BY JEFF FALK
FREDERICKSBURG – The Northern Lebanon girls’ soccer team may or may not make it to the postseason. Making it to the playoffs may or may not define the success of the Vikings’ season.
What’s certain is that Northern Lebanon is playing with a certain sense of urgency right now. And that urgency is being manifested in the form of goal scoring.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon at Fred Gahres Stadium, the Vikings looked like a team trying to go somewhere, as they dismantled Upper Dauphin 10-1, in a late-season, non-league match. Northern Lebanon got a pair of goals from Emily Hauck in the contest’s first four minutes, on its way to a 6-1 halftime lead.
Nine different Vikings figured in the scoring, including Hauck and Taylor Batz, who contributed a pair of goals and an assist apiece. Teammate Jocelyn Mertz posted a goal and a couple of assists.
The outcome improved Northern Lebanon to 8-7 on the campaign. With three regular-season tilts remaining, the Vikings were seated 13th in the power rankings for an AA classification that takes ten for its District Three tournament.
The Vikings have not qualified for the District Three postseason since 2010.
Upper Dauphin is now 3-9 overall.
“I think we are playing with a sense of urgency,” said Northern Lebanon’s second-year head coach Jeff Snyder. “I’m not sure that was the case earlier in the season. We’ve had some good games. We’re definitely coming along. I think the girls see how we’re playing now and what we are capable of.
“That’s one of my goals, but I don’t think we need to get to the playoffs for the season to be considered a success,” continued Snyder. “We’re scoring goals and we’re winning games. Hopefully, we’ll end up with a winning season. But I’ve seen the girls progress and that’s a success. If you’re playing a good team and losing, I’m OK with that. I think most of the girls are doing better now then when we started. We’re no longer the Northern Lebanon people are identifying as an easy game.”
The Vikings scored early and often. The goals came in a variety of different ways, but if there was a commonality to them, many of them were results of well-placed shots, with time and space.
It was Hauck who netted the two early goals that staked Northern to a 2-0 lead. Both came from the middle of the field and beat Upper Dauphin keeper Sam Bowman under the crossbar.
Then 15 minutes later, Batz made it 4-1 Vikings with similar goals from the right wing, 25 yards out. On the first one, she went far post, while on the second, she went high to the short side.
“We were in a scoring drought at the beginning of the season,” said Snyder. “We were having problems placing the ball. Now we’re not blasting them all over the place. We need to get more connection goals. We had a couple today where we finished well.
“The offense is pretty good,” Snyder continued. “We’re looking at it like our younger players are stepping up, and playing good soccer as well. They’re (his players) coming along and becoming more of a team.”
Northern Lebanon just about put the outcome to rest with two more goals, just before the intermission.
Senior Hannah Bashore got into the scoring act, placing a ball inside the right post after taking a feed from Tabitha Hubbard. That was before Hubbard set up Casey Weaver for a successful shot from in close.
“I felt we did pretty well,” said Snyder. “We possessed very well. We’re passing a lot better than we were at the beginning of the season. Today was an important game.
“We had a slow start (to the season) and we’re scratching our way out of the hole,” aded Snyder. “We have three games left and we may have to win all three. We want to have a winning season and make the playoffs. Northern Lebanon isn’t really known as a soccer school. I’d like to help the team get back to the playoffs. We’re still in the running. Every win we put up can definitely help us.”
The Vikings netted four more goals in the second half.
Whitman and Mertz scored 50 seconds apart to extend Northern Lebanon’s advantage to 8-1. Finally, Jade Smith and Taylor Bartell took turns assisting on each other’s goals.
“I always start out the season with high hopes,” said Snyder. “We always have good teams for the players available. We can always put together a decent team.
“I was disappointed with the way we started the season,” Snyder added. “I sat the girls down five or six games in and I had a very serious conversation with our team about unity. Since that discussion, the girls have figured out how to play more as a team.”
On the final shot chart, Northern Lebanon overwhelmed Upper Dauphin 29-3. The Vikings were awarded six corner kicks to the Trojans’ one.
To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com.
