BY JEFF FALK

 ANNVILLE – With the season winding down, the Annville-Cleona boys’ soccer team finds itself in a most unique position.

 All year long, the Little Dutchmen have been remarkably consistent against squads they should beat. But A-C strives to play up, and in order to do that, it must play up.

 On an overcast Saturday morning at Annville-Cleona High School, the Little Dutchmen dropped another tough decision to a quality opponent, 1-0 at the hands of unbeaten Bishop McDevitt. The visiting Crusaders notched an early tally, and Annville-Cleona spent most of the last 66 minutes of match trying to generate offense.

 With four games remaining in the regular season, Annville-Cleona stands at 8-5 overall. In the latest power rankings, the Little Dutchmen were positioned tenth in an AA classification which takes ten for its postseason.

 The victory lifted Bishop McDevitt to 11-0-1 on the season.

 “We don’t have what I consider a bad loss,” said Annville-Cleona head coach Ray Kreiser. “But we don’t have a signature win either. We’re predictable. To come out and play them (the Crusaders) 1-0, we gave them a heck of a game. If we go out and play our best, I can deal with that. I thought we did that today.

 “We played a lot better than we did against Lancaster Catholic (on Thursday),” continued Kreiser. “We’ve been up and down. We’ve had opportunities to win, but we haven’t been able to knock off that upper-tier opponent. We knew we were in for a tough game today. We were trying to recover from that last game.”

 Bishop McDevitt notched the contest’s only goal 13:51 into it.

 The play originated from the right side of the field, off a hard carry by Garrett Hughes. Hughes centered a deft cross into the Annville-Cleona goal mouth, and teammate Leo Posvec ran on to it and touched it into the net with his left foot.

 “We just lost our mark,” said Kreiser of the goal. “It created an opportunity. That was pretty much it.

 “Actually, we were shaky in the back at the beginning,” Kreiser continued. “Once we got it straightened out, we played better. We’re basically rotating five players through. But I thought we settled down and played to our capabilities.”

 Annville-Cleona generated a couple of dangerous chances in the first half. But Crusader goalkeeper Corey Kalinoski was equal to the task – including one save on which he punched a Little Dutchmen shot earmarked for the upper portion of the net over the crossbar.

 “We have struggled against quality teams to get consistent offense,” said Kreiser. “We can get the ball to the 18 (yard line), and then we lose it or the keeper makes an incredible save. We’re constantly battling. We’re very solidly in the middle of the pack.

 “We’re in the midst of a difficult four-game stretch,” added Kreiser. “We have to pull off one (win), if not the last two. I don’t think we played poorly today. They had some opportunities. We had some opportunities. They were able to cash in on that one early.”

  But the Little Dutchmen offense stagnated early in the second half. The Little Dutchmen did not generate their first shot of the second half until 35 minutes of it had expired.

 And when Annville-Cleona did put together a late legitimate opportunity, Kalinoski turned it away.

 “We’re either going to be one the teams that just barely gets in or one that’s squeezed out,” said Kreiser of the district playoff picture. “We’re right on the fence. A lot of it is going to be determined over the next two games. We’ve really got to get one of them.

 “We knew coming into the season that there’s a lot teams in the district who are loaded,” Kreiser added. “There’s a large number of teams in front of us who are senior-laden. But when these guys make up their minds to play, we always come out with intensity. I know we can play with those teams.”

 On the final stat sheet, Bishop McDevitt out shot Annville-Cleona 12-6. The Little Dutchmen enjoyed a slight 5-3 edge in corner kicks.

 “It’s always an objective to make it to the next level,” said Kreiser of the postseason. “We knew that if we did, we’re probably be one of the bottom seeds. You try to get to districts. If you can get in, you get extra weeks of practice and it does carry over to the next year. It’s something we’re always striving for. Once you’re in districts, it’s one night. You’re either going home or moving on.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2019 Annville-Cleona Boys’ Soccer Schedule