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Mounts Blast into Finals
- 21 October 2005
Determined to earn a spot in Saturday's Lancaster-Lebanon
League boys' soccer final for the first time, Ephrata never gave Cedar
Crest a chance to continue their upset run.Getting the eventual game-winner from Derek Sipe 8:58 into the first half, Ephrata reached the title game with a 2-0 semifinal victory over Cedar Crest Thursday night at Hempfield.
The win for the Mounts (17-0-1), coupled with Manheim Township's (15-2-1) drubbing of Elizabethtown (by the score of six-nil), propels the two school's into Saturday's Championship game at Pequea Valley scheduled for 2:00.
The Mounts not only remained undefeated, but notched their school-record 13th shutout of the season. Josh Peifer and Paul McHenry each recorded four saves enroute to the shutout.
Cedar Crest came in looking to build on their wins over Cocalico and Section one Champion Warwick. But Sipe's blast into the bottom left corner of the net early in the game turned the momentum the Mounts' way.
Then less then 13 minutes later, Dan Szabo picked a header out of the air and tucked it under the crossbar to give the Mounts a 2-0 lead. The Mounts went on to out-shoot the Falcon 15-12.
A collision with a Falcon player and Peifer left Ephrata's sensational sophomore goalie on the ground, with 3 minutes left in the half. Peifer finished the half but was replaced to start the second half, and if you weren't from Ephrata you might consider it a good thing that Ephrata had to resort to their second string goalie.
But Paul's been between the pipes before, as many know, and proved once again that he can still get the job done. As a testament to that fact, McHenry made a dazzling kick save early in the second half, which thwarted a Falcon attack.
It's uncertain at this time if Peifer's injury is serious enough to keep him out of the title game. He seemed confident and relaxed talking along the sidelines during the second half, which may mean the removal was only precautionary. But, if Peifer can't go, Ephrata will surely miss McHenry's offensive contributions (13 goals, 8 assists) at the striker position.
Good Luck Saturday Mounts!
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.