Blazers stop Mounts

After their deep run into the PIAA playoffs last fall, Lancaster Mennonite's boys' soccer team could wait for the postseason to roll around again.

That moment finally came Tuesday.
 

And unfortunately for Ephrata, they wasted little time seizing it.

In the nightcap of Tuesday's quarterfinal doubleheader, Section Four champion Lancaster Mennonite exploded for four goals in the first half and cruised to a 5-0 drubbing of Section Two runner-up Ephrata.

Mennonite never stopped pulling the trigger against Ephrata, which found itself in a 2-0 hole less than 10:00 into the match.

The gamewinner came 7:43 into the game, when C.J. Sturgis took advantage of a Mountaineers turnover at midfield, got free on a breakaway and finessed a roller inside the left post for a 1-0 Blazers lead.

Caleb Cole doubled it 2:14 later by firing a hard shot from the right side of the box that ricocheted off Ephrata goalie Kole DeHaven and under the crossbar.

"They came at us quick," Mounts coach Rob Deininger said. "We made two mistakes and they capitalized."

Ephrata (9-8-2) seemed to get a break when it was awarded a penalty kick with 18:17 left until halftime, but Mennonite goalie Cole Hoover stoned Kyle Smith's attempt to keep the momentum with the Blazers.

A pair of goals by Keegan Rosenberry gave Mennonite a 4-0 lead by halftime.