Offical Girls Soccer District Brackets

The official girls soccer District Three Class AAA bracket has been released today, and, as expected E-town will open up on Monday night at 7 p.m. at home against Governor Mifflin in the play-in round.

The first round of the bracket will be held on Wednesday, May 14, and fifth-seeded Warwick awaits the winner of E-town/Mifflin.

Here are the other play-in matchups (home team is listed first):
#16 Ephrata vs. #17 Spring Grove (winner gets #1 Cumberland Valley)
#8 Hershey vs. #25 Garden Spot
#9 Conestoga Valley vs. #24 Kennard Dale (Hershey/Spot winner will play CV/KD winner)
#13 Lower Dauphin vs. #20 Twin Valley (winner gets #4 Manheim Township)
#12 E-town vs. #21 Governor Mifflin (winner gets #5 Warwick)
#15 Chambersburg vs. #18 Susquehannock (winner gets #2 Central Dauphin)
#7 Penn Manor vs. #26 Susquehanna Township
#10 Cedar Cliff vs. #23 Cocalico (winner of PM/ST plays winner of CC/Cocalico)
#14 Mechanicsburg vs. #19 Waynesboro (winner gets #3 Hempfield).
#11 Dallastown vs. #22 Central York (winner gets #6 Wilson).

Again, all of those games will be played on Monday, May 12. The first round will be held on Wednesday, May 14. Quarterfinals will be Saturday, May 17. Semifinals will be Tuesday, May 20. And the finals will be held at Hersheypark Stadium on Friday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m.

This and that

(Freshman Audrey Bamford will be a Bear to watch at this weekend's Lancaster-Lebanon League Track and Field meet. Photo by Chris Bradley).

Here are a few tidbits I wanted to throw out on a gray Thursday afternoon.

Girls Soccer:
For all intents and purposes, it appears that the Lady Bears will begin play in the District Three tournament on Monday night at home against Governor Mifflin. This is NOT official yet – first round pairings will be released tomorrow. But looking at the latest D3 power rankings, it looks like that will be E-town's matchup for its first district game.

The Mustangs are currently the 21st-ranked team, with a record of 7-7-3. E-town is 12th at 13-3-1. These two teams also matched up in districts last year, with E-town winning 2-1. More on this game in the days to follow (if indeed that is the matchup).

While we're talking about girls soccer, here are a few notes on E-town's loss to CV on Tuesday night in the first round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs.
• I was impressed by CV's defensive discipline. They limited E-town's amazing ability to possess the ball and put together strings of passes. They also did a good job of against Courtney Peffley and Katie Leverentz (E-town's top 2 scorers), keeping them away from the action as much as possible.
• Memo to whoever makes CV's uniforms: red numbers on a dark blue jersey are extremely difficult to read. Throw in an outline or something.
• I'll tell you, although CV did an excellent job forcing the Bears away from the playing style they are accustomed to, E-town did a great job of playing hard. This is a good group that never gives up and never, ever stops going hard. In particular, Dani Faller plays with her foot on the gas at ALL times in the middle of the field. She was out for the overtimes due to an injury, and her presence was missed. She is definitely a full-throttle player.
• CV may have been organized on defense, but they weren't very aggressive in the midfield. E-town routinely beat them to 50/50 balls.
• I think the loss to CV is just a setback for this E-town team. They are a talented bunch, and have what it takes to do well in districts and possibly get to states. If only they could avoid those pesky overtime games.
• Here's a scary thought: E-town has only TWO seniors on this team – LJ Funck and Erin Kurtz. Funck has been the team's rock on defense for years and will be tough to replace next year, but the Bears will be scary good next year as well.

Track and Field
The L-L meet is tomorrow (although the weather report doesn't look promising). Things get underway at Hempfield at 4 p.m. and continue Saturday at 10 a.m.

On the girls side, expect big things from Audrey Bamford in the high hurdles, high jump and the long jump. She'll qualify for districts in at least one of those events, and possibly all three of them.

Here is a list of the E-town girls that are in the top six on the L-L League Honor Roll, as of Sunday, May 4.

