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Solanco Booters Post Back-to-back Wins

BY MONA STEINHAUER

With just a handful of regular season games left, the girls’ soccer team is on a roll and hungry for the post-season. With backto-back wins over Octorara and Lampeter-Strasburg, Solanco kept pace with Elco as both teams sit tied at the top of Section Three (7-1).

After a 4-1 loss to Penn Manor on Sept. 18, Solanco is rolling, having put together six straight wins, including road wins over Octorara and LS. The Braves were the first victims, falling 2-0 at home Thursday, Sept. 30. Josie Janssen assisted Addison O’Donnell with a first half tally while Hannah Wood picked up a second half goal on an assist from Maya Dolan. Both teams connected for 12 shots on goal.

Less than 24 hours later, the Mares were on the turf in Lampeter taking on the second-place team in Section Two. Eighty minutes later Solanco walked away with a 3-2 victory.

“L-S is a great team,” said head coach Ken Yoder. “To my knowledge, we have never beaten them at any time in our programs history. The girls played amazing.”

Five minutes into the game, starting center-back, Ariana Sieberlich, went down with a knee injury. Alanna Brown moved in as a replacement and Solanco didn’t miss a beat.

“She was amazing in a position she has never played in high school,” said Yoder, “let alone one of the biggest games of the season. We were also without allstar back Rilyn Saner, so Maya Dolan was back on defense after playing most of the season at center mid.

“Freshman Mia DanielMorales was the Player of the Game when she helped hold down our central midfield,” he continued. “She won lose balls, made challenging tackles and linked passed that started key attacks.

“Josie Janssen, Meg Bailey, Emma Housekeeper and countless others stepped up. They were amazing. The girls are starting to realize what they are capable of.”

Housekeeper’s first half goal gave Solanco a 1-0 lead. Janssen and Kara Peace extended the advantage in the second half.

“L-S scored both of their goals in the last four minutes including one in the last six seconds,” said Yoder.

In non-league play last Monday, Solanco blanked KennardDale 4-0. Sarah Landis scored twice while Janssen and Addison O’Donnell also scored.

Two days later, despite an edge in statistics, the girls dropped a 1-0 final against Cocalico and now find themselves tied with the Eagles at 7-2.

For more photos see town lively.com

CROSS COUNTRY

The lady harriers posted a 25-30 win over Penn Manor before suffering a 21-40 loss to Hempfield last Tuesday in Millersville. Emma Baxter (21:00) and Christine Wagner (21:08) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Olivia Singleton (14th), Nicole Dodson (16th) and Stella Woy (19th) all cracked the top 20.

“The ladies are excited to have a win,” said head coach Andrew Musselman. “Olivia had a big PR.”

The boys were also hoping for a win over the Comets but fell short 25-30 and also lost to Hempfield, 15-50. Avery Jacobsen (12th), Wyatt Tomison (13th) and Anthony Sollis followed while Jimmy Hartigan rounded out the counters.

“Avery ran his best time this season but overall,” said Musselman.

For more photos see town lively.com

FIELD HOCKEY

The field hockey team faced two teams battling for second place in Section Three and suffered a pair of lopsided losses. They dropped a 4-1 result to Annville-Cleona on Sept. 30 and two days later suffered a 5-0 shutout against Elco. Cassandra Bruno, assisted by Haylee Byers, scored her first goal of the season.

TENNIS

Solanco moved out of the basement of the Section Two standings with a 5-2 victory over visiting Pequea Valley on Sept. 30. The hosts got an early jump, winning all three doubles matches. Adrienne Dolan and Grace Pursel picked up an 8-1 win at No. 1 while Kara Armstrong and Destiny Langley battled for an 8-5 win at No. 2. Providing the sweep via shutout was Ava Peiffer and Wendy Lehmann.

Langley and Armstrong followed that with straight set singles wins.

“It was nice to get a win for our last home match and senior night,” said head coach Annie Hammel. “The girls were more consistent, made less errors and placed the ball better to make it more challenging for their opponents. They have shown a lot of growth.”

Solanco (4-10) wrapped up the regular season with a 5-0 loss at Ephrata last Monday.

VOLLEYBALL

Solanco’s volleyball team, behind Triniti Erisman’s seven aces, earned a four-set victory over Cocalico Sept. 30. The hosts won 25-17, 25-17 before the Eagles broke a 23-23 tie and pulled out a 25-23 third set win. The final set was almost as close, but Solanco stayed in front 25-21.

“That third set was frustrating,” said head coach Dillon Costello alluding to inconsistent officiating. “But our serve/receive was great and our libero, Marissa Cannizzaro was awesome, getting great passes to our setters, Trinity Erisman and Madi Davis who spread the offense. Alaina Herr and Jaidee Beam, with six kills each, were the bulk of that offense,” he added. “It was a great team win. They fought hard, stayed focused and played together.”

Davis was credited with 13 assists, Martha Weaver added three blocks and Cannizzaro hustled for 12 digs.

Last Tuesday the girls got stronger as the match went along and topped Lebanon 2522, 25-11, 25-9 after dropping a 25-20 first set. Beam’s 11 aces and 9 kills fueled the attack while Kate Unger (8 blocks) and Herr (12 digs) anchored the defense. Davis put up 9 assists.

FOOTBALL

Cocalico, behind Anthony Bourassa’s three TDs and 164 rushing yards, moved to 3-3 overall and grabbed its first Section Two victory of the season with a 28-14 win over Solanco Friday, Oct. 1. The Mules dropped to 2-4 overall.

The bulk of the offense (28 points) occurred in the first quarter as the scoring see-sawed back-and-forth. Cocalico jumped in front 7-0 on a 35-yard run. Solanco tied it up on Brian Coleman’s (76 yards on 8 carries) 45yard run and Trent McDowell’s PAT kick.

The Eagles responded with a 30-yard scoring run. The Mules answered the call when Brody Mellinger (107 yards on 13 carries) raced 51-yards to paydirt. McDowell’s kick tied the game at 14-14 in the first.

“Brian did a great job running the ball and Brody had over 100 yards again,” said Cox.

But that was Solanco’s last touchdown of the night. The Eagles went ahead with a second quarter score. The Mules looked to close the gap, but a sack and empty field goal followed. The hosts padded their lead with another touchdown in the fourth.

“We got inside the ten right before the half and got a holding call,” said head coach Tony Cox. “We managed to get ourselves in range to attempt a field goal but missed. We also fumbled the ball after the defense made a big play to get the ball back. We must take care of the little things and focus more on not fumbling or getting costly penalties.”

Defensively, Josiah Forren recorded 11 solo tackles and Nick DeFrancesco chipped in with nine as the Mules lost their third straight outing.

photo by Mona Steinhauer

In Millersville last Tuesday, Solanco’s Christine Wagner and Emma Baxter pace each other near the front of the pack in tri-meet action against Hempfield and Penn Manor.

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Photo by Joe Caulfield

Solanco’s Josie Janssen advances the ball ahead of Octorara’s Thalia Swager during the Mares’ 2-0, Section Three win over the host Braves on September 30.