PENNSBURG — Back at the beginning of the season, if one said the Ephrata girls soccer team would make a deep run in the state tournament, the response would’ve been, “Well, duh!”
But in the late stages of the regular season, the response might’ve been, “What?”
Kristen Homan scored off a free kick, giving Ephrata a 2-1 first-half lead that held up against Conestoga at West Chester East High School.
Homan’s high looping shot glanced off the hands of the Conestoga goalkeeper and in under the crossbar to break the 1-1 tie and send the Mounts (20-2-1) to Saturday’s Class 4A quarterfinals.
Work hard, reap the reward.
Ephrata’s Maddie Root dug in and delivered the Mountaineers to the semifinals of the District Three Class 4A girls soccer championships, scoring twice in the first half Saturday.
Then the Mounts’ defense proved impenetrable in the second half of a 2-1 victory over Carlisle at Mountaineer Field.
HERSHEY — Central Dauphin girls soccer coach Scott Orner agreed with the observation that his team appeared to be a second-half team.
He’ll get no argument from the Hempfield and Ephrata programs, both of whom fell to Rams’ scoring after intermission: Hempfield in overtime, Ephrata 2-1 Tuesday evening at Hersheypark Stadium.
“I don’t like it that way,” Orner said, “but, at this point of the year, you just want to get a win.”
When you’re climbing the mountain, even though you haven’t reached the summit, there’s nothing wrong with taking a moment to reflect on the journey.
A season that began with Ephrata football posting its 52nd consecutive defeat ended with back-to-back victories and a .500 record as the Mountaineers (5-4 Section Three, 5-5 overall) defeated Octorara 42-6 [boxscore] on Friday night at War Memorial Field.
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.