BY JEFF FALK

SOUTH LEBANON – Consistency. Improvement. Playoffs. There are a number of ways to measure success.

With the regular season winding down, the Palmyra and Cedar Crest girls’ soccer teams continue to author their own definitions of success.

On a misty Thursday evening on Ed and Jeannie Arnold Field at Earl Boltz Stadium, Palmyra took another step towards regular-season success and postseason realization, with a 2-0 non-league whitewashing of Cedar Crest. The Cougars netted a pair of first-half tallies, then played the Falcons to a goal-less draw over the second 40 minutes of action.

With their third straight shutout, the Cougars improved to 8-6 overall. Palmyra was listed on the Number 10 line of the latest Class AAA power rankings, for a District Three tournament that features a field of 16.

The setback dropped Cedar Crest to 3-9-1 on the fall.

“Every game counts from now on out,” said Palmyra head coach Tim Grinstead. “We want to push our program to the playoffs. They’re (his players) constantly being consistent.

“I do feel like we’re on the righ path,” continued Grinstead. “I want to finish strong. It’s (the postseason) one of our team goals. We’ve already passed some of the goals we set. But we have more to accomplish. Getting to the playoffs is one of them.”

“We have improved. I’ve seen improvement,” Steffen continued. “But we’re inconsistent in our play. When we’re really on, we give teams a hard time. But we hit spells where it’s just not the same type of effort. We seem to struggle with consistency and effort.”

“Coming in, we were on the borderline,” said Cedar Crest head coach Scott Steffen of the Class AAAA postseason. “A win certainly would’ve helped. Now we’re on the down side of getting into districts. Every game is important to us, but I want us to perform. We’ve struggled in a couple of these 4’clock games this year. We’ve got three games left and we just want to finish strong.

The Cougars controlled a good portion of the play in the first half. Exactly 6::47 into the match, Palmyra grabbed a 1-0 lead on a Maddie Grinstead goal.

The play originated from a 25-yard direct kick taken by junior teammate Kat Bauer. Bauer’s attempt was struck well, and when Falcon keeper Courtney Wysokowski couldn’t control it, Grinstead was there to touch the ball inside the right post.

“What we’re proud of is that we were doing the things we worked on in practice,” said Grinstead. “And that was true of the goals. That’s what takes you to the next level. Right now, our defense is really rocking it.

“Defensivley, I thought Courtney played well,” said Steffen. “But we were a little sloppy. Some of that was the conditions. Ususally, we’re a little more solid in the back. But Palmyra had to deal with the same things too.

“We’re trying to work on the right ideas when we’re getting towards the goal,” added Grinstead. “Possession is the key. We’re trying to build it up.”

“It wasn’t our best effort,” Steffen added. “We had three really good efforts last week and got one result. We seemed kind of sluggish at the beginning. We’re a little banged up, but that’s an opportunity for others to step up.”

The Cougars increased their lead to 2-0, 11:44 before the intermission.

It was a hard cross by Bailey Cleckner, with her left foot, that set up the goal. The ball went through the goal mouth, past Wysokowski and to Nicole Romanowski on the right post, and she finished strong with her right foot.

“I thought we were stepping to balls very well,” said Grinstead. “We did a good job of covering our backs. They (his players) played well together. They stuck together well. You always like getting a shutout.

“They (the Falcons) seem young,” Grinstead continued. “They seem like they’re going to be good the next couple of years. In the second half, they made some adjustments and they tried to possess the ball better.”

“Scoring goals has been a struggle for us all year,” said Steffen. “We don’t have that one dynamic striker. The front half of our team is young. It’s a learning experience for us. It will be a focus going into next year.”

The Falcons showed more signs of life early in the second half, and it was an intensity that the Cougars matched as the contest wore on. On the final stat sheet, Palmyra out shot Cedar Crest 12-6, while the Falcons enjoyed a 4-2 margin in corner kicks.

“In the second half, we were knocking on the door,” said Grinstead. “We just couldn’t get it in the goal. We were doing the right things. I don’t think we went down. We played a good second half.

“We’ve seen a ton of improvement since the beginning of the season,” Grinstead continued. “We’ve talked about game plans all year, and now we’re at the point where they (his players) can executue it. They know what we’re trying to do. I’m really happy with the progress. It’s always hard to implement what you’re trying to do.”

“I think it’s a positive game with them (the Cougars),” Steffen added. “I’m going to re-evaluate our schedule with the athletic director at the end of the year. When you’re playing double and triple A teams, it doesn’t always help. But it’s a competitive match with them.”

“They’re an OK team,” said Steffen of the Cougars. “They play more direct because they know what their strengths are. Us being out of shape defensively created some issues for us. They (the Cougars) were able to take advantage of those opportunities.

