Mounts drop Crusaders
- 17 October 2007
Riding a stingy defense that yielded only six Lancaster Catholic shots, Section Two co-champion Ephrata opened Tuesday's doubleheader with a 2-0 quarterfinal win over the Section Four runner-up Crusaders.Ephrata (13-3-4) and Central (17-1) will meet in a 5:30 p.m. semifinal Thursday at Hempfield (directions), before Manheim Township (17-2-1) and Elizabethtown (11-5-1) square off at 7:30.
The title game is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Manheim Central.
Lancaster Catholic came out strong early. But despite getting off five shots and creating three solid scoring chances in the first half, none were any real threat to Mountaineers' goalie Brett Simmons (five saves).
Meanwhile, Ephrata -- which registered nine shots and created five scoring chances before the break -- notched the eventual gamewinner with 11:36 left to play in the half.
After the Mounts' Mike Hull let a long send skim off the back of his head just outside the 18-yard line, Ephrata junior midfielder Tyler Phillips picked the delivery up in stride on the right wing and fired a bullet inside the far post for a 1-0 lead.
It was more than enough for the Mounts' defense, which held Catholic to one shot in the second half, that coming with 10:35 left in the match.
Shortly thereafter, Ephrata doubled its advantage on Nate Latshaw's chip shot goal inside the left post with 4:53 remaining.
"We're a defensive-minded team this year," Ephrata coach Rob Deininger said. "And I'd put those guys (on defense) up against anybody."
Comforting, perhaps, with high-octane Central waiting on the horizon.
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.