100: 6. Ann Romanuaskas, 12.6 (leader at 12.1).
100 Hurdles: 3. Audrey Bamford, 15.4 (leader at 15.2).
400 Relay: 5. Bailey Davis, Theta Cleis, Chelin Gallagher and Amanda Hershey, 52.3 (leaders at 50.3).
Shot Put: 5. Kirsten Hayes, 37-3-1/2 (leader at 39-5).
Long Jump: 3. Audrey Bamford, 16-10-1/2 (leader at 17-9-1/2).
High Jump: 5. Audrey Bamford, 5-3 (leader at 5-6).

For the boys, here is the L-L Honor Roll (again, as of May 4). Expect big things from Jordan Hallman, Dustin Horning, Larrian Payne, Josh McMaster.

100: 2. (four-way tie) Jordan Hallman, 10.8 (leader at 10.6).
200: 3. Jordan Hallman, 22.2 (leader at 21.9).
1,600: 2. Dustin Horning, 4:28.7 (leader at 4:19.03).
1,600 Relay: 3. John Romain, Greg Crawford, Josh McMaster, Jordan Hallman, 3:27.32 (leaders at 3:20.05).
High Jump: 5. Larrian Payne, 6-4-1/4 (leader at 6-11).


One last thing. I really have no qualms with giving one of my "competitors" a plug when they write a good piece. Ed Gruver of the Intelligencer put out a nice story today on Erick Baker and the EAHS baseball team. Here's a link.

Nice story by Ed on a great kid.

That's all for now, E-town. Until next time, stay classy.

Cheers.

Girls Soccer L-L Playoff Brackets

(Kristin Markham and the Bears get underway in the L-L playoffs tonight)

Tonight, the Lancaster-Lebanon League girls soccer playoffs will get underway. Below are the schedules of all of the games, with E-town's in bold.

L-L QUARTERFINALS (TONIGHT)
Games at Penn Manor High School
Hempfield (10-1-1, Section One champs) vs. Donegal (12-1-1, Section Three runner up), 5:30 p.m.
E-town (11-2-1, Section Two champs) vs. Conestoga Valley (8-3-1, Section One co-runner up), 7:30.

Games at Pequea Valley
Penn Manor (8-3-1, Section One co-runner up) vs. Ephrata (11-3-0, Section Two runner-up), 5:30 p.m.
Lancaster Mennonite (13-1-0, Section Three Champs), vs. Manheim Township (6-5-1, Section One fourth place), 7:30 p.m.

SEMIFINALS (Thursday, May 8)
Both games at Manheim Central (games will be at 5:30 and 7:30...not sure who plays when yet, but will post that when I get it).
Hempfield/Donegal winner vs. E-town/CV winner
Penn Manor/Ephrata winner vs. Mennonite/Township winner

FINALS (Saturday, May 10)
Finals will be held at Manheim Central at 7 p.m. (unless that time conflicts with a prom.)

So there you have it. I'll have more tomorrow, when things will be a little clearer after tonight's games.

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.

Looking ahead

There are quite a few important things going on in the land of the Bears in the next couple of days, here's a brief look ahead.

The boys baseball team lost to Warwick yesterday, but they still hold a one-game lead in the section because Ephrata and Solanco also lost. Yesterday was the last of the Section One crossover games, and E-town went 4-2 in those games, which is certainly respectable.

So tomorrow, the Bears (side note: Magglio Ordonez of the Detroit Tigers just hit his second homer of the day....the fantasy baseball gods are smiling on me) where was I? Oh year, the Bears host Ephrata tomorrow at 4:15 p.m. As I said earlier, the Mounts are a game back of the Bears and they beat E-town 9-1 back on April 3. In fact, E-town is 0-2 so far against Ephrata and Solanco and 3-0 against the rest of Section Two. The Bears must get the best of the Mounts and the Mules in the second go round of section games.

There's a chance Ephrata could be seeing Erick Baker tomorrow, though it's doubtful since he just beat Manheim Township on Monday. Preston Faith may go, depending on his elbow. If neither of them can pitch, expect Steve Buller or Matt Frederick to get the start.

Softball:
Solanco padded its lead in Section Two a bit last night, squeaking by Cedar Crest 4-3 in nine innings. E-town, meanwhile, lost to Warwick 8-1 and is now 8-3 in the section. Solanco is 10-1 in the section, two full games ahead of the Bears with five games left. E-town will host Solanco on Monday May 5 at 7 p.m. in the park in both teams' section finales.

