Mounts shutout Spartans
- 20 October 2010
The Mounts started Tuesday night's L-L League Quarterfinal match strong, which put Ephrata in the driver's seat early. The quick start propelled the Mounts (12-4-3) to a 2-0 win over Garden Spot.The Mountaineers brought the pressure from the opening tap and had six corner kick opportunities in the first 10 minutes.
"We weren't sure what kind of pressure they had seen all season," stated Mounts coach Rob Deininger.
"We were hoping if we could come out strong, get to them and see what happens."
The Section Three champion Spartans dodged a bullet when defender Nate Duell cleared a shot from the right post on one of Ephrata's early corners.
Garden Spot defender Nate Duell (20) saves a shot by Ephrata's Kyle Phillips (2) early
in Tuesday night's opening game at Penn Manor's Comet Field. Phillips later
assisted on both goals in the Mountaineers' 2-0 victory.
© Suzette Wenger - Intelligencer Staff
But 38 seconds later the Mounts were knocking once more. Jair Saenz's service sailed to the far side of the field, but Kyle Phillips was there to settle it and send it back into the box.
The ball came to Ben Vavreck, who put a head on it and in it went with 11:13 gone.
"I just kind of snuck behind the defense," said Vavreck, "and Kyle played it over the defenders."
With the lead, Ephrata took its foot off the offensive accelerator. "Unfortunately," said Vavreck, "we sort of have that tendency. We probably shouldn't do it, but it happens."
"It happens a lot," said Nate Latshaw, who added, "We bend, but don't break."
The Spartans (14-4-1) tried to bend Ephrata to its will over the next 50 minutes while pressing for the equalizer that never came.
"They got good bodies behind the ball and defended well," said coach Kevin Davy whose Spartans finished with a 9-6 advantage in shots. "We had a tough time breaking them down."
"We won the balls we had to," said Deininger, "cleared the ball when we had to.
"They had a couple opportunities, but nothing fantastic. They couldn't get inside the 18 and we've been pretty good at that all year."
Camped out at the penalty kick line, Latshaw corked the bottle in the 59th minute when he redirected Phillips' entry pass from the end line between keeper Brady High and the right post.
The win moves the Mounts to the semifinals where the runner-ups from Section Two will face Hempfield, the Section One champion, at 5 p.m. at Comet Field.
Hempfield (16-3) advanced with a 6-0 victory over Lancaster Catholic in the nightcap of a quarterfinal twinbill at Comet Field.
Thursday's match will awaken the echoes of contests past. Including the recent past.
In the regular season Section One-Section Two crossover, Hempfield's 2-0 victory over the Mountaineers was a step on the path to the Knights' section title.
"We won," said Knights' coach Mark Ashley, "but it was a tight game, a challenging match for us."
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.