MECHANICSBURG -- Two games into the state playoffs, and Lewisburg is still looking for its first serious challenge.
The Green Dragons advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in program history Saturday at Eagle View Middle School. Emily Lesher pocketed two goals and Kalyn Fisher recorded a goal and two assists as Lewisburg crushed St. Pius X 4-0 in the PIAA Class AA quarterfinals.
"We were ready today," said Green Dragons coach Jose Vega, who won his 39th game in just two seasons as Lewisburg's head coach. "We took it to them."
Lewisburg, the champion of District 4, has outscored its six playoff foes by a count of 32-3. Their two wins in states have come by a combined score of 10-1, following Tuesday's 6-1 victory over Montrose in the first round.
Lewisburg's next game will certainly be more of a challenge: Loyalsock, which topped Montoursville on penalty kicks in another quarterfinal Saturday. The Lancers are 3-1-2 against the Green Dragons over the last two years, but that one loss was a 3-1 setback in the district semifinals on Nov. 3. Their fourth meeting this year (the teams are 1-1-1 against each other) will be Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
"We're ready, we know how they play," Lesher said. "It's just a matter of determination."
St. Pius, the District 1 champion playing in the state playoffs for the first and last time -- the school is closing and will be replaced by the new Pope John Paul High School -- ends its season at 6-11-1.
"Lewisburg was definitely the better team today," Winged Lions coach Mark Beck said. "My hat's off to them; I wish them luck through the rest of the tournament."
The Green Dragons put the pressure on from the beginning, ultimately taking a 3-0 advantage less than 13 minutes into the game.
"In the beginning the ball movement was great," Vega said. "I was pleased with the way we moved the ball and controlled the game."
Lesher -- who came off the bench to replace senior forward Jenny Byerly (who later returned) after the latter collided with Pius keeper Meghan Morton and had to be helped off the field -- scored off an Andrea Cole assist in the fifth minute.
Cole lifted the ball into the box, and a Lions defender inadvertently headed it right to Lesher, who then dribbled in and blasted a shot past Morton.
"(Cole) sent a nice ball through, and (the defender) didn't make the nicest touch on it," Lesher said. "I got the opportunity and just took it to the goal."
Lesher was back at it in the seventh minute, knocking in a cross from Fisher on the right wing.
"I've been cold these past few games," Lesher said. "Just getting those goals boosted my confidence and sparked the team."
Fisher showed off her dribbling skills in the 13th minute. She juked past one defender to get into the box, made a move past another defender, then dribbled straight up the middle before launching a shot from 12 yards out that found the back of the net.
"Their team speed really helped them a lot today," Beck said. "That, combined with their skill and ball-handling."
Emily Cole finished the scoring off an assist from Fisher in the 61st minute. Cole and Fisher share the team lead for goals with 22.
The Lions had a good look in the 51st minute, as Abigail Kelly chipped a shot off a Savannah Widdicombe corner. But Dragons keeper Jenna Wargo made the stop for one of her two saves.
"It's really exciting that this is the furthest Lewisburg's gone," Fisher said. "We're pretty pumped about that, but we want to keep going."
Sports
Related Photos
-
Liz Rohde
-
Liz Rohde
Discussion
High school girls soccer: Lewisburg defeats St. Pius X to reach state semifinals
Team routs St. Pius X to reach state semifinals
- Sports
-
-
Scott Dudinskie's column on girls basketball: They learn to be tough young
It's difficult to recall exactly how the sequence unfolded because it happened so darn fast.
-
Motorsports: Selinsgrove, Lincoln speedways to host 360 sprint series
Mach 1 Chassis of Mechanicsburg will be the title sponsor of the Mid-Atlantic 360 Sprint Car Championship Series, a $120,000 six-race tour that will include five shows at Selinsgrove Speedway and one event at Lincoln Speedway in 2012.
-
Girls basketball: Records fall, Red Tornadoes stay unbeaten
n overflow crowd zealously cheered Tierney Pfirman's pursuit of the South Williamsport scoring record throughout Tuesday's game, until their breathless faces matched the Mounties' royal blue.
- High school roundup: Rosini pin lifts Ironmen over Tigers
-
College sports notebook: Antensteiner starts, finishes fast
ANVILLE -- Ines Antensteiner, a member of the powerful Lewisburg girls track & field team for the past four seasons wasted little time making her presence felt in college. On Monday, Antensteiner, a freshman at Lebanon Valley, was named the Middle Atlantic Conference's Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week after a pair of event wins at Saturday's Ducharme Invitational.
-
Bill Bowman's column on college sports: Tale of two teams in the clutch
Because basketball season is so long it is easy to forget that one or two moments in a single game can essentially make or break an entire season. While teams might play 30 games or so, most of them come down to a couple of possessions, spots where one little thing can be the difference between winning and losing, between making the postseason tournament or turning in the uniforms.
-
Sports court strips Contador of 2010 Tour title
MADRID -- Alberto Contador was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title Monday and banned for two years after sports' highest court found the Spanish cyclist guilty of doping. The Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the three-time Tour champion after rejecting his claim that his positive test for clenbuterol was caused by eating contaminated meat on a 2010 Tour rest day.
-
H.S. boys basketball: Selinsgrove rallies to top Southern Columbia
CATAWISSA -- In a battle between two schools better known for their football programs, Monday's game between host Southern Columbia and Selinsgrove naturally featured plenty of physical play. After a combined 43 fouls and 55 free-throw attempts, the Seals finally pulled it out. Reserve guard Tyler Krebs made five foul shots in the final minute and a half in Selinsgrove's 54-53 victory.
-
High School Bowling: Kratzer, Hartranft take home Pro-Am titles
SUNBURY -- The name might have changed, but the results were the same. Now called the 13th annual Best Bowl/Strike Zone High School Pro-Am Scholarship Challenge, the two-day tournament was another success as it pitted some of the Valley's best young bowlers against each other in friendly competition.
-
High School Roundup: Even without Andreychik, Danville boys cruise
DANVILLE -- Playing without recent 1,000-point scorer Andrew Andreychik -- who was out sick -- Danville extended its winning streak to 17 games by putting four players in double figures in a 68-32 Heartland Athletic Conference crossover win over Central Columbia on Monday.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Scott Dudinskie's column on girls basketball: They learn to be tough young