It's up in the air right now whether or not E-town can catch Solanco. Both teams are back to Section Two games, where Solanco has been dominant. How dominant? Well, in the first round of Section Two games, Solanco was a perfect 5-0 and outscored Section Two opponents by a combined score of 53-8. The only team that Solanco didn't 10-run was the Bears, who lost to them 6-2. E-town went 4-1 in Section Two the first time around, losing only to Solanco. These two are clearly the class of the section, but the Bears must now rely on Ephrata, Cocalico, CV or Garden Spot to knock off the Mares in the coming weeks to have a shot at a section co-championship.

Girls Soccer:
E-town throttled Lebanon last night 7-0 to maintain the Section Two lead. But there are a TON of scenarios for the section title. Let's break them down as simple as I can:
1) If E-town wins out, they are the section champs. Period. End of sentence. No ifs, ands or maybes.
2) That said, the Bears have a very tough stretch coming up. Tomorrow night they get Ephrata, who is 9-2 in section play and just one point behind E-town. And then on Tuesday, they will host L-S, who is 8-3 and in third place, just three points behind the Bears. If E-town loses to Ephrata or L-S, things get very, very tricky (think back to the winter with the million boys basketball scenarios late in the season). But we'll cross that bridge when (or if) we get there. For now, E-town controls its fate. And tomorrow's game is their most important of the season.

The Lady Bears are playing their best soccer of the year right now, riding a season-high five game winning streak. Over this stretch, they've outscored their opponents 19-1, and have recorded four straight shutouts. Yowza. They beat Ephrata 2-1 in OT back on April 7 and lost to L-S 1-0 in OT on April 9.

I'll check in tomorrow with a look at the other E-town teams.

Cheers.

Catching up...again

(Katie Leverentz is having a heck of a season for the Bears, with nine goals in 11 games.)

Whew....that's the typed version of me taking an exhale. Last spring, I didn't have this blog, and I didn't realize how crazy the spring sports season can be – which explains the bit of neglect to the blogosphere lately. For that, I apologize. I'm still working on how to juggle covering all of these spring sports (there's a lot), working on my horrendous golf game (getting better...barely) and trying to keep up with this blog (I'm a failure, I know). But I'm getting there, so bear with me, please.

Enough of my whining and excuses, though, here's a brief take on the EAHS sports teams. And I'll do my best to get back to daily updates. Cross my heart.

BASEBALL:
Tough loss for E-town on Wednesday, falling 5-0 to McCaskey after two nice wins over Cedar Crest and Hempfield. The Bears have three more Section One games ahead of them, starting today with Penn Manor, before getting back into Section Two contests. They're still very much in the section race, and should be in it until the end. Circle your calendars for next Friday, when E-town hosts Ephrata – that'll be a big one.

SOFTBALL:
Anna Libby keeps hitting bombs and the Bears keep winning. Libby hit two more on Wednesday, including a grand slam, giving her six on the season as E-town improved to 6-2 in league play. They are also very much in the thick of the Section Two race, although Solanco looks amazingly tough. Monday, May 5 will be the big E-town vs. Solanco game at 7 p.m. in the park. But there are seven games between now and then, and the Bears have to keep hitting to make that game that much more important.

GIRLS SOCCER:
Another team that just keeps winning. They've won three straight now, following that tough 1-0 loss to L-S in overtime – still their only loss of the year. They've scored more than three goals in a game only once this year and have to start putting up bigger numbers on offense, but that defense is amazing. They might only need two or three goals a game. Tuesday, April 29, they host L-S on senior night (don't forget to pick up your Chicken BBQ tickets for that night as well), as 7 p.m. in Thompson Stadium. HUUUUUUGE game for the Bears, who are two points behind L-S for the section lead.

Track:
Both teams are doing very well this season, with the boys at 3-1 and the girls at 2-2 in the section. Don't be surprised to see quite a few E-town athletes doing very well at the L-L meet on May 9-10, the District Three meet on May 16-17 and even the PIAA meet on May 23-24.

Boys Volleyball:
Break 'em up! The Bears have won three straight matches with a third place finish at the Red Knights Invitational sandwiched in there as well. They've won their last two by 3-0 margins and are getting better and better as the season progresses.

