Lancaster Mennonite (12-7), the Section Three runner-up, eliminated Section Two champion Ephrata 1-0 on Mitchell Rohrer's finish of a C.J. Sturges cross, 5:50 into the contest.

 

On the Blazers' first foray into the offensive third, Caleb Gish played a ball from the right wing to Sturges, who found Rohrer, alone on the back side of the play, outside the far post.

 

"He gave me a perfect cross," Rohrer related. "I knew I was wide open, I just had to finish it."

 

Finish he did, blasting his shot into the right side of the net. The goal stood up as Mennonite had four more good chances in the half.

 

The second half belonged to the Mountaineers (13-5-1), who went more than 62 minutes without a shot on goal, between Nathan Eberly's dangerous ball just wide of the post in the third minute and Trevor Boyer's header with 16:04 to play.

 

Credit that to the Blazer defense, fronted by center backs Matt Hess and Ethan Miller, which denied the Mounts any opportunity to organize an attack.

 

It was like a tennis match as Ephrata tried to play over the top to its speedy forwards and the Blazers volleyed the ball back to midfield.

 

"With the way they like to pressure, it was kind of a bend-but-not-break mentality," Miller explained.

 

"There were some times when we were holding our breath, but we pulled through."