Mounts fall in semifinals
- 01 November 2006
Ephrata dropped a 2-0 decision to Wilson in the first contest, while Manheim Township defeated Mechanicsburg, 2-0, in the nightcap.Ephrata (18-4-2) will take on Mechanicsburg (19-4-2) in the consolation game, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., at Landis Field (directions ) behind Central Dauphin Middle School.
Manheim Township (24-0) will defend its District Three crown against Wilson in the championship game on Saturday, 8 p.m., at Hersheypark Stadium.
After a scoreless first half in the opener, Wilson senior Danny Guthrie netted a shot just 2:31 into the second, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Wilson iced the game when John Brehm found Cory Pfeifer, who booted the ball by Ephrata goalie Josh Peifer at the 78:00 mark.
Playing close games is not new to Ephrata. The Mounts reached the semis after beating Cumberland Valley, 3-2 in overtime, and Twin Valley, 2-1, in the first round.
"The last couple of games have been exciting right to the end. I thought that we might have had the better of play tonight, but winning the other games might have come back to haunt us," Ephrata head coach Rob Deininger said afterwards.
The Mounts outshot Wilson, 14-12, and had more corners, 4-2, but couldn't seem to get off a clean shot.
"They played us hard," Deininger said. "We made mistakes and they capitalized and they seemed to get in front of our shots."
The task now for Ephrata is to rebound from the loss. The Mounts can still earn a trip to the PIAA playoffs with a win over Mechanicsburg.
"We've been down this road before," Deininger said, referring to his program's 3-8 record in the district semifinals. "We'll tell them it's a reward to be here, there are only a couple of teams left and we're one of them."
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.