Rhee sparks Mounts

Two nights earlier, Ephrata had suffered a somewhat surprising four-goal loss to Lancaster Country Day/ Lancaster Catholic. It was surprising in the fact that the Mountaineers have high expectations with an experienced squad playing in Section Two of the newly aligned L-L League two-section format this season.

“Shots were there,” Ephrata senior midfielder Bryson Rhee recalled of the loss. “We just weren’t finding the back of the net.”

That topic came back into play Friday night, when host Ephrata found itself trailing by a goal to visiting Lampeter- Strasburg at the end of the first quarter.

“It was just a matter of executing and finishing when we were getting open looks,” Ephrata coach Mike O’Donnell said.

The Mountaineers found their shots in the second quarter, took their first lead of the game on a Rhee goal just before halftime, and dominated the second half en route to a 12-5 Section Two win.

Rhee (three goals, one assist), sophomore attack Brock Boyer (three goals) and junior attack Kyle Raudenbush (two goals, one assist) accounted for the Ephrata scoring, while senior goalkeeper Ethan Moyer made four stops.

Lampeter- Strasburg played without injured faceoff specialist Caden Wise, and it showed. Ephrata’s Boyer won 15 of 19 faceoffs.

“It’s nice to play makeit, take-it for once,” O’Donnell said.

With the win, Ephrata (4-1 Section Two, 6-1 overall) stays in second place in the Section Two standings, trailing first-place LCD/LC (5-0, 3-0). The Cougars already own narrow wins over the Mounts and third-place L-S (3-4, 4-3). Ephrata will get another crack at LCD/ LC on Wednesday.

“Tonight, the difference was we finished plays in the second half,” O’Donnell said. “Against Lancaster Country Day we didn’t.”

The Pioneers, meanwhile, have to improve their second half play. They trailed by a goal at halftime in the eventual 8-4 loss to LCD/LC on Monday, only to see a similar outcome happen again Friday at Ephrata.

“I feel like we’re right there with them,” firstyear L-S coach Corey Nehlig said. “We could make some adjustments, come out and win the next one. That’s the beauty of the new section realignment. ... It’s playing a complete game. We haven’t done it yet this season.”

Ephrata won the ground ball battle, 23-17. Lampeter-Strasburg’s Logan Bradley, Connor Nolt and Joey Jordan each had a score while Stewart McClain put two in the back of the net. Pioneers’ keeper Dominic Reed made 10 saves.

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