Boys Tennis:
The Bears fell to Cocalico on Monday, which was essentially a match for the Section One title, but are still a very respectable 9-2 with the L-L flight tourney coming up April 21-28.

OK, enjoy the weekend, and the weather. I'll be out shanking golf balls if anyone needs me.

More attention will be payed to the blog starting Monday. I give you my word.

Cheers.

Tough Day for the Bears

Many of the E-town spring sports teams are having fantastic seasons, but for three of them, yesterday wasn't good. The baseball, softball and girls soccer teams all suffered tough losses yesterday, but all three are still in good shape for league playoffs and are still in the hunt for section titles.

Here's a recap:

Baseball:
E-town is in the midst of a hectic week, with four games in five days (they're only off day is today). Yesterday, the Bears hosted Solanco in a matchup of the two teams expected to be the favorites in Section Two.

Solanco jumped out to a 7-1 lead and held off a late charge by E-town to win 8-6. The Bears are now 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the section and will have some work to do to stay with Ephrata and Solanco in the Section Two race. Nick Reginella and Hayden Gerhart homered in the late innings as E-town made its comeback effort.

The Bears round out their week against Cedar Crest tomorrow. If they can get the win there and go 3-1 in this stretch, that will be very good for them. The Falcons are a pretty good Section One team and have a stud pitcher in Matt Patteson. He could very well face E-town tomorrow opposite Erick Baker, the Bears' ace. If that's the case, it should be a pitching showdown worth checking out. I know I'll be watching.

Softball:
E-town also was bested by Solanco yesterday, falling to the Golden Mares 6-2. Solanco pounded out 10 hits and held E-town's potent offense to just four hits and kept them scoreless until the Bears put up a two-spot in the top of the seventh.

Like baseball, many predicted the section race to come down to Solanco and E-town and round one goes to the Mares. E-town won't get another crack at them until May 5, their final home game of the season and one that could be HUGE in terms of determining the section crown.

The loss ended a four-game winning streak for E-town and was their first in Section play. Solanco, meanwhile, is off to a 7-0 start and is now 4-0 in section play, leading E-town by a game. Five of Solanco's seven wins have come by at least 10 runs...very impressive.

The Bears travel to Cedar Crest tomorrow to face the Falcons, a middle of the pack Section One team.

While it was a big loss yesterday for E-town, it certainly wasn't crushing. There is plenty of season left.

Girls Soccer:
Speaking of crushing losses, the Bears had one yesterday, losing to L-S 1-0 in overtime for their first loss of the year. L-S scored on a direct kick from about 18 yards out with just seven seconds left in overtime.

E-town now trails the Pioneers by two points in the Section race as they are 5-1 in the section and E-town is 4-1-1. The Bears won every statistical category except for the one that matters most – goals. They out shot L-S 8-2 and had 4 corners to L-S' 2, and pretty much dominated possession.

Again, though, it wasn't an ideal game to lose for E-town, but there is still plenty of season left and the Bears are still very much in the hunt for the section crown.

They'll get back at it tomorrow night by hosting Manheim Central at 7 p.m. under the Thompson Stadium lights.

Mmmm...chicken

The Elizabethtown Area School District girls soccer teams will be holding a chicken barbecue to benefit its program. I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for chicken barbecues, especially when they benefit the community. Speaking of that, I better start hitting the gym soon.

Here are the details:
• Dinner pick up is Tuesday, April 29 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the high school bus parking lot, next to Thompson Stadium. The varsity girls play L-S that night at 7 p.m. in the stadium. So eat your chicken and stay for some soccer. Good times.
• All proceeds benefit the EASD girls soccer program.
• Cost is $7 for a 1/2 chicken, baked potato, applesauce and a roll.
• For tickets, you can buy them from any girls soccer player in grades 7 to 12 or from head varsity coach Alex Shubert by contacting him at alex_shubert@etownschools.org or (717) 940-9339.
• Tickets should be bought by April 21, as there will be a very limited number for sale at the event if you don't buy a ticket earlier.

So pick up some chicken and help some young soccer players in the process. Hey, it's a win-win.

Catching up

Hello out there, did you guys miss me this week? I missed you. C'mon, you missed me a little bit, right? Suuure you did.