2019 Northern Lebanon Girls’ Soccer Results
| Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
| 8/30 3:45 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lower Dauphin | 1 8 | |
| 9/04 4:00 pm | Pequea Valley at Northern Lebanon | 4 2 | |
| 9/06 4:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lebanon Catholic | 10 0 | |
| 9/07 3:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Schuylkill Valley | 0 7 | |
| 9/09 4:00 pm | Lebanon at Northern Lebanon | 0 11 | |
| 9/11 4:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lancaster Catholic | 0 5 | |
| 9/13 4:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Annville-Cleona | 2 4 | |
| 9/16 4:00 pm | Lancaster Country Day at Northern Lebanon | 2 6 | |
| 9/21 1:00 pm | Muhlenberg at Northern Lebanon | 1 9 | |
| 9/24 7:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Pequea Valley | 3 2 | |
| 9/27 4:00 pm | Lebanon Catholic at Northern Lebanon | 0 6 | |
| 9/28 10:00 am | Northern Lebanon at Conrad Weiser | 0 5 | |
| 9/30 4:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lebanon | 8 0 | |
| 10/02 4:00 pm | Lancaster Catholic at Northern Lebanon | 3 1 | |
| 10/04 4:00 pm | Annville-Cleona at Northern Lebanon | ||
| 10/05 1:00 pm | Upper Dauphin at Northern Lebanon | ||
| 10/07 4:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lancaster Country Day | ||
| 10/10 7:00 pm | Kutztown at Northern Lebanon |
Class AA Power Rankings
| AA | School | W | L | T | Rating | TWP | OWP | TWPW | OWPW | TWPL | OWPL |
| 1 | Boiling Springs | 11- | 2- | 0 | 0.708919 | 0.868613 | 0.513737 | 11.9 | 127.2 | 1.8 | 120.4 |
| 2 | Eastern Lebanon County | 12- | 3- | 1 | 0.684526 | 0.821212 | 0.517465 | 13.6 | 131.9 | 3.0 | 123.0 |
| 3 | Trinity (3) | 10- | 3- | 0 | 0.642661 | 0.748201 | 0.513668 | 10.4 | 125.9 | 3.5 | 119.2 |
| 4 | Lancaster Catholic | 13- | 2- | 1 | 0.629731 | 0.809677 | 0.409796 | 12.6 | 108.4 | 3.0 | 156.1 |
| 5 | James Buchanan | 11- | 5- | 0 | 0.622231 | 0.706250 | 0.519541 | 11.3 | 129.0 | 4.7 | 119.3 |
| 6 | Littlestown | 12- | 4- | 0 | 0.576160 | 0.717647 | 0.403232 | 12.2 | 104.8 | 4.8 | 155.1 |
| 7 | Wyomissing | 11- | 4- | 1 | 0.555110 | 0.698675 | 0.379640 | 10.6 | 101.3 | 4.6 | 165.5 |
| 8 | Biglerville | 9- | 4- | 1 | 0.547120 | 0.634752 | 0.440015 | 9.0 | 120.3 | 5.2 | 153.1 |
| 9 | Tulpehocken | 10- | 4- | 2 | 0.538477 | 0.660000 | 0.389949 | 9.9 | 106.3 | 5.1 | 166.3 |
| 10 | Schuylkill Valley | 8- | 7- | 1 | 0.532056 | 0.534014 | 0.529663 | 7.9 | 142.9 | 6.9 | 126.9 |
| 11 | Bermudian Springs | 8- | 5- | 1 | 0.510278 | 0.568966 | 0.438550 | 8.3 | 107.1 | 6.3 | 137.1 |
| 12 | Pequea Valley | 8- | 6- | 1 | 0.497639 | 0.510000 | 0.482532 | 7.7 | 128.5 | 7.4 | 137.8 |
| 13 | Northern Lebanon | 8- | 7- | 0 | 0.494318 | 0.503311 | 0.483327 | 7.6 | 121.8 | 7.5 | 130.2 |
| 14 | Susquenita | 7- | 5- | 0 | 0.470833 | 0.463636 | 0.479630 | 5.1 | 103.6 | 5.9 | 112.4 |
| 15 | Middletown Area | 5- | 9- | 0 | 0.439501 | 0.345070 | 0.554916 | 4.9 | 144.5 | 9.3 | 115.9 |
| 16 | Delone Catholic | 6- | 8- | 0 | 0.433775 | 0.394737 | 0.481489 | 6.0 | 115.8 | 9.2 | 124.7 |
| 17 | Lancaster Mennonite | 5- | 9- | 1 | 0.432034 | 0.359589 | 0.520578 | 5.3 | 144.2 | 9.4 | 132.8 |
| 18 | Kutztown Area | 7- | 6- | 2 | 0.429704 | 0.489510 | 0.356607 | 7.0 | 95.0 | 7.3 | 171.4 |
| 19 | Eastern York | 5- | 8- | 0 | 0.424818 | 0.426357 | 0.422938 | 5.5 | 105.7 | 7.4 | 144.2 |
| 20 | Octorara Area | 3- | 12- | 0 | 0.386976 | 0.230769 | 0.577895 | 3.3 | 137.3 | 11.0 | 100.3 |
| 21 | Hamburg Area | 3- | 13- | 1 | 0.367836 | 0.173780 | 0.605015 | 2.9 | 160.5 | 13.6 | 104.8 |
| 22 | Hanover | 1- | 15- | 0 | 0.273095 | 0.072222 | 0.518606 | 1.3 | 132.4 | 16.7 | 122.9 |
| 23 | Oley Valley | 0- | 14- | 0 | 0.220225 | 0.000000 | 0.489388 | 0.0 | 117.6 | 15.6 | 122.7 |
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