LAMPETER – It was an historic result, in a lot of ways. If historic equals ‘first time ever’, then perhaps a bit of precedence was in order.
On a foggy Monday night at Lampeter-Strasburg, the Northern Lebanon girls’ soccer team’s initial forray into the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs produced an anti-climatic and uneventful 6-0 semifinal loss to mighty Manheim Township. Manheim Township netted a trio of goals in each half, as nine different Blue Streaks got in on the scoring act, including Liza Suydam, who registered a hat trick.
It was the first loss of the season for a Northern Lebanon club which had just recently clinched its first Lancaster-Lebanon Section Four section championship in school history. On this night, the Vikings, now 13-1 overall, allowed as many goals as they had all fall.
If the Lancaster-Lebanon League girls’ soccer playoffs have taught us anything over the years, it’s that Section One squads rarely lose to Section Four clubs. Manheim Township, the champions of Section One, moved to 12-1 overall and into Wednesday’s 6:30 p.m. L-L League Championship at Warwick opposite Elco, a 4-0 semifinal victor over Manheim Central.
In the latest power rankings for a District Three AA classification that takes four for its postseason, Northern Lebanon was positioned second.
“Coming in, we knew it would be tough,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Jeff Snyder. “Coming in undefeated, we wanted to keep it respectable. We knew we were in for a dog fight. We got some things to build on. We had some defensive problems. Ashlyn Messinger made some great saves, or the score could’ve been much worse.
“We’ve been having a good season for Northern Lebanon,” continued Snyder. “Coming into the season, we were looking to win the section. We did that. We have one section game left, and we only gave up one goal in section play all year.”
There were a number of things that didn’t go the Vikings’ way, including the beginning of the game. In match’s first 11 minutes, Manheim Township scored a pair of goals 4:41 apart.
Off extended pressure from the start, Emma Hagg deposited a Caroline Wood corner into the Northern Lebanon net. Then an Anika Krasnai rush down the left side of the field set up Suydam, who drilled a left-footer inside the right post to make it 2-0.
“We have a tendency to come out a little slow,” said Snyder. “You’re talking about the best team in Section One, and we don’t have the talent they do. They have a whole team of travel players. We probably have three.
“They’re (the Blue Streaks) really good,” Snyder added. “They have players taking the ball out of the air. They pass with intent. They put it where it needs to be.”
The Blue Streaks also struck 14:40 before halftime, when a sprawling Messinger couldn’t control Ava Byrne’s cross, and teammate Missy Welch was there to make it 3-0. And some ten minutes into the second half, Suydam scored again, this time top shelf with her left foot from 30 yards out.
“We needed to score,” said Snyder. “We needed to get the ball to that end. Our speed of play is much slower than theirs.
“We were timid when we first came out,” Snyder added. “We have to be more confident. But I think there were some bright spots.”
Manheim Township extended its lead to 5-0 when Jane Bowen coverted an Eloise Warfel feed. Suydam completed her hat trick with 5:36 remaining.
“What I take away from this is that we didn’t quit,” said Snyder. “We played to the bitter end. My goalie (Messinger) kept making saves. I would’ve preferred not giving up six goals, but it wasn’t extremely horrible. My girls played with a lot of heart.”
The Vikings didn’t record their first shot on goal until Taylor Batz unleashed one with 23:07 left. Manheim Township out shot Northern Lebanon 24-3, and the Blue Streaks took 12 corner kicks to the Vikings’ one.
Messinger was credited with 14 saves.
“We still have a postseason ahead of us,” said Snyder of the upcoming district tournament. “I’ve scouted some of the (Class AA) teams and they’re not Manheim Township. But we may need a little break to collect ourselves.”
| Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
| 9/24 4:00 pm | Pequea Valley at Northern Lebanon | 1 4 | League |
| 9/25 4:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Oley Valley Area H.S. | 7 0 | Nonleague |
| 9/30 4:00 pm | Lancaster Catholic at Northern Lebanon | 0 2 | League |
| 10/05 4:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Annville-Cleona | 1 0 | League |
| 10/07 4:00 pm | Lebanon at Northern Lebanon | 0 12 | League |
| 10/08 6:15 pm | Northern Lebanon at Muhlenberg | 6 2 | Nonleague |
| 10/12 7:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Cedar Crest | 2 0 | Nonleague |
| 10/14 7:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lancaster Catholic | 1 0 | League |
| 10/16 4:00 pm | Annville-Cleona at Northern Lebanon | 0 1 | League |
| 10/17 10:00 am | Northern Lebanon Williams Valley at Spring-Ford | 5 0 | Nonleague |
| 10/19 3:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Pequea Valley | 4 0 | League |
| 10/20 4:00 pm | Northern Lebanon at Lebanon | Postponed League | |
| 10/23 4:00 pm | Donegal at Northern Lebanon | 2 4 | Nonleague |
| 10/24 10:00 am | Northern Lebanon at McCaskey | 6 1 | Nonleague |
| 10/26 6:30 pm | Manheim Township Northern Lebanon at Lampeter-Strasburg | Playoff |
| League | Overall | |||||||||
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | GS | GA | |
| Northern Lebanon | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 55 | 6 |
| Annville-Cleona | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.571 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.500 | 26 | 16 |
| Pequea Valley | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0.429 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0.500 | 29 | 16 |
| Lancaster Catholic | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.375 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0.455 | 24 | 17 |
| Lebanon | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0.000 | 3 | 75 |
| AA | School | W | L | T | Rating | TWP | OWP | TWPW | OWPW | TWPL | OWPL |
| 1 | Wyomissing | 14- | 1- | 0 | 0.729901 | 0.936170 | 0.477795 | 13.20 | 93.60 | 0.90 | 102.30 |
| 2 | Northern Lebanon | 13- | 0- | 0 | 0.694481 | 1.000000 | 0.321068 | 13.30 | 54.10 | 0.00 | 114.40 |
| 3 | Boiling Springs | 6- | 2- | 0 | 0.663980 | 0.775000 | 0.528289 | 6.20 | 77.50 | 1.80 | 69.20 |
| 4 | Middletown | 9- | 1- | 0 | 0.662961 | 0.898148 | 0.375510 | 9.70 | 46.00 | 1.10 | 76.50 |
| 5 | Camp Hill | 7- | 2- | 0 | 0.659312 | 0.780220 | 0.511535 | 7.10 | 64.30 | 2.00 | 61.40 |
| 6 | Kutztown | 10- | 3- | 1 | 0.581717 | 0.732558 | 0.397357 | 9.45 | 70.65 | 3.45 | 107.15 |
| 7 | Bermudian Springs | 7- | 1- | 1 | 0.579606 | 0.756250 | 0.363707 | 6.05 | 46.70 | 1.95 | 81.70 |
| 8 | Kennard Dale | 6- | 5- | 0 | 0.563046 | 0.594595 | 0.524487 | 6.60 | 66.40 | 4.50 | 60.20 |
| 9 | Bishop McDevitt (3) | 6- | 4- | 0 | 0.548352 | 0.596154 | 0.489927 | 6.20 | 60.80 | 4.20 | 63.30 |
| 10 | Trinity (3) | 5- | 4- | 0 | 0.515210 | 0.546392 | 0.477099 | 5.30 | 50.00 | 4.40 | 54.80 |
| 11 | Lancaster Catholic | 5- | 6- | 0 | 0.484125 | 0.472000 | 0.498945 | 5.90 | 70.95 | 6.60 | 71.25 |
| 12 | Annville-Cleona | 5- | 5- | 0 | 0.468325 | 0.480392 | 0.453577 | 4.90 | 59.60 | 5.30 | 71.80 |
| 13 | Tulpehocken | 7- | 5- | 2 | 0.465780 | 0.541667 | 0.373029 | 7.80 | 66.25 | 6.60 | 111.35 |
| 14 | Pequea Valley | 5- | 5- | 1 | 0.465068 | 0.495690 | 0.427642 | 5.75 | 52.60 | 5.85 | 70.40 |
| 15 | James Buchanan | 3- | 7- | 1 | 0.456516 | 0.356481 | 0.578782 | 3.85 | 82.65 | 6.95 | 60.15 |
| 16 | Schuylkill Valley | 4- | 10- | 1 | 0.413046 | 0.275000 | 0.581769 | 3.85 | 130.20 | 10.15 | 93.60 |
| 17 | Hamburg | 2- | 6- | 3 | 0.370014 | 0.263889 | 0.499723 | 2.85 | 90.10 | 7.95 | 90.20 |
| 18 | Lancaster Mennonite | 0- | 9- | 3 | 0.339673 | 0.130631 | 0.595168 | 1.45 | 81.30 | 9.65 | 55.30 |
| 19 | Eastern York | 1- | 10- | 0 | 0.338800 | 0.121495 | 0.604396 | 1.30 | 77.00 | 9.40 | 50.40 |
| 20 | Littlestown | 3- | 6- | 0 | 0.338278 | 0.262136 | 0.431341 | 2.70 | 53.40 | 7.60 | 70.40 |
| 21 | Susquenita | 5- | 7- | 1 | 0.331350 | 0.350806 | 0.307571 | 4.35 | 68.25 | 8.05 | 153.65 |
| 22 | Millersburg | 5- | 7- | 0 | 0.328573 | 0.303279 | 0.359488 | 3.70 | 74.45 | 8.50 | 132.65 |
| 23 | Biglerville | 3- | 7- | 0 | 0.322794 | 0.227273 | 0.439542 | 2.50 | 53.80 | 8.50 | 68.60 |
| 24 | Oley Valley | 1- | 10- | 0 | 0.275420 | 0.059829 | 0.538920 | 0.70 | 85.85 | 11.00 | 73.45 |
| 25 | Hanover (3) | 0- | 10- | 0 | 0.219767 | 0.000000 | 0.488372 | 0.00 | 58.80 | 12.00 | 61.60 |
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