Weidman-Welsh Combo Strikes Again

At one point in Wednesday night’s match, Ephrata girls soccer coach Wes Deininger implored his team, “Now we look for the Emily-Jorja combo.”

Emily Weidner and Jorja Welsh have combined for 11 goals and three assists for the Mountaineers this season, and the duo teamed again to pace Ephrata to a 1-0 victory over Lampeter-Strasburg in a key Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two matchup.

The victory moved the Mountaineers to 7-0, first place in the section, 10-1 overall, while L-S (5-2, 8-3) dropped two games behind, tied in the loss column with Manheim Central (4-2, 6-3). As the season turns to the home stretch, Manheim has matches with both Ephrata and L-S remaining on the schedule. Both are set for the friendly confines of Elden Rettew Stadium.

Wednesday night, after a scoreless first half that had more back and forth than a metronome, the Mountaineers finally broke the scoring ice in the 48th minute.

Settling a cross in the box, Kiersten Doutt took a shot, hitting the left post. Off the rebound, Ephrata earned a corner kick, Weidman standing over the restart from the left flag. Her service dropped to Welsh, camped on the 6-yard mark, dead center in the box, and the prolific scoring combination delivered once again as Welsh headed the ball into the net.

“We work well together,” Welsh said. “She’s always there for a cross, and she plays really good balls into the middle, which I’m thankful for.”

“I just try to put it on the 6, and get it on Georgia’s head,” said Weidman, who believes this was the third time this year they’ve teamed up on corners. “She’s really good at hunting the ball down.”

“She’s having a year,” L-S coach Emily Lebo said of Welsh. “I was just literally saying to the coaching staff, ‘You let them in, you’re going to get a corner kick like that.’ And, they have a killer direct ball, so, at that point, you’re holding your breath.”

The paucity of possession, for both teams, concluded after the goal and the field opened up. As did the chances.

“There were a lot of bouncing balls,” Weidman said. “Everyone found their confidence and we pulled it together.”

With nine minutes to play, Jenna Daveler took a shot from about 35 yards out that looked like it just might sneak under the crossbar.

“We practice it,” Lebo said. “It’s coming. It’s going to come in a big game.”

Not this big game, though, as the try sailed just over the bar and into the night.

It was not the last moment for the Pioneers, however. In the final minute and a half they had a pair of corners and, with 22 seconds remaining, Daveler lined up a 37-yard free kick. As the shot sailed wide left, Ephrata could finally let out a sigh of relief. And victory.

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