-L Meet, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 23, L-L Meet at Donegal High, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 27, Carlisle Cross Country Invitational, 11:15 a.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 30, L-L Meet at Warwick High, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 7, L-L Meet at Hempfield High, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 14, L-L Run at Ephrata War Memorial Field, 5 p.m.
Notable Date:
Saturday, Oct. 25, District Three Meet.

There you have it. Check back soon for previews on each of these teams in the coming weeks.

Davis is All-State

I'm a little behind posting this, my apologies, but here is the story we ran in the Chronicle on Dec. 20 about Peter Davis being named to the All-State team:

Peter Davis' senior soccer season at Elizabethtown Area High School was certainly one filled with memories.

There were some tough times – like starting out 0-2-1, losing a heartbreaker in double overtime in the Lancaster-Lebaanon League semifinals, losing another tough game in overtime in teh district Three playoffs and battling the entire season despite the Bears being depleted by injuries. But all of those things helped make davis one of the best players in the state of Pennsylvania.

"The big one that sticks out in my mind is losing captain Tyler Aldinger to a broken leg in the preseason," Davis said. "Our team still managed to become even more riddled with injuries. Although these were definitely a setback, they kept me focued on what had to be done this season."

Focused he was.

Despite the rash of injuries that struck the Bears, and defenses keying on Davis every game, he still managed to score 19 goals and dish out 12 assists in 19 games, which led to plenty of good memories.

There was the six-game win streak the Bears embarked on in the middle of the season. There was the three-game winning streak to close the season that clinched them a share of the Section Two crown, and the 2-1 win over Lancaster Mennonite in the L-L playoffs. And through it all, Davis was a constant when it came to terrorizing opposing defenses and goalkeepers.

His hard work was rewarded recently, and he received another good memory to add to his mental scrapbook, when he was named to the Pennsylvania All-State Team as a forward.

"It feels great to be named to the all-state team, especially when there were only three nominations sent out of the entire league," he said. "I know that I really wanted the honor that it was a possibility, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too high just in case it did not happen."

But it happened for Davis, who led the Bears to an 11-win season. Davis has been a key player for the Bears throughout his high school career, but took the next step this year to become a great player, mainly by improving his game from a mental standpoint.

"I really worked hard this year on improving my self discipline and with that, my game has been greatly affected," he said. "My skills have improved little when compared to the progress I have made mentally. Studying and just watching soccer more in-depth has made me a much smarter player."

Davis' improved mental game helpd make him a team leader this season as well – something the Bears certainly needed when it came ot the mountain of adversity the team had to overcome. But Davis stepped up to the challenge and guided his team to a great season, leading by example. He played hard all the time and never gave up, traits that the other players also possessed.

"I've heard a lot of different explanations for our success this season, but I think that it was our determination to make something positive out of all the injuries and mishaps that occurred," he said. "When things don't look like they're going to go your way, you have to do something to make them go your way and that takes a lot of heart and desire. The key in a team sport is working as a team, and the instant that one player pulls himself away from the team, everything falls apart."

In fact, Davis credits his teammates for his success as much as he does himself.

"Being a great player depends almost as much on your teammates as it does on yourself," he said.

When he wasn't busy tearing up soccer fields across the league, Davis was moonlighting as the kicker for the EAHS football team, and developed into a reliable player, connecting on field goals and extra points at a rapid pace for the high-scoring Bears.

Of course, all of that work causes bumps and bruises to build up, but Davis said that the school's trainer, Brandy Sweezy, was there to help him with a "countless number of ankle wraps and bags of ice."

Davis said he also became a better player because of EAHS head coach James Sostack and Celso Torrez, his club team coach. But, above his teammates, coaches and trainer, Davis gave credit to his parents.

"I would most of all like to thank my parnents for the endless support that could not have come from anywhere else," he said.

With his soccer scrapbook filled thanks to his latest accomplishment, Davis now turns his attention to the EAHS swim team, where he is a captain.

Time to fill another scrapbook with memories before moving on to the next challenge.

EAHS Boys Soccer L-L All Stars

The EAHS boys soccer team shared the Section Two crown this year and now five players from that team earned Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two all-star honors.

