Eagles Soar Past Mounts

It’s been 14 years since Cumberland Valley and Ephrata met in the District Three girls’ soccer tournament.

A history marked with four victories by the Eagles in four starts, including a 1-0 victory in the 1998 championship game and 1-0 in the ’99 semifinals, added a new chapter Tuesday evening at Cedar Crest’s Earl Boltz Stadium with a convincing 8-0 win over the Mounts in the semifinal match.

The Eagles (21-0-2) scored three times in the first eight minutes and were never threatened.

Jen Falconer scored the hat trick, Rachael Dorwart had two goals and three assists and Cashlin Copley added two goals in the victory.

As good as the Eagles were with the ball — and they were very good — they were equally skilled off the ball.

Taking a ball from the midfield, Copley carried down the right side and pounded a shot into the upper left corner of the goal just 49 seconds in.

Less than five minutes later Dorwart, a freshman and member of the National Under-17 team, served a cross into the center of the six-yard box where Falconer headed it home.

Two minutes later, in a sequence where five different Eagles touched the ball in the offensive third, Dorwart took a square pass from Lilly Shover and tucked it into the upper left corner.

Turning point: The first minute.

Key statistic: CV had 22 shots on goal, split 12-10 between halves, and 14 corner kicks, 9 in the first half. Ephrata had two corners and a shot on goal, both coming in the second half.

Quotable: Mounts coach Wes Deininger: “They’re as talented and as hard working as any high school girls’ soccer team I’ve ever seen.”

“I don’t care if it’s 2-0 or 8-0, we’re not playing Saturday, they are. That’s the important thing,” Deininger said.

Up next: The Mounts (16-6-1) await the result of Saturday’s Class AAA championship game to know their seed in next week’s PIAA Class AAA Tournament, which begins next Tuesday.

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