My apologies for the lack of posts this week, we've been working to get out a special insert that will be coming in the paper on the 10th, and also working on our free mailing. That's right, EVERYONE in our coverage area will be getting a free copy of the Chronicle mailed to your house on the 10th. Didn't know it was your lucky day, did you? So I'm trying to make this week's issue look as nice as possible to lure those of you who aren't subscribers (tsk, tsk) into getting a subscription.

But enough of the excuses. After all, excuses aren't welcome here at The Bear's Den. So let's take a journey around the land of EAHS spring sports and update you on how the Bears are doing, in case you were wondering. Also, I'll have a couple of posts later today about some other things. I'm sure you'll be waiting with baited breath.

Baseball:
E-town tasted defeat for the first time yesterday, losing to Ephrata 9-1 to fall to 4-1 overall. The Bears outhit the Mounts 7-5, but couldn't seem to get those RBI hits that are so crucial. The Bears were supposed to play defending Section 2 champ Conestoga Valley today at home, but that game has been postponed until Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. I'll have coverage of that one in this week's paper. It'll be a good tune up for Wednesday's showdown with Solanco. I'll have something on that here on the blog.

The Bears have four games in five days next week (depending on weather), and it could be a huge stretch for them. They start at Garden Spot Monday, host CV Tuesday and Solanco Wednesday and round out by hosting Cedar Crest Friday. This is where deep pitching staffs become the strength of a team. Trust me, it's a luxury for coach Telenko to have guys like Preston Faith, Erick Baker and Steve Buller to start in ball games for his team. Anyway, big week for the boys next week.

Softball:
Hello, E-town offense. Welcome back.

After scoring 6, 4 and 4 runs in their first three games (and going 1-2), the Bears' bats have exploded for 11 and 10 runs in their past two games, both blowout wins over section opponents. E-town is now back over .500 at 3-2 overall and 2-0 in Section Two. On Wednesday night, the Bears blanked Cocalico 10-0 behind two home runs from all-star shortshop Becca Bigler and one homer each from Anna Libby (who's having a monster year at the plate by the way) and senior Kara Hernley.

Since E-town lost that tough 13-inning game against Donegal back on March 26, the Bears have outscored their opponents 21-1. That's how you bounce back from a tough loss.

They were supposed to play CV today, but that game has been pushed back to Tuesday, which means the girls will also play four games in five days – Monday vs. Garden Spot, Tuesday @ CV, Wednesday @ Solanco and Friday @ Cedar Crest. Like the baseball team, E-town's got good pitchers, which will be important for them in tough weeks like this one. Jillian Ditzler and Tricia Stone are an excellent 1-2 punch and their play will be huge this week for the Bears.

Girls Soccer:
Another week, two more wins for the Bears. Ho hum. They're still unbeaten at 5-0-1 and have looked stellar so far. Defense is their strong point, but the offense has been there for them the past two games.

On Tuesday, they were staring at a 2-0 hole at halftime against Garden Spot and rallied to score four goals in the second half for a 4-2 win. And last night against Lebanon, they absolutely dominated. They outshot the Cedars 33-0 and won 3-0. First off, to shoot 33 times in a soccer game is amazing and to hold a team without a shot OR a corner kick on top of that is pretty much the definition of dominating.

Three good tests await E-town next week – @ Ephrata Monday, @ L-S Wednesday, and home vs. Manheim Central Friday under the lights. If the Bears are still unbeaten after that stretch, their confidence will be sky-high, and deservedly so.

Boys Track:
The boys started their week with a relatively close 80-2/3 to 69-1/3 win over Ephrata on Monday to move to 3-0. Dustin Horning has been excellent in the 800 and 1,600 events and won both again on Monday. Josh McMasters also won two events. The Bears also got good efforts (again) from Jordan Hallman, Larrian Payne, John Romain and Greg Crawford. They've got a lot of good athletes that are very good at a lot of different events, and that's been evident so far this year.

E-town did lose its first meet of the year on Thursday, however, falling to Hershey 80-70. Winning for E-town were Romain, Horning (twice), Hallman, Chad Barninger, Shane Rosenberry, Payne (twice) and Crawford.

