SOUTH LEBANON – Two left feet.
A fortuitous – not a fortunate – bounce.
Just enough of a piece.
It all added up to a strong offensive showing, semifinal advancement and a trip to states.
On a clear Thursday night at Cedar Crest High School’s Ed and Jeannie Arnold Field at Earl Boltz Stadium, the Elco girls’ soccer team’s splendid fall season picked up steam, with a 4-2 victory over Daniel Boone, in the quarterfinal round of the District Three Class AAA postseason tournament. Despite some anxious moments, the Raiders displayed resiliency and skilled attack throughout.
Carsyn Boyer netted a pair of Elco goals, while teammates Emily Kate Miller and Sophie Irvin posted single tallies. Senior Kailey Eckhart set up two of those Raider goals.
With the result, Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three champion and second-seeded Elco improved to 15-3 overall and earned a return visit to the District Three Class AAA semifinals. That match will take place on Monday back at Cedar Crest High School, opposite either Gettysburg or Red Land.
The triumph also qualified the Raiders for the upcoming PIAA Class AAA postseason.
Seventh-seeded Daniel Boone concluded its season at 14-6.
“It’s fun to be where we’re at,” said Elco head coach Derek Fulk. “The obvious goal is to win (the District Three title). We want to win, but we also want to give a good showing and show that we belong. We just want to give the best effort we can for our seniors. If we’re going to go out, we’re going to go out with a bang.
“I’ll take the result,” added Fulk. “I thought we did some good things. But at times we were unorganized.”
With the score tied at two, Emily K. Miller’s first goal of the season, with 18:41 to go, proved decisive for Elco. From a 40-yard restart, Miller’s long kick bounced in front of the Daniel Boone goal mouth, and when a Raider teammate flashed in front of the Blazer goalkeeper it distracted her enough to allow the ball to settle into the back of the net.
Then, 5:05 later, Irvin added a little Raider insurance, following a pass from left to right by Eckhart. Irvin didn’t get all of her right-footer, but enough to squeeze it inside the right goal post.
“On that third goal, I’m going to have to give my assistant coach (Amy Thome) a little credit,” said Fulk. “She said, ‘Let Emily Miller take it’ and she hit a great ball. She couldn’t have placed it better.
“We had a couple of mistakes that cost us,” continued Fulk. “But for the most part, we were resilient. That’s all you can ask for at this point of the season.”
“We’re pretty good at making comebacks,” said Boyer. “We remain strong and consistent. We don’t allow goals against us to get to us.”
After falling into a 1-0 hole midway through the opening half, Boyer netted both of her goals in a 1:53 span, a minute-and-a-half later. Both goals came off her left foot, from more than 30 yards away, and each was well-placed, just under the crossbar.
“She’s had some unbelievable goals with that foot,” said Fulk of his sophomore forward. “She should probably have that insured. She’s a quality player. She’s definitely one of our most technically gifted players. She’s also good at creating space.”
“On my first one, I quickly turned on the defender and shot it,” said Boyer. “Then, Kailey volleyed it back to me and I hit. I try to aim for corners high or low, out of the goalie’s reach.”
The Blazers came out right after halftime buzzing, but partly because of keeper Sam Nelson’s strong play and spectacular saves, Elco was able to protect its 2-1 edge. That was until a ball played back to Nelson squirted through her gloves, and Lily Ferguson was there for Daniel Boone to knot the match at two.
“That was a tough spot to put Sam in, playing a ball back at that point,” said Fulk. “Sam has been fabulous for us all year. But that mistake, and even their first goal, wasn’t her fault.”
| Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
| 9/04 10:00 am | Conrad Weiser at Elco | 1 4 | Nonleague |
| 9/08 7:00 pm | Donegal at Elco | 0 6 | League |
| 9/10 4:00 pm | Elco at Cocalico | 2 1 | League |
| 9/14 7:00 pm | Lancaster Mennonite at Elco | 0 6 | League |
| 9/16 7:00 pm | Octorara at Elco | 0 8 | League |
