Home
Breeze helps Bucks slip by Mounts
- 11 April 2006
For the players, the most nerve-wracking moment had nothing to do with the plethora of defensive stands they had been forced to make, or with any of the other close calls and near misses that are common in a game between two section powers.Instead, it had everything to do with one tiny coin. More accurately, which side of that coin would be facing skyward once it finally completed its descent to the ground.
Aided by a coin toss that gave it a coveted wind advantage entering overtime, Conestoga Valley got the game-winning goal from Morgan Gerz 6:51 into the extra session, and escaped with a 3-2 Section Two victory over Ephrata Tuesday afternoon in gusty Witmer.
The win pushed the Buckskins (4-0-1 section, 5-2-1 overall) into first place in the section standings, one point ahead of Ephrata (4-1, 6-2).
"With the young team we have the biggest thing this (win) does, hopefully, is give us confidence in big games," CV coach Bob Scotten said afterward.
Unfortunately for Scotten, his confidence began wavering a bit after regulation, once he realized his team captains had suddenly disappeared.
"I was talking to someone on the bench and I turned around and our girls were already walking (onto the field)," Scotten said, referring to the coin toss that would decide which goal each team would defend in OT.
"I had told them earlier that I wanted to go with the wind. I was just hoping they remembered."
No worries. After 80 minutes of seeing the advantage each team had by playing downwind, the choice was an afterthought.
"It (the wind) was definitely a factor, and had we won the flip it could have been a different outcome," Ephrata coach Chris Dutton said. "My girls wanted the wind, and when they lost it, it was about getting (their spirits) back up."
They didn't stay up for long, thanks to Morgan Gerz.
Leading an all-out assault on the Mountaineers' net 3:00 into the extra session, Gerz -- who is slowly working her back into CV's lineup from a series of knee and ankle injuries -- unleashed a point blank shot from 10 yards out that was hauled in by Ephrata keeper Becca Cetkowski (seven saves) with 6:13 left.
Cetkowski came through again 2:27 later when she barely punched a bullet from Bucks' junior midfielder Teresa Rynier wide right.
Sooner or later, it appeared, something had to give.
"That's what you're thinking," Scotten said. "You're just hoping you get (the gamewinner) before you have to change ends (of the field)."
Awarded a corner kick after Cetkowski's save on Rynier, CV got its wish 37 seconds later.
After an bending ball from the right corner flag resulted in a 15-second melee in Ephrata's box, Gerz finally ended the drama by punching a bullet through the traffic and into the center of the net.
"Every time we play (Ephrata) it's a one-goal difference," Scotten said. "It's always an intense, tough game."
It was clear from the beginning Tuesday that the trend would continue.
After Gerz scored off an assist from Sharee McCarty to give CV a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute, the Mounts -- benefitting from the wind -- took a 2-1 advantage into the break thanks to goals from Sabrina Pfautz and Leah Sipe.
But using the gusts to their advantage after halftime, the Buckskins, who outshot Ephrata 6-3 in the second half, tied it on Rynier's corner kick goal with 30:31 remaining in regulation.
Equally good news for CV was the coin flip at the end of regulation, which set the stage for the Bucks 7-0 shot advantage in overtime, and another victory over its long-time rival.
"Hopefully it's going to be a different story when (the Bucks) come to Ephrata," Dutton said.
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.