Mounts advance to Finals

Ephrata coach Wes Deininger said that Tuesday evening’s Lancaster- Lebanon League girls soccer semifinal had the feel of a late district or a state game.

It was an observation that was hard to argue.

The Mountaineers battled Conestoga Valley through 75 scoreless minutes before Annie Slovak found an opening in the defensive blanket that had covered her.

Taking a ball from Jorja Welch and playing down the left side, Slovak looked for her opportunity.

“I had a lot of space on the left wing,” she said. “I was planning on taking it there at first but, honestly, I was way too tired for all that running on the outside.

“I just tried it back, with a little cut, and just took the shot.”

The shot, a diagonal riser, nestled in the upper right corner of the net, boosting the Mounts (17-1-2) to a 1-0 win and their first league final since spring 2000.

They will meet a familiar— too familiar — foe at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Warwick High School, as they face L-L Section Two rival Manheim Central, a 2-0 victor over Cocalico on Tuesday, for the third time this year.

In a match making up in excitement what it may have lacked in scoring, the teams probed and parried all evening.

With the No. 1 scorers from their respective sections on the pitch — Maddie Delgado for CV (11-5-2) and Slovak for Ephrata — the back lines were constantly tested.

For long periods of the evening it looked like CV’s Gabbie Barone and Dana Wentz were going to go home with Slovak.

In turn, the Mounts’ inside duo of Kristen Homan and Rosa Saenz marked Delgado as tightly.

“They bottled up, did the job on Maddie,” said Bucks coach Keith Nagley.

“We like to play the ball through the middle and hit our wings. The ball was in the air so much we couldn’t control it.”

There were moments both ways.

CV’s Ana Weiss got free on a steal and breakaway in the 14th minute, Mounts keeper Jocelyn Umana making the stop.

Six minutes later Slovak sent a curving strike on goal, smothered by Ally Riggle.

Riggle plucked Carly Holochuck’s header of Olivia Myer’s corner in the 57th minute and stopped Welch’s strike with 16 minutes left.

With the lead, Umana saved Kayla Weaver’s shot with 4:17 to go, then faced down Delgado’s free kick from the top of the 18 with just over two minutes to play.

“It was just a moment of greatness that was going to win it for one team or the other,” Deininger said.

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