Girls Track:
The girls tasted their first defeat this year on Monday, losing to Ephrata 90-60. Despite the loss, there's a lot to be excited about for the Bears. Freshmen Audrey Bamford, Bailey Davis and Ann Romanauskas have been stellar and their upperclassmen have also been steady. Against Ephrata, the Bears got wins from Romanauskas, Bamford, Kirsten Hayes and Amy Stoddard.

E-town then tied Hershey 75-75 yesterday thanks to a strong showing by its throwers and jumpers, who outscored the Trojans 48-15. Earning wins were Bamford (three times), Davis (twice), Kayla Koser, Aubrey Reider, Kelly Sebzda and Caitlyn Eshleman.

Boys Volleyball
After a strong 2-0 start, E-town is now 2-2, losing both matches this week.

They fell to Garden Spot 3-0 on Tuesday and lost to Lancaster Mennonite 3-1 last night. Zach McElheny, David Kreiser, Connor Toews and Michael Cicero have been strong so far for the Bears, who are already halfway to matching last season's win total.

Lacrosse
The boys got back underway this week after a 10-day layoff between games. They lost to CV 11-8 on Tuesday night in a close game. CV outscored E-town 5-1 in the third period to pull ahead and beat the Bears. E-town got two goals from Randy Groff and one each from Matt Frye, James Bard, Corey Faus, Ganan Keck, Phil Roeder and Josh Ginder.

Last night E-town ran into a very talented Warwick squad and lost 12-4, getting goals from Keck, Roeder, Groff and David Latimore.

They aren't playoff contenders yet, but you can definitely see improvement in the program.

Boys Tennis:
The Bears remained undefeated under first year head coach Chip Diem with a 7-0 beating of Warwick in their only match of the week.

In singles, Alex Trimble, Colton Brown, Michael Sweigart, Drew Winey and Peter Davis all won. In doubles, Brown and Sweigart and Trimble and Winey won their matches. The Bears are now 4-0. They were supposed to play today as well, but that match was been moved to Tuesday at 4 at home against Penn Manor.

EAHS round-up

(Preston Faith and the Bears have been tough so far this season.)

Sorry for the lack of posts the past couple of days, but I'm back now, so lets take a look at how the EAHS spring sports teams have fared over the past week or so.

Baseball
We knew that E-town had strong pitching going into the season and, so far, their hurlers have really been dominant. On Monday, Preston Faith pitched a complete-game two-hitter as E-town beat Carlisle 5-2 and Erick Baker followed that up with a complete-game three-hitter yesterday as the Bears beat Donegal 7-3. Pitching is a major reason why E-town is off to a 3-0 start, but E-town has also played solid defense behind those pitchers and it hitting well. The Bears have at least seven hits in all three games so far this year.

I think that 10 run outburst in their first game that helped them beat Hershey was a big momentum builder for this team and that they are going to be tough for anyone in Section Two to beat.

Softball
E-town has had some defensive issues the past two games and have lost them both,to fall to 1-2 on the season. On Monday, E-town committed eight errors in a 7-4 loss to Carlisle and yesterday, E-town had eight errors again in a tough 13-inning loss to crosstown rival Donegal. The Bears have plenty of power in the lineup (Anna Libby has 2 homers and Becca Bigler has one) and have strong enough pitching to limit teams to low run totals, but they've got to clean up their defense. I think they will and that they'll get back on track beginning on Monday at Ephrata.

Girls Soccer
E-town is 2-0 now, after beating Solanco 2-0 on Tuesday afternoon. That powerful E-town defense flexed its muscle on Tuesday, limiting Solanco to just two shots. The Bears probably aren't going to put up six or seven goals a game, but they have enough offensive weapons to score three on any given night and that will be enough to make them tough to beat, especially with their defensive ability.

Track
Well, color me impressed at the boys and girls track teams. They looked good on Tuesday and both beat Donegal pretty handily. The boys have some serious sprinters on that team and if you blink during their 400 relay race, you'll miss them. They're that fast. But I think what will make them good this year is their depth. They have talent everywhere – throws, distance, jumps, hurdles, pole vault, sprints.

As for the girls, they looked good as well. Donegal won the majority of the sprinting events, but E-town controlled the throwing and jump events. It's a good sign for the Bears to see some freshman girls like Audrey Bamford and Ann Romanauskas win events at their first varsity meet.