They are, from left, Peter Davis (first team forward and all-state nominee), Bryan Kob (academic all-star, midfield), Quinn Cozzens (first team goalkeeper) and Kevin Romanauskas (first team, midfield). Not pictured is Josh Reem, who earned second team honors at forward.

In addition, head coach James Sostack was named Section Two coach of the year after leading the Bears to an 11-6-1 record this year.

Heartbreaker in E-town

I just got back from the E-town boys soccer team's District Three first round playoff game against Wilson tonight at E-town's Thompson Stadium. The Bears played their second straight overtime game, falling to the Bulldogs 1-0 tonight, ending their season.

It was a good game all in all and I think the two teams were very evenly matched. E-town was a 7 seed in the tournament and Wilson was a 10 seed, and it played that way. The Bears had a few near goals late in the game – one on a beautiful side volley by Peter Davis with seconds left in the second half and another on a perfectly struck shot from about 35 yards out that hit the crossbar. Some bad luck for the Bears. I will say that E-town keeper Quinn Cozzens played outstanding tonight.

Although their season ended a little earlier than they would have liked, the Bears have absolutely no reason to hang their heads. With all of the injuries and adversity they faced, they still were able to grad a share of the Section Two crown, and to make it to the league semifinals (where it took Manheim Township, one of the best AAA teams in the state, extra time to beat them), and played a good Wilson team tough.

Great season by E-town. But a tough one to swallow tonight.

Preview: L-L Semis, E-town vs. Manheim Township

Tonight the E-town boys soccer team, the Colorado Rockies of the L-L League, take on might Manheim Township in the Lancaster-Lebanon League semifinals at 7:30 p.m. at Hempfield High School. Here's my take on the game, for what it's worth.

Well, the Bears have their hands full tonight with an athletic, talented Manheim Township team. Granted, this Township team isn't as good perhaps as last season's juggernaut, but the Streaks are still pretty darn good. E-town and Township matched up once this season, about three weeks ago. Township rolled past the Bears 5-0, handing E-town its most lopsided defeat of the season. E-town was red hot coming into that game, having won six in a row before that. But I think Township brought them back to Earth a bit. The Bears are 5-2 since that game.

E-town has to feel as if it is playing with house money right now, and that makes them the most dangerous team in the league playoffs. I mean a week and a half ago, they were left for dead in the Section Two race by nearly everyone. But they rallied, and the teams they needed to lose lost, and they kept winning, and suddenly ... BAM .... Section Two co-champs. And then, in the blink of an eye, they get two early goals in their first playoff game and ... BAM ... they are in the league semis against Township. (I feel a bit like Emerill right now.

Township, meawhile, did not play their best soccer in the first round, and if they aren't on top of their game they will find themselves at home on Saturday instead of playing for the league title. They won't beat E-town 5-0 again. That game was the perfect storm – everything was going right for Township, nothing for E-town. It'll be different this time around, but the mighty Streaks had better be on, or else they'll be gone.

If you were going to twist my arm and make me pick a winner, I'd probably go with Township in a 4-3 game. With that said, though, don't for a second think E-town can't win this one, because they can. The Bears have a ton of very talented kids and when they play the way they are capable of, they can roll with anyone.

Ok, ok, enough talk, let's just see what happens tonight in Hempfield.

Sidenote: I can't seem to get any photos to upload right now. It might be my computer, or it's probably the fact that I'm an idiot. I'll go with the latter.

Bears Share Section Crown

Well, well, well, looks like E-town will be in the league playoffs after all. After the dust settled from a wild weekend in boy's soccer, the Bears found themselves tied atop Section Two with Ephrata. The Bears actually had one more win than the Mounts, but Ephrata had a bunch of ties four ties, which added up to the same amount of points (31) as E-town finished with.

Going into Saturday, all Conestoga Valley had to do was beat Garden Spot and it had a playoff spot sewn up, but the Spartans pulled off the upset, and the Bears cemented their postseason berth with a 3-0 win over Solanco Saturday night.

They'll take on Section Four champion Lancaster Mennonite at 5:30 p.m. at Hemfield on Tuesday night.

If the Bears win, they'll advance to play on Thursday night at Hempfield, with the finals set for Saturday at Manheim Central.

Great job by the Bears.

