Bucks overcome Ephrata

Enjoying a post-game snack from the concession stand Wednesday night, Bob Scotten was finally able to relax and smile.

After all, his team had produced the desired result. Just maybe not in the stress-free way he would have preferred.

"This team is pretty resilient," Conestoga Valley's girls' soccer coach said of his players. "They seem to be able to do what they have to do to get it done."

Scotten paused for a minute, then smiled.

"I just wish they would do it sooner."

Despite falling into a 1-0 deficit 42 seconds into the match, CV righted the ship with three second-half goals and cruised to a 3-1 District Three Class AAA opening-round victory over Lancaster-Lebanon League mate Ephrata Wednesday night in Witmer.

The victory sends the second-seeded and reigning Section One and L-L League champion Buckskins (14-4) into Saturday's quarterfinals opposite seventh-seeded Chambersburg (15-2-2), which advanced with a 1-0 victory over Warwick Wednesday night.

Saturday's game is set for 11 a.m. at Central Dauphin Middle School.

"It just felt really out of sync and no one was communicating," Buckskins junior striker Morgan Gerz said of her team's slow start Wednesday. "It just seemed like nobody was into it.

"But it hit us in the second half and we got to it."

Not that CV had much choice, considering Ephrata junior midfielder Leah Sipe needed less than a minute to give the Mountaineers (12-6) a 1-0 lead, thanks to a 30-yard rainbow that sailed over the outstretched hands of backpedaling Buckskins goalie Amanda McGowan and into the top left corner of the net.

Truth is, if not for a couple of key stops from McGowan (four saves), who dove to punch a breakaway shot wide right 4:12 into the contest before tipping another dangerous shot up over the crossbar during a melee in the CV box 48 seconds later, the Buckskins could have been down 3-0 5:00 into the match.

"They weren't executing," Scotten said of his troops. "They had simple things to do that they weren't doing.

"Basically, (the Bucks' halftime talk) was about don't panic. Don't lose your composure. (Ephrata) took 50 seconds to score, we had 40 minutes. No problem. We will score goals but we have to get the first one and go from there."

Done.

After CV defender Meredith Hayden provided the equalizer with a 25-yard rocket into the top left corner 5:23 into the second half, Gerz put the Bucks in front for good 4:27 later, when she took a pass on the right wing from Kristine Zeiset and chipped an arcing shot inside the far post from 15 yards out.

Dominating play for the majority of the second half, during which it outshot the Mounts 11-4 and created seven scoring opportunities to Ephrata's one, CV got an insurance goal on Sharee McCarty's bullet into the top left corner with 7:48 remaining in the match.

"They're used to fighting, that's the advantage of (playing in) Section One," Ephrata coach Chris Dutton said of CV afterward. "And when you're used to doing that, when it comes to a situation like (Wednesday), it plays to your advantage."

Sooner or later, which isn't always that comforting for Scotten.