Boys Tennis
The boys have started with two victories. (Side note: E-town's strong athletic year has continued through at least the start of the spring. As of today, the eight EAHS varsity teams have a combined record of 11-3 – with six unbeaten teams. Granted, it's still VERY early, but that a good start nonetheless. And now that I've jinxed them, expect a losing streak from everyone. Hey, just look at my NCAA brackets. Actually, don't, it's embarrassing. Sorry, I'm rambling). E-town gutted out a 4-3 win over Hempfield on Monday to start their season, and dominated McCaskey 7-0 on Tuesday to move to 2-0.

Boys Volleyball
E-town is 1-0 thanks to a 3-2 win over Ephrata on Tuesday. The Bears won the first two games before dropping the next two and sending it to a fifth game. In the fifth, E-town rolled 15-9 to secure the win. Michael Cicero had 17 kills and David Kreiser had six blocks.

Now that you're up to speed, I'll try and post more frequently to avoid long, borderline incoherent posts like this one. Back later today with track and volleyball season previews.

Until next time, stay classy Elizabethtown.

Cheers.

Girls Soccer preview

(E-town's six returning starters are, top row from left, Courtney Peffley, Kristen Lowe, LJ Funck and Dani Faller. Bottom row, from left, Aimee Mathin and Katie Leverentz.

Head Coach: Alex Shubert, fifth season.

2007 Record: 15-4 overall, 13-2 league. Section Two champions. Lost to Manheim Township in first round of Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs. Beat Governor Mifflin in first round of District Three tournament and lost to Central Dauphin in second round of District Three tournament.

Key Returners: LJ Funck, senior, back; Dani Faller, junior, midfield; Katie Leverentz, junior, forward; Kristen Lowe, junior, back/midfield; Aimee Mathin, junior, back; Courtney Peffley, junior, midfield.
The Bears were hit hard by graduation, but still return a talented core from last year’s section champion team.
Defense will be a strength of the returning group, and will be anchored by Funck, a co-captain and first team L-L all-star last year. She is a strong, talented defender who also plays very smart. She’ll need to be the leader in the back, especially with E-town losing its goalie from last year to graduation.
Mathin and Lowe will also be there on defense. Mathin is quick and scrappy and saw extensive time last year at back. Lowe is the team’s other captain and can play both midfield and defense. Shubert said that Lowe and Funck are both “terrific players with great leadership skills.”
Faller and Peffley will be two of E-town’s best playmakers from midfield. Both have excellent ball control skills and can beat defenders on the dribble and set teammates up for scoring opportunities. Faller was a second team all-star last season and has cemented herself as one of the best midfielders in the section. The same can be said for Peffley, who played at a high level late in the season especially.
Leverentz is a speedy player and will be the Bears’ biggest scoring threat up top. She’ll use her quickness to make runs and dart around defenders and should rack up goals. She was a second team all-star a year ago and will draw lots of attention from opposing defenses.

Key Newcomers: Not yet determined.
E-town lost five very good starters to graduation, so Shubert will be relying on his group of underclassmen to step in and learn the varsity game in a hurry.
They’re a young group and lack the varsity seasoning right now, but they believe in Shubert’s philosophy and they’ve come up through the junior high and junior varsity program, so they know what is expected of them. They’re a talented group that will grow as the season progresses and will learn from E-town’s experienced returners.

Key Losses: Lauren Hernley, center midfield; Caitlin Markham, forward; Kyleigh Kauffman, goalie; Liz Bard, foward; Dani Long, back.
The Bears took a definite hit in graduation, losing five important players from every aspect on the field.
Hernley was named Section Two Most Valuable Player last year and was a four year L-L All-Star. Her departure leaves a big gap at center midfield for E-town, one that will be tough for just one player to fill.
Markham was one of the Bears’ best goal-scorers. She was a two-year L-L all-star and had a nose for the goal, using her great touch and smarts to score a lot.
Bard was another hard-nosed goal scorer for E-town. She was a captain who provided leadership and scoring as well.
Long was a starting defensive player last year and leaves a void on defense that will need to be filled by an underclassman.
Kauffman was an experienced goalie who gave E-town a steady presence in net. She posted 12 shutouts in 19 games last year. Her experience won’t be matched this year, but Shubert will need to find a young keeper who can step in and learn in a hurry.