Districts likely for soccer team

For some reason, when people mention district powerhouses in soccer, E-town's name doesn't come up very often. Sure, the Bears haven't won any district titles lately, but head coach James Sostack always has the team competitive regardless of their level of experience or injuries. The Bears are in the thick of the league and district playoff races year in and year out, and don't get near the credit they deserve most of the time, in my opinion.

Anywho, Peter Davis scored two first half goals yesterday, and the Bears beat Cocalico 2-1 to move to 8-5-1. League playoffs are a stretch for this bunch, considering their tough 1-0 loss to CV last Friday, but anything's possible. However districts, which begin Monday, Oct. 22 with play-in games, is a very real possibility for E-town.

Here's a look at the Section Two standings as of this morning:
Conestoga Valley..................9-4-1
Ephrata.................................8-2-4
E-town..................................8-5-1
Cocalico................................4-9-1
Garden Spot..........................3-10-1
Solanco.................................2-12-0

E-town has two games left, against Garden Spot (today) and Solanco (Saturday), and should finish 10-5-1 for the season.

CV and Ephrata play each other today, and then CV rounds out the season with Garden Spot on Saturday. The Mounts finish on Saturday with Cocalico. For the Bears to make leagues, they must 2-0 the rest of the way and CV must go 0-2. That seems like a tall order, but I've seen crazier things (the National League playoff teams, for example).

When I know if E-town gets into districts, I'll be sure to post it ASAP.

The weekend that was...

On Mondays, I'll take a quick look back at weekend EAHS action, and update you on how the Bears fared in different sports. Here's the first edition of "The weekend that was":

Another week, another win for the Bears football team. This one was ugly by halftime. E-town's defense looked great against the Buckskins, who were without their best running back – Kevin Kelley, suspended for disciplinary actions by the CV coach. But the Bears knocked CV's starting quarterback out early in the first quarter, and the Bucks' offense had no chance against Sean McMullen and that ferocious E-town defense. CV turned the ball over a lot and made a ton of mistakes, setting up the E-town offense in good field position all night long. Credit to the Bears too, they capitalized on good field position every single time. Kyle McNeil looked very good at quarterback in limited action. Starter Preston Faith continued his strong play too, and still has yet to throw an interception this season.

Down in Quarryville, Solanco handed Manheim its first section loss of the season, setting up a big battle this Friday night when the Mules come to E-town with both teams 2-0 in the section. Before Friday, the talk around town was that the Central game on Oct. 26 was the game of the year for the Bears, but I'd argue that this Friday's game is more important for E-town. Not that they have anything to prove, but a win over the Mules will go a long way in keeping the Bears as the team to beat in the Section, and do a lot for their District Three power ranking.

In field hockey, E-town lost a close game to undefeated Ephrata, 1-0 on Friday. You have to give credit to E-town for keeping the section's best offense to just one goal and to goalie Becca Bigler, who made 13 saves against the Mounts. A win against Ephrata would have pulled the Bears into third place in front of Manheim Central, but instead E-town is sitting at 4-3, 1 point behind the Barons for third and three behind L-S for second. I don't see anyone catching Ephrata in the section, but E-town could still make some waves. They play Central at home on Wednesday, and then go to L-S on Friday. Two wins there, and the Bears could find themselves in the league playoffs and in second place in Section Two. They've got to find a way to score more goals though.

In soccer, the E-town boys were pretty much handled by Manheim Township on Thursday, but are still tied for second place with CV at 6-3-1. Ephrata leads the section at 6-1-3, but can still be caught by the Bears or the Buckskins. CV should get a win tonight against Cedar Crest, while E-town has a much more difficult task ahead of them – the 7-1-2 Black Knights of Hempfield. This is a big week for E-town and will pretty much make or break them. After Hempfield tonight, they play at Ephrata on Wednesday (a game they can certainly win), and will host CV on Friday at 4. A 2-1 week puts the Bears in good playoff position, if they go 1-2, they'll need a strong finish and some help to have a hope at the section crown. Peter Davis and this offense can score with anyone, though, so the Bears are never out of a game.

Also, congratulations to the E-town Girls Cross Country team, who finished fifth overall and second out of AAA teams at this weekend's Carlisle Invitational. The turnaround of the girls team has been amazing. Just a couple of years ago, they didn't even have enough runners to compete as a team. Now, they are looking for a winning season. Great job by coach John Spittal and the seniors on the team making the Bears resectable again.