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

2019 Palmyra Girls’ Soccer Results

2019-08-30	H	vs	Eastern Lebanon County(3)	L	2-0
2019-08-31	A	vs	Donegal(3)	W	4-1
2019-09-05	A	vs	Mechanicsburg Area Senior(3)	W	1-0
2019-09-07	H	vs	Manheim Central(3)	L	3-1
2019-09-10	H	vs	Mifflin County(6)	W	6-0
2019-09-11	A	vs	Garden Spot(3)	W	4-0
2019-09-14	H	vs	Cocalico(3)	L	1-0
2019-09-17	H	vs	Hershey(3)	L	1-0
2019-09-19	A	vs	Lower Dauphin(3)	L	2-0
2019-09-24	A	vs	Central Dauphin East(3)	W	6-0
2019-09-28	H	vs	Mechanicsburg Area Senior(3)	L	2-1
2019-09-30	H	vs	Central Dauphin East(3)	W	3-0
2019-10-01	A	vs	Mifflin County(6)	W	5-0
2019-10-03	A	vs	Cedar Crest(3)		0-0
2019-10-05	H	vs	Northern York(3)		0-0
2019-10-08	A	vs	Hershey(3)		0-0
2019-10-14	H	vs	Lower Dauphin(3)		0-0
2019-10-16	A	vs	Bishop McDevitt(3)		0-0

2019 Cedar Crest Girls’ Soccer Results

Date	Opponents	Outcomes
8/31 11:00 am	Cedar Crest at Exeter	2 1
9/03 7:00 pm	Cocalico at Cedar Crest	0 1
9/05 7:00 pm	Elizabethtown at Cedar Crest	3 1
9/07 7:00 pm	Elco at Cedar Crest	2 1
9/09 4:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Hempfield	1 3
9/12 7:00 pm	Penn Manor at Cedar Crest	2 2
9/14 10:00 am	Cedar Crest at Cedar Cliff	1 0
9/17 4:00 pm	Conestoga Valley at Cedar Crest	2 0
9/20 4:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Manheim Township	0 3
9/23 4:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Warwick	0 2
9/26 7:00 pm	Hempfield at Cedar Crest	2 0
10/01 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Penn Manor	0 1
10/03 4:00 pm	Palmyra at Cedar Crest
10/04 4:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Conestoga Valley
10/07 7:00 pm	Manheim Township at Cedar Crest
10/09 7:00 pm	Warwick at Cedar Crest

PIAA District Three

Class AAA Power Rankings

AAA	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	TWPW	OWPW	TWPL	OWPL
1	Lower Dauphin	11-	1-	0	0.802924	0.937500	0.638442	13.5	150.8	0.9	85.4
2	Conrad Weiser	13-	1-	0	0.780520	0.949275	0.574264	13.1	140.4	0.7	104.1
3	Mechanicsburg Area Senior	10-	2-	0	0.751251	0.880597	0.593161	11.8	135.3	1.6	92.8
4	Manheim Central	10-	4-	0	0.707199	0.800000	0.593777	12.0	139.3	3.0	95.3
5	Berks Catholic School	10-	3-	1	0.668229	0.755474	0.561596	10.4	135.9	3.4	106.1
6	Northern York	8-	4-	0	0.660116	0.725806	0.579829	9.0	142.0	3.4	102.9
7	Gettysburg Area	10-	3-	1	0.654786	0.768966	0.515233	11.2	104.9	3.4	98.7
8	Bishop McDevitt	9-	2-	1	0.651373	0.779070	0.495298	10.1	121.2	2.9	123.5
9	Susquehannock	7-	3-	2	0.645947	0.688525	0.593907	8.4	118.0	3.8	80.7
10	Palmyra Area	7-	6-	0	0.630693	0.611511	0.654137	8.5	155.8	5.4	82.4
11	Lampeter Strasburg	7-	7-	0	0.627456	0.615942	0.641529	8.5	151.9	5.3	84.9
12	Fleetwood	9-	5-	1	0.623639	0.670139	0.566806	9.7	135.8	4.8	103.8
13	Solanco	11-	4-	1	0.617771	0.751462	0.454372	12.9	107.1	4.3	128.6
14	Twin Valley	8-	6-	2	0.615112	0.660494	0.559645	10.7	126.2	5.5	99.3
15	Cocalico	7-	5-	2	0.590774	0.634328	0.537540	8.5	134.6	4.9	115.8
16	Kennard Dale	8-	4-	1	0.582063	0.683594	0.457970	8.8	99.7	4.1	118.0
17	West Perry	8-	4-	1	0.579689	0.632576	0.515050	8.4	123.2	4.9	116.0
18	York Suburban	9-	6-	0	0.575251	0.656051	0.476495	10.3	104.4	5.4	114.7
19	Red Land	4-	8-	1	0.549440	0.454918	0.664966	5.6	156.4	6.7	78.8
20	Daniel Boone	7-	7-	1	0.527647	0.510870	0.548153	7.1	139.5	6.8	115.0
21	Shippensburg	6-	9-	0	0.487494	0.448980	0.534568	6.6	129.9	8.1	113.1
22	Donegal	5-	9-	2	0.484431	0.406667	0.579475	6.1	150.2	8.9	109.0
23	Greencastle Antrim	6-	9-	0	0.479517	0.450331	0.515189	6.8	123.8	8.3	116.5
24	Garden Spot	3-	10-	1	0.478756	0.329457	0.661231	4.3	162.2	8.7	83.1
25	Susquehanna Township	5-	9-	0	0.448485	0.353333	0.564781	5.3	137.8	9.7	106.2
26	Spring Grove Area	1-	12-	1	0.357118	0.166667	0.589892	2.0	147.7	9.8	102.7
27	Dover	2-	9-	0	0.350538	0.174757	0.565381	1.8	112.9	8.5	86.8
28	East Pennsboro Area	2-	12-	0	0.348203	0.159420	0.578937	2.2	144.9	11.6	105.4
29	Milton Hershey	2-	12-	0	0.317609	0.173333	0.493946	2.6	118.3	12.4	121.2
30	West York Area	1-	12-	0	0.311306	0.089431	0.582487	1.1	120.4	11.2	86.3
31	Big Spring	0-	13-	0	0.266221	0.000000	0.591601	0.0	136.0	12.7	93.9

