The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA

Sports

November 18, 2009

Lancers edge Dragons on PKs

HUGHESVILLE -- Once the second overtime of Tuesday's game was complete, Lewisburg and Loyalsock had played soccer against each other for 370 minutes this season.

And they still weren't done.

Tuesday's PIAA Class AA semifinal at Raymond H. Perritt Stadium was tied at 1 after 110 minutes of soccer, necessitating penalty kicks. The Lancers won the shootout 3-2, advancing to the state championship game for the first time in program history.

"It's a lottery," Green Dragons coach Jose Vega said of shootouts. "If you pick the right numbers you win. We didn't pick the right numbers."

The state semifinal was the fourth meeting between the two schools this year, and they were 1-1-1 against each other coming in. Lewisburg won 3-1 in the district semifinals two weeks ago on the same field.

Loyalsock's victory marked the second straight year that the District 4 champion lost in the state semis to the D-4 third-place team. Last year, Montoursville topped Loyalsock on the way to a state title.

Now the Lancers (20-4-1) -- who lost their first three games of the year -- will meet District 7 champ Springdale on Saturday at HersheyPark Stadium for the crown; kickoff is set for noon.

"Loyalsock is a terrific program," Vega said. "We're going to root for them and wish them luck. We'd rather be in Hershey, but at least someone from District 4 is going."

Marlee Hibbs, Meredith Waters and Cassaundra Soars -- who scored the game's first goal in the 14th minute -- made the first Loyalsock penalty kicks. Jade Kerstetter and Jenny Byerly were the first two Lewisburg (21-3-1) players in the shootout, and they too made their shots.

But Lancers freshman keeper Amanda Daneker stopped Brittany Reber's shot, and Soars then scored to put the Lancers up 3-2. The Green Dragons' Emily Cole hit the crossbar on her shot, but Loyalsock's Paige Klingerman sent her shot over the crossbar when she had a chance to clinch it.

The drama ended on the next kick, as Daneker guessed correctly and dived to stop Lauren Ketchem's shot.

"(Daneker) is a gamer," said Lancers coach Kyle Bidelspacher, whose team beat Montoursville in the quarterfinals on penalty kicks. "She's so composed; she's a battler."

Loyalsock was up 1-0 before Kalyn Fisher equalized in the 46th minute off a Kerstetter corner kick. Byerly got the ball in the box and shot it; Daneker deflected it right to Fisher, who knocked it straight up and under the crossbar to level the match.

The Green Dragons kept the pressure on throughout, ultimately outshooting the Lancers 19-4 and gaining twice as many corner kicks (6-3). Lewisburg nearly tied it in the 45th minute when Emily Cole's shot hit the right post.

Later in the second half, Cole had the ball in the box, but Klingerman made a perfect tackle before Cole could get a shot off.

"We just couldn't punch it in," Vega said. "It wasn't to be."

Klingerman's play was representative of a good night for Loyalsock's back line. Gina DiFrancesco headed an Emily Cole pass away that was meant for Byerly in the sixth minute. Just three minutes later, Kim Donovan cleared a deflected shot before Kalyn Fisher could get to the rebound.

Lewisburg had a chance at another deflection in the 20th minute before Erin Good cleared it.

"We have all seniors back there," Bidelspacher said of his back line. "We stuck together and we didn't break."

Text Only
Sports
  • Defense helps Crusaders snap skid

    The going hasn't been easy for the Susquehanna University women's basketball team this season. So much so, that it hasn't won a game in more than a month.

    February 11, 2012

  • SU rides Harley to win

    With the chants of "ride the Harley" coming from the student body, sophomore Harley Sellinger certainly took visiting Goucher for a spin Friday night.

    February 11, 2012

  • HS Roundup: Braves close in on playoff bid

    Counted for dead not too long ago, the Shikellamy Braves are still alive and kicking and they are now one win away from making the District 4 playoffs.

    February 11, 2012

  • Danville stays in HAC-I title race

    When their 13-point lead had been whittled to seven midway through the fourth quarter Friday, the Danville girls were at a tipping point.

    February 11, 2012

  • Harold Raker's column on high school wrestling: Playing the name game

    Going into last weekend, with four Valley teams competing in the District 4 Class AA and AAA Duals Tournament, I had already made tentative plans to be in Hershey this week. Had things gone really well, I would have still been in Chocolatetown, covering at least one of them in the state tournament.

    February 10, 2012

  • NCAA denies UConn APR waiver request

    The NCAA on Friday turned down the University of Connecticut's request for a waiver that would allow its men's basketball team to play in the 2013 national championship tournament.

    February 10, 2012

  • CSS5B7B.jpg College Lacrosse: Bucknell men prepare to improve upon great season

    LEWISBURG -- It started a handful of years ago, when the Bucknell men's lacrosse team put a big 'X' on the national map in Central Pennsylvania with an upset of No. 1 Maryland. From that point on Bison coach Frank Fedorjaka has had a difficult time getting big-time opponents on the schedule, even with Bucknell opting to travel under the worst of circumstances.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • CSS5B9B.jpg High school football: Pratt says Kutztown the right fit

    SUNBURY -- When Shikellamy's Tyler Pratt joins the Kutztown University football team as a free safety next fall, he will already have a good feeling for what his position coach will expect from him. Pratt, who signed a national letter of intent this week to accept a scholarship offer to play for the Golden Bears, will be under the tutelage of his father's high school football coach.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • Todd Stanford On high school boys basketball: Increasing the refs' workload

    If two heads are better than one, does that mean six eyes are better than four? Not necessarily, according to some Heartland Athletic Conference officials. There is a move afoot in the HAC to cut the number of basketball referees from three to two for part of the season beginning next year.

    February 10, 2012

  • High School Roundup: Greenwood boys complete perfect TVL season

    Greenwood capped off an unbeaten 2011-12 Tri-Valley League season by crushing Halifax 61-38 on Thursday Night.

    February 10, 2012

The Daily Marquee
Local Sports Video
Seasonal Content
National Sports Video
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.