BY JEFF FALK
MANHEIM – No one likes to lose. But if one has to lose – and ultimately we must all face that prospect – the league playoffs isn’t a bad place to endure a first one.
On Saturday morning at Manheim Central High School’s Elden Rettew Field, during the opening round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs, the Elco girls’ soccer team absorbed its initial setback of the season, in decisive fashion. The Raiders fell behind Hempfield by four goals in the first half, before dropping a 5-0 decision to the Black Knights.
In dominating the action, Hempfield tallied goals in a variety of ways. The Black Knights also did an admirable job of shutting down Elco’s high-powered attack.
The Raiders had won 18 straight games on the way to their second straight Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three championship. Elco, which is currently rated fifth in the Class AAA power rankings, will open play in the District Three postseason on October 24.
The outcome pushed Hempfield, the third-place finisher from Section One, to 10-5-2 overall and into Tuesday’s semifinals of the league playoffs.
“There’s definitely pressure,” said Elco head coach Derek Fulk of his club’s undefeated season. “It’s the first thing the Hempfield coach said to me, ‘Congratulations on a good regular season and on being 18-0’. I think Hempfield put a huge exclamation point on that undefeated season. What’s tough for me is the way we lost. I know what they’re (his players) capable of. Fortunately, the sun will come up tomorrow. Maybe the time off will do us good.
“I keep telling our kids what we did in the regular season was fantastic,” continued Fulk. “But I don’t put a lot of stock into the league playoffs. I don’t want to say we can’t win. I want to look to districts and have that be our ultimate goal. I think it’s a bigger and better stage.”
The Raiders found themselves behind the proverbial eight-ball early, 5:32 in to be exact.
It was Black Knight Lucy McGloshen who made the play by taking the ball down the left side of the field and then crossing a ball hard with her left foot. McGloshen’s target was teammate Sammy Helgeson, who chested the ball inside the right post.
Hempfield made it 2-0 in the game’s 26th minute. Helgeson ran onto a ball from Anika Haski, used one touch to shed her defender, then used the second touch to beat Elco goalie Emma Strickler, before depositing it into the net.
“I think it was a combination of both (Hempfield playing well and Elco not),” said Fulk. “Obviously today wasn’t our best game. It was probably our worst game of the season. But they (the Black Knights) had something to do with that. They had the intensity early. It’s hard to read our kids. I just haven’t seen this – not being ready to play – all year. I don’t have an answer.
“At this point – for the most part – now if you lose you go home,” Fulk continued. “I don’t think they (his players) showed as well as they can play. It wasn’t our best game.”
If the Raiders weren’t already on their heels, two Hempfield goals 3:16 apart late in the first half squarely put them there.
An undisciplined foul on the Raiders created a 22-yard free kick for Hempfield’s Maddie Schwartz. And Schwartz made no mistakes, beating the Elco wall and Strickler to the lower left-hand corner of the net.
Then 7:31 before the break, a Black Knight corner kick caromed off the crossbar of the Elco frame, before bouncing around in the Raider goal mouth. The ball eventually ended up on the right foot of Hempfield’s Alexis Adams, who booted it home.
“I tried to get them going at the beginning of the second half,” said Fulk of his troops. “I thought if we could catch a goal maybe we could change the complexion of the game. Four-nothing is tough. It just wasn’t our day.
“I think the biggest thing is, it definitely wasn’t our best effort,” added Fulk. “But no, I wouldn’t rather lose 5-0 than 3-2 in overtime. I’d rather be in the game. I would rather be in a one-goal game.”
Elco didn’t record its first corner kick of the game until 20 seconds of the first half was left, and the Raiders didn’t register their first shot until 5:10 of the second half had elapsed. The Raiders ended up with three shots and four corners, compared to the Black Knights’ 12 and nine.
Hempfield rounded out the scoring 13:38 into the second half, courtesy of a free kick from the right side of the field. Adams, stationed at the left post, simply headed it into the net.
“I’m proud of our kids,” said Fulk. “I don’t think they put their best foot forward today. It’s just one of those things. But I’m proud of them for fighting, and for the season we had.”
To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com.
| 2016 Elco Girls’ Soccer Results | |||
| Date | Teams | Score | |
| 9/02 4:00 pm |
Elco at Tulpehocken |
4 1 |
|
| 9/03 11:00 am |
Elco at Conrad Weiser |
3 0 |
|
| 9/07 4:00 pm |
Elco at Lancaster Catholic |
4 0 |
|
| 9/09 4:00 pm |
Lebanon Catholic at Elco |
1 9 |
|
| 9/10 5:30 pm |
Cedar Crest at Elco |
0 1 |
|
| 9/13 7:00 pm |
Lancaster Mennonite at Elco |
0 5 |
|
| 9/15 7:00 pm |
Elco at Donegal |
2 1 |
|
| 9/17 7:00 pm |
Northern Lebanon at Elco |
0 4 |
|
| 9/20 7:00 pm |
Pequea Valley at Elco |
1 2 |
|
| 9/22 4:00 pm |
Elco at Annville-Cleona |
3 2 |
|
| 9/26 7:00 pm |
Elco at Middletown |
4 0 |
|
| 9/28 7:00 pm |
Lancaster Catholic at Elco |
2 5 |
|
| 9/30 7:00 pm |
Elco at Lebanon Catholic |
||
| 10/03 7:00 pm |
Elco at Lancaster Mennonite |
2 1 |
|
| 10/05 7:00 pm |
Donegal at Elco |
0 1 |
|
| 10/07 4:00 pm |
Elco at Northern Lebanon |
2 0 |
|
| 10/10 7:00 pm |
Elco at Pequea Valley |
3 0 |
|
| 10/12 7:00 pm |
Annville-Cleona at Elco |
0 4 |
|
| 10/15 10:00 am |
Hempfield Elco at Manheim Central |
||
| Lancaster-Lebanon League Final Section Three Standings | ||||||||||
| League | Overall | |||||||||
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | PS | PA | |
| Elco | 13 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 58 | 8 |
| Donegal | 9 | 3 | 1 | 73.08 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 64.71 | 44 | 18 |
| Lancaster Mennonite | 9 | 3 | 2 | 71.43 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 62.50 | 39 | 14 |
| Lancaster Catholic | 6 | 8 | 0 | 42.86 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 50.00 | 31 | 19 |
| Pequea Valley | 5 | 7 | 1 | 42.31 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 53.13 | 29 | 22 |
| Annville-Cleona | 5 | 8 | 0 | 38.46 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 47.06 | 57 | 26 |
| Northern Lebanon | 3 | 10 | 0 | 23.08 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 18.75 | 20 | 37 |
| Lebanon Catholic | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 6.67 | 13 | 64 |
PIAA District Three
Class AAA Power Rankings
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