What they do well: Play well together, defend.
The returning group is one that has been playing the game together for years and, as a result, team chemistry will be high. Players know each others’ strengths and weaknesses and will play to them in order to make the team better.
“They have played together for many years. They have a love of soccer and a desire to win that is infectious among the team,” Shubert said. “Now, as upperclassmen, they have the experience necessary to be a strong force on the field.”
E-town’s defense will also be strong, anchored by Funck, Mathin and Lowe. E-town lost a lot of experience at midfield and forward to graduation, so Shubert will need to rely on his strong returners to play smart, cohesive defense and keep getting the ball to players like Peffley and Faller, who can make a lot of things happen from midfield.
If the defense can keep some pressure off of E-town’s goalie, the Bears should have no problem scoring enough goals to win games.

What they need to work on: Scoring, playing like veterans.
E-town lost five players to graduation, which means Shubert is expecting nearly half of his starting lineup to consist of players without much varsity experience. In the early going, expect some mistakes from that group that will be corrected simply by playing more. But there is a little added pressure on the returning core to pick up the slack early in the season. They’ll have to take their games to another level until the inexperienced players are 100 percent comfortable if the Bears are going to repeat last season’s success.
Leverentz, Faller, Lowe and Peffley can all score goals and will probably lead the team in that department, but it will be interesting to see how they can overcome the loss of Hernley, Bard and Markham, three of E-town’s best offensive players last season. If they can keep the offense going in the beginning of the season and the Bears get off to a good start, they should be in the hunt for another league and district playoff spot.

Outlook:
Repeating last year’s 14-2 regular season could be a stretch for this team, but that doesn’t mean the Bears can’t have another successful campaign. They return more than half of last year’s starting lineup, and all of those players know what it’s going to take for the Bears to get back to the top of the Section Two mountain.
But Shubert said what will define the team and any success it may have this season is the overall attitude of the players.
“We will play a very ‘team-first’ style of play. We will always have 11 players on the field with the same goal,” he said. “Each player is willing to put the success of the team before her own personal success. This attitude is pervasive among our players and should guide us to a successful season.”
Based on the returning talent and how quickly they should be able to help guide the inexperienced players, E-town should reach double digit wins again this year. Expect 10 to 12 wins for the Bears and another trip to the L-L playoffs.

Strong start for the Bears

(Katie Leverentz started her season with two goals, including the game-winner in OT yesterday.)

The high school spring sports season officially got underway yesterday. Although with the wind, it sure didn't feel like spring. Sheesh. And while my March Madness brackets may have taken a beating (thanks Temple), the Bears did pretty well yesterday, going a combined 3-1. Here's a look at how they all did.

Baseball:
The Bears' bats woke up in the bottom of the sixth inning yesterday and lit Hershey up for 10 runs in the inning as the boys won their opener, 10-3. Erick Baker and Steve Buller pitched for E-town, with Buller pitching the 6th and 7th and picking up the win.

Softball:
Anna Libby homered and Trish Stone and Jillian Ditzler limited Hershey's runs as E-town started its season with a 6-2 win yesterday over the Trojans. E-town fell behind 1-0 after 1, but scord all six of its runs in the next three innings to jump out to a 6-1 lead. Both teams had nine hits. E-town committed three errors, Hershey had two.

Girls Soccer:
Katie Leverentz scored her second goal of the game in overtime to lift E-htown to a 3-2 win over Carlisle.
Courtney Peffley put the Bears up 1-0 with a goal four minutes into the game and Leverentz made the lead 2-0 nine minutes later with her first goal. But Carlisle battled back to tie the game with two second half goals and send it to overtime, where Leverentz won the game for E-town.

Lacrosse:
The Bears lost to Palmyra 5-3, but you can already see some improvement. E-town scored all three of its goals in the third. They were led by Phil Roeder, who had a goal and two assists. Randy Groff also scored for E-town, as did David Latimore. E-town's three goals came early in the second half as the Bears battled back to tie the game at 3-3. However, Palmyra pulled away with two third period goals. Keith Kurtz made 10 saves in goal for the Bears, who don't play again until April 1.

That's all for now. Enjoy the holiday and, of course, the Madness.

Cheers