| 9/18 7:00 pm | Elco at Cedar Crest | 1 0 | Nonleague |
| 9/20 4:00 pm | Elco at Solanco | 0 1 | League |
| 9/22 4:00 pm | Elco at Donegal | 3 0 | League |
| 9/23 4:00 pm | Elco at Garden Spot | Postponed Nonleague | |
| 9/28 7:00 pm | Cocalico at Elco | 0 1 | League |
| 9/30 5:15 pm | Elco at Lancaster Mennonite | 4 0 | League |
| 10/01 4:00 pm | Elco at Berks Catholic | 2 0 | Nonleague |
| 10/05 7:00 pm | Elco at Octorara | 6 0 | League |
| 10/07 7:00 pm | Solanco at Elco | 0 1 | League |
| 10/11 4:00 pm | Pottsville Area at Elco | 1 2 | Nonleague |
| 10/13 4:00 pm | Wyomissing at Elco | 3 1 | Nonleague |
| 10/16 2:00 pm | Elco Penn Manor at Manheim Central | 1 4 | League Playoff |
| 10/26 7:00 pm | Susquehannock at Elco | 0 6 | District Playoff |
| 10/28 7:00 pm | Daniel Boone Elco at Cedar Crest | District Playoff |
| AAA | School | W | L | T | Rating | TWP | OWP | TWPW | OWPW | TWPL | OWPL |
| 1*** | Greencastle Antrim | 17- | 1- | 0 | 0.739720 | 0.962366 | 0.467597 | 17.90 | 145.75 | 0.70 | 165.95 |
| 2*** | Eastern Lebanon County | 13- | 2- | 0 | 0.726665 | 0.875776 | 0.544417 | 14.10 | 131.15 | 2.00 | 109.75 |
| 3*** | Gettysburg | 12- | 2- | 2 | 0.723564 | 0.861446 | 0.555041 | 14.30 | 149.75 | 2.30 | 120.05 |
| 4*** | Mechanicsburg | 13- | 3- | 2 | 0.697044 | 0.849515 | 0.510690 | 17.50 | 157.65 | 3.10 | 151.05 |
| 5*** | Northern York | 14- | 4- | 0 | 0.692320 | 0.797872 | 0.563311 | 15.00 | 177.95 | 3.80 | 137.95 |
| 6*** | Red Land | 11- | 6- | 1 | 0.687260 | 0.751366 | 0.608908 | 13.75 | 193.45 | 4.55 | 124.25 |
| 7*** | Daniel Boone | 13- | 5- | 0 | 0.677207 | 0.784211 | 0.546424 | 14.90 | 166.55 | 4.10 | 138.25 |
| 8*** | Lampeter Strasburg | 12- | 6- | 0 | 0.672742 | 0.755319 | 0.571814 | 14.20 | 169.60 | 4.60 | 127.00 |
| 9*** | Solanco | 13- | 4- | 0 | 0.660161 | 0.805714 | 0.482262 | 14.10 | 130.50 | 3.40 | 140.10 |
| 10*** | Palmyra | 9- | 7- | 1 | 0.641633 | 0.661932 | 0.616822 | 11.65 | 184.80 | 5.95 | 114.80 |
| 11*** | Fleetwood | 10- | 7- | 0 | 0.630211 | 0.658960 | 0.595073 | 11.40 | 171.50 | 5.90 | 116.70 |
| 12*** | Manheim Central | 9- | 7- | 0 | 0.624892 | 0.673077 | 0.565998 | 10.50 | 149.65 | 5.10 | 114.75 |
| 13*** | West York | 11- | 5- | 0 | 0.604007 | 0.713415 | 0.470286 | 11.70 | 123.45 | 4.70 | 139.05 |
| 14*** | Conrad Weiser | 8- | 8- | 1 | 0.599284 | 0.588068 | 0.612991 | 10.35 | 179.30 | 7.25 | 113.20 |
| 15*** | Susquehannock | 10- | 7- | 0 | 0.595346 | 0.624277 | 0.559986 | 10.80 | 158.70 | 6.50 | 124.70 |
| 16*** | Cocalico | 9- | 8- | 0 | 0.587183 | 0.605096 | 0.565289 | 9.50 | 154.55 | 6.20 | 118.85 |
| 17 | South Western | 8- | 9- | 0 | 0.583387 | 0.586826 | 0.579184 | 9.80 | 167.50 | 6.90 | 121.70 |
| 18 | West Perry | 10- | 8- | 0 | 0.564571 | 0.582418 | 0.542758 | 10.60 | 172.00 | 7.60 | 144.90 |
| 19 | Dover | 7- | 10- | 1 | 0.511448 | 0.500000 | 0.525440 | 8.25 | 164.20 | 8.25 | 148.30 |
| 20 | Octorara | 8- | 10- | 0 | 0.506299 | 0.488889 | 0.527577 | 8.80 | 138.70 | 9.20 | 124.20 |
| 21 | Twin Valley | 5- | 12- | 1 | 0.495291 | 0.380000 | 0.636203 | 6.65 | 198.05 | 10.85 | 113.25 |
| 22 | Garden Spot | 4- | 13- | 0 | 0.455231 | 0.313725 | 0.628183 | 4.80 | 180.10 | 10.50 | 106.60 |
| 23 | Susquehanna Township | 6- | 10- | 0 | 0.455072 | 0.383721 | 0.542279 | 6.60 | 151.35 | 10.60 | 127.75 |
| 24 | Berks Catholic | 7- | 11- | 0 | 0.441795 | 0.335294 | 0.571964 | 5.70 | 175.65 | 11.30 | 131.45 |
| 25 | Shippensburg | 5- | 12- | 0 | 0.437020 | 0.308176 | 0.594496 | 4.90 | 179.30 | 11.00 | 122.30 |
| 26 | Spring Grove | 3- | 14- | 0 | 0.412018 | 0.248322 | 0.612090 | 3.70 | 177.20 | 11.20 | 112.30 |
| 27 | York Suburban | 3- | 12- | 0 | 0.387478 | 0.224490 | 0.586685 | 3.30 | 145.85 | 11.40 | 102.75 |
| 28 | Big Spring | 4- | 14- | 0 | 0.364477 | 0.215909 | 0.546059 | 3.80 | 168.35 | 13.80 | 139.95 |
| 29 | East Pennsboro | 2- | 15- | 1 | 0.362360 | 0.141711 | 0.632042 | 2.65 | 197.45 | 16.05 | 114.95 |
| 30 | Donegal | 2- | 13- | 0 | 0.358157 | 0.145985 | 0.617477 | 2.00 | 149.80 | 11.70 | 92.80 |
| 31 | Milton Hershey | 1- | 15- | 0 | 0.286591 | 0.080247 | 0.538789 | 1.30 | 152.10 | 14.90 | 130.20 |
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