Ephrata takes care of business
- 09 October 2008
It wasn't exactly the pre-game inspirational talk the Ephrata field hockey players were expecting."Coach (Rhoda Mountz) stopped the bus just after we got here and wanted to talk to us,'' said senior forward Stevie Morris. "That was unusual, because she doesn't normally talk to us on the bus.''
The talk, though, had to happen. "She just said that we had to win, or we might not make (league) playoffs,'' Morris continued. "If we lost, Garden Spot would get in and we wouldn't.''
Morris' first-half goal, with an assist from Emily Beamesderfer, was the lone tally as the Mountaineers won their regular-season finale 1-0 Wednesday in New Holland.
The victory, combined with Manheim Central's 3-0 win at Lebanon, put Ephrata (8-4 L-L, 9-6 overall) into a tie for second with Central (8-4, 9-9) in Section Two. Cocalico (9-3, 12-6) won the title outright with its 3-1 win at Solanco.
Ephrata earns the No. 2 seed from the section over the Barons based on the league tiebreaker of better record against the section champ. The Mounts, who split their games with Central, twice beat Cocalico, while MC and the Eagles split their games.
"We discussed what was at stake,'' Mountz said as a smile formed on her face. "I told them that the newspaper was wrong and we didn't have (a playoff berth) locked up.''
She was correct on both points, although Morris' goal finally locked up that coveted berth.
"Beam gave me the perfect tap over and I just hit it in,'' Morris said of her fourth goal of the season that came 9:31 into the contest. "That definitely was my most exciting goal, especially for what was at stake.''
"Oh yeah, our girls knew what was at stake, too,'' said Spartans coach Cheri Horst. "They knew it was an opportunity to get to leagues.''
If Garden Spot would have won Wednesday's game and tied Ephrata for third in the section, the Spartans would have gone to leagues based on having beaten the Mounts twice head-to-head, which is the first tiebreaker.
"Revenge games are bad,'' said Horst. "Ephrata came out to play today. They definitely had the better of it.''
Ephrata finished with 16 shots on goal and 19 penalty corners while Spot had just two of each.
Still, Ephrata goalie Samantha Wilt made what proved to be a game-saving stop on Liz Martin with 25:42 left to play.
The Mounts' junior goalie came out high in the circle and used a takeout slide to thwart Martin, who was coming on strong.
"That was quite terrifying. I was so scared,'' said Wilt. "I was kind of worried because (Martin) was going to score to tie the game or I was going to have to make a sweet save. I just went for the sweet save.''
"(Wilt) had a couple of really nice stops,'' Horst said of the opposing goalie. "We had some offensive opportunities we didn't capitalize on. We've had trouble finishing the ball.''
The Spartans' last best chance was a beautiful shot by Martin that went across the entire circle and out of bounds with 8:19. There were three offensive players that looked like they could have gotten a stick on the ball but were unable to for Spot.
At the other end, the Mounts kept Meredith Martin quite busy, peppering the first-year goalie with multiple shots.
"She came up huge,'' Horst said of Martin, a soccer goalie who put on field hockey pads for the first time during preseason. "She did an amazing job.''
As did the Mounts, who finally, officially earned their playoff berth.
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Following are the sites, times and matchups for Saturday's L-L quarterfinal doubleheaders as things stand this morning.
At Pequea Valley:
Section One champ Penn Manor vs. Section Two runner-up Manheim Central, which is the third seed based on a tiebreaker (see above), 10 a.m. Section Three co-champ Donegal vs. Section One third-place Hempfield, 11:30 a.m.
At Penn Manor:
Section Two champ Cocalico vs. Section Three co-champ Lancaster Mennonite, 10 a.m. Section One runner-up Warwick vs. Section Two runner-up Ephrata, which is the second seed based on a tiebreaker, 11:30 a.m.
The semifinals will be held Tuesday at 6 and 7:30 p.m. at Manheim Township with the winners from Saturday's sites squaring off. The finals are set for 7 p.m. Oct. 16 at Manheim Central.
Mennonite is the defending champion, having beaten Penn Manor 3-2 in double overtime last year.
Donegal (13-2 overall, .867) gets the higher seed over Mennonite (14-2-1, .823) based on a better overall winning percentage. That could change if the Indians lose at Chambersburg today and the Blazers beat Ephrata at home tonight.
PM wrapped up the Section One title with a 5-0 home win over Manheim Township and Warwick took second by beating host Cedar Crest 9-0 Wednesday. Hempfield took third with its 5-0 win over visiting McCaskey on Tuesday.
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.