PIAA District Three

Class AAAA Power Rankings

AAAA	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	TWPW	OWPW	TWPL	OWPL
1	Cumberland Valley	11-	0-	1	0.812757	0.976821	0.612235	14.8	124.1	0.4	78.6
2	Central York	11-	2-	1	0.765183	0.892638	0.609404	14.6	130.9	1.8	83.9
3	HEMPFIELD	10-	3-	0	0.763884	0.847682	0.661463	12.8	142.0	2.3	72.7
4	Central Dauphin	9-	1-	3	0.763253	0.884868	0.614612	13.5	134.6	1.8	84.4
5	Ephrata Area	12-	1-	1	0.757328	0.928571	0.548030	15.0	133.5	1.2	110.1
6	Wilson	11-	4-	0	0.743943	0.832335	0.635907	13.9	164.7	2.8	94.3
7	Red Lion	10-	3-	0	0.739005	0.853147	0.599499	12.2	143.7	2.1	96.0
8	Manheim Township	8-	4-	0	0.723596	0.772727	0.663547	10.2	141.8	3.0	71.9
9	Conestoga Valley	8-	4-	1	0.715973	0.767361	0.653166	11.1	140.3	3.4	74.5
10	Chambersburg Area	8-	4-	0	0.710511	0.738462	0.676349	9.6	163.0	3.4	78.0
11	Carlisle	9-	4-	1	0.709401	0.782759	0.619742	11.4	144.4	3.2	88.6
12	Governor Mifflin	9-	6-	0	0.689018	0.719745	0.651463	11.3	169.3	4.4	90.6
13	Dallastown	9-	5-	1	0.685051	0.743671	0.613404	11.8	144.2	4.1	90.9
14	Hershey	8-	5-	1	0.678676	0.683673	0.672568	10.1	157.7	4.7	76.8
15	Northeastern	10-	5-	1	0.666118	0.748521	0.565403	12.7	138.8	4.3	106.7
16	Elizabethtown Area	8-	6-	0	0.663136	0.680556	0.641845	9.8	149.6	4.6	83.5
17	Warwick	6-	5-	1	0.658599	0.659664	0.657298	7.9	133.3	4.1	69.5
18	Exeter Township	7-	7-	0	0.610918	0.634328	0.582305	8.5	141.5	4.9	101.5
19	Cedar Crest	4-	8-	1	0.539871	0.461864	0.635212	5.5	145.4	6.4	83.5
20	South Western	4-	8-	1	0.531107	0.461207	0.616540	5.4	137.6	6.3	85.6
21	Reading	5-	8-	0	0.485320	0.479675	0.492219	5.9	110.7	6.4	114.2
22	Penn Manor	2-	11-	1	0.482480	0.269912	0.742285	3.1	178.0	8.3	61.8
23	Waynesboro Area	3-	8-	0	0.440365	0.314286	0.594463	3.3	146.0	7.2	99.6
24	Central Dauphin East	2-	12-	0	0.393501	0.203125	0.626182	2.6	145.7	10.2	87.0
25	Cedar Cliff	1-	14-	0	0.372872	0.095652	0.711697	1.1	172.8	10.4	70.0
26	York Country Day School	4-	5-	0	0.335843	0.361446	0.304551	3.0	48.9	5.3	111.6
27	J P McCaskey	1-	12-	0	0.300523	0.065421	0.587869	0.7	151.2	10.0	106.0
28	Muhlenberg	0-	15-	0	0.298778	0.000000	0.663951	0.0	167.1	12.9	84.6
29	New Oxford	0-	12-	0	0.291275	0.000000	0.647278	0.0	147.5	9.6	80.4
30	Lebanon	1-	14-	0	0.265172	0.078788	0.492975	1.3	119.3	15.2	122.7
31	William Penn	1-	9-	0	0.258821	0.080357	0.476943	0.9	111.7	10.3	122.5