Valentin leads Streaks over Mounts
- 26 September 2008
When is a 4-1 soccer match not a 4-1 soccer match?Well, for starters, when the final score is actually 4-2. But that's picking nits.
Manheim Township defeated Ephrata, 4-2, in an L-L League crossover contest between the leaders of Sections 1 and 2 Thursday night.
It could've easily been a 5-5, or 6-6 match.
"It was a rat race, back and forth," observed Ephrata coach Rob Deininger, whose team got off 14 shots and had 18 scoring opportunities.
"Defensively, it was a struggle for both teams, but it was a fun game to watch."
Playing in a constant drizzle on the Mountaineers' War Memorial Field, Ephrata (7-3 league, 7-3 overall) scored early and scored late.
But in between, senior midfielder Zarek Valentin hit paydirt four times to lead the Blue Streaks (8-1-1 L-L, 9-2-1 overall), who managed 15 shots and 23 scoring chances.
In a stretch from the 22-minute mark of the first half to the 25-minute mark of the second, the Streaks turned a 1-1 lead into a 3-1 advantage.
"We knew we had momentum going into halftime," said Township coach Dave Ammon. "I felt the game moving to our side."
It started like an Ephrata blowout as Noah Passage put away a failed clear on his initial shot, just 43 seconds into the game.
Ammon called it a smack in the face. Still, "it wasn't something we weren't expecting. They did exactly what we thought they'd do,'' he said.
But it had to be disconcerting as Ephrata dominated the initial 21 minutes with Tyler Phillips missing twice on open shots and being stopped by Jon Chieppor on two more.
Township got even at the 22:16 mark when Valentin, on a give-and-go with Danny Way, slipped the ball past Mounts keeper Brett Simmons.
"Actually I hit it badly," said Valentin. "Luckily it went in with the slow grass."
The goal seemed to spark the Streaks, and with the clock passing under two minutes to go in the half, Luke Oostyk beat a defender down the right side.
He passed to Way, who gave it back. With John Grosh taking two defenders with him at the near post, Valentin was open in the slot. Oostyk slotted a pass to him and Valentin blasted it home.
"I was just trying to stay composed in front of the goal and not get too flustered," he said.
Phillips, on the other hand, had a case of "goal fever". On a 1-v-1 with Chieppor at the near post, early in the second half, he sent a shot into the side of the net. Later, with the score 3-1, he sent an open shot over the cross bar once again.
Valentin's third goal came off a Way throw-in with 19:12 to play.
When Jason March missed a header, Valentin settled the ball then gave it a little poke with his foot, good enough to find the back of the net.
Then things got a little crazy.
With 10:28 to play, Phillips was taken down in the box by a pair of defenders.
Expressing his dissent at the call, Chieppor was assessed a yellow card, bringing backup keeper Kyle Clemens off the bench, stone cold, to face the penalty kick taken by Passage.
Of course, Clemens allowed no passage, stoning the PK.
"That was huge. It's a one-goal game if they put that in," said Ammon, who related that Clemens proudly wears the nickname Crazy Kyle.
"He's a prototypical goalie," Ammon shared, "I'm not shocked at all that he made the save."
On the restart, Township attacked down the right side and the Streaks Kirby Kinderwater was slide-tackled in the box. Valentin took the PK and drilled it home.
Then, with under a minute, Phillips fed Nate Latshaw on a counterattack and Latshaw beat Clemens with nine seconds showing.
Afterward both coaches sounded like the outcome had been reversed.
"We can't leave here thinking, 'Oh wow, we pounded them,' it wasn't a 4-1 game," said Ammon.
True.
As for Deininger, he was pleased with the effort, if not the result. "If we keep playing like this, we'll be all right," he offered.
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.