Bears drop Mounts

The motto, as one might expect, came from a senior captain. It was Dax Kelly who promised his teammates, “Our time is now.”

Elizabethtown has taken it to heart. The Bears are playing with confidence and urgency as the league schedule dwindles to a precious few games.

To make this moment theirs, they must win championships. That starts with Section Two.

E-town knocked off Ephrata 1-0 in a Lancaster-Lebanon League boys soccer game at Mountaineer Field Tuesday night.

It was a matchup featuring two of the three teams who shared the section lead. It’s now E-town and Lampeter-Strasburg locked in a first-place tie. They meet at Lampeter next week.

“We’ve been waiting for this year since I was a freshman,” junior Hayden Flory said. “I’m just ready to play at this point. I think it’s our time. I’m ready to go far in the playoffs.”

E-town (5-1 L-L, 9-2-1 overall) has the league’s most explosive attack with 36 goals through 12 games. The Bears only broke through once against Ephrata.

A clever decision by Max Gerhart, a flick by Jason Stark and a finish by Flory put E-town on the board.

E-town often places six players in the net before Flory takes his corners. The ball deflected to Gerhart, who started at the top of the box. The senior had a choice. He was tempted to blast a left-footed shot for the near post, a Hail Mary type of attempt. He settled for the simple play instead.

“I just thought I’d put it back into the middle,” Gerhart said. “Luckily we scored off it.”

Stark flipped a header to the opposite side and the ball was where it began: on Flory’s foot. The midfielder had an open look at the net. He doesn’t often miss those.

“The ball came back across and you’ve gotta put it in from there,” Flory said. “I’m just trying not to get too antsy about it. If you stay composed you’re going to put it in no matter what. Just slot it away.”

E-town relies heavily on midfielders Kelly and Flory. Kelly holds down the fort defensively and Flory is free to roam on the attack.

The goal in the 15th minute stood for the rest of the chilly night. Flory is usually facilitating scores. His 12 assists lead the team.

“Everything we do goes through Hayden,” Gerhart said. “He’s really the orchestrator of our team. He finds the passes in behind. He’s so good at it.”

E-town carried play and had plenty of opportunities to expand its lead.

Striker Xavier Giron dinged the crossbar twice. Once on a header in the fifth minute off a beautiful cross by Tavan Schoenberger and once on a crafty shot from the edge of the box.

Schoenberger had a brilliant end-to-end run off a failed corner by Ephrata that ended when the right wing rolled a shot off the outside of the cage.

E-town turned the tables on Ephrata (4-2 L-L, 7-3 overall) after losing to the Mounts at home on Sept. 7. The Bears have reeled off eight consecutive wins since then.

One goal on a set piece was enough this time.

“We typically devote a lot of attention to detail,” Etown coach James Sostack said.

“That’s what we’re trying to get these boys to focus on. It’s always a pleasure when you pull one off.”

E-town has five seniors in its starting lineup, including keeper Tyler Bell and outside back Juan Lopez. It’s now or never for them.

The Bears are trying to re-create 2018, when they won the league title. If they can get back to that level, their time will be now.

They will prove their captain was right.