Mounts net big Victory

HERSHEY — As the ball bounced around the Wilson cage, Ephrata senior Andrey Patrushev knew he had to get through the mass of bodies to it.

Although it was early in Saturday evening’s District Three Class 4A contest, getting on the board first would be huge in a win-or-gohome contest. Teammate Aaron Cummings header off a corner kick went off the hand of Bulldogs starting keeper Trent Posta, before deflecting off the crossbar and bouncing waist-high. That’s when Patrushev jumped on his opportunity.

“I saw it bounce, so I went full speed and dove with my head,” Patrushev said of what would be the only goal of the game, scored a little more than 12 minutes into the contest..

The fifth-seeded Mountaineers knocked off No. 4 Wilson, 1-0, at Hersheypark Stadium.

Ephrata improved to 17-3 and will face No. 9 Cumberland Valley, which knocked off topseed Central York by the same score. That semifinal contest will be played Tuesday at a time and site to be determined.

Tough where it mattered: Although the physically larger Bulldogs (18-3-1) won most of the midfield battles, when the ball was near the goal, the Mounts’ defense took control.

“They were amazing. It was probably the best game they ever played,” Patrushev said of Ephrata’s defenders. “We knew (Wilson) was going to have possession. It was all about our team effort.”

“We preached that. We’ve been in that position before,” said Mounts coach Bob Deininger.

Close chances: In addition to the assist he recorded, Cummings had several chances to get one of his own. Less than a minute before the goal, he was robbed by Posta’s diving stop.

With less than 13 minutes to play, Cummings broke in behind the Wilson defense, but replacement keeper, Ben Solsky charged out to make a tremendous sliding save.

Ephrata goalkeeper Eric Hummel made a big save of a rebound off the goalpost in the final minute of the first half and near the midway point of the second half punched a dangerous Bulldogs restart over the goal.

Quotable: Deininger had a victory celebration planned for his squad.

“Wilson is a good team. They are physical and talented. It was our night,” Deininger said. “Instead of going to Disney World, we are going to Chocolate World.”

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