Font ResizeAfter all, New Oxford's Cheryl Mowery guided her Lady Colonials to second place in YAIAA Division I in 2009 and surely deserves a mention.
However, the continued success by Neil Bixler at Bermudian Springs High is hard to ignore. This year's squad posted its second consecutive 19-2 campaign and its third straight undefeated season in YAIAA Division III.
And Bixler admitted that success doesn't just breed success.
"Is it still enjoyable? Yes. Is it more work? Yes," he said. "When you have some success, to maintain it, you have to put more time into it. You have to do more during the summer."
The reward for that work is his third straight All-Area Coach of the Year award, a streak matched only by Littlestown's Kris Carroll in 1992-94.
Again, the results were seemingly predictable for the Lady Eagles. In addition to a 30-game unbeaten streak in the division, Bermudian Springs dominated the opposition to the tune of 95 goals scored and only nine goals allowed.
However, Bixler, who earned his fourth Coach of the Year honor, indicated much of that was a surprise when he considered his team before the season.
"I knew defensively, with the people we had coming back, that we'd be fine there. Losing somebody like Leeann Black, my initial concern was whether we were going to be able to score," he said.
However, instead of a dominant goal scorer, the Eagles got double-digit goals from four players.
"This year, I went back to what I've done in the past -- four forwards, three mids (midfielders) and a three-back type of system until later in the season, when we played with a four-back system," he said.
That occurred in the District 3 Class AA playoffs, in which the Eagles lost a 19-game winning streak and was eliminated with two losses in a row. Bixler admits he has second-guessed himself.
"To be totally honest about it, I probably made a mistake because they (East Pennsboro) were a good team, but not a terrific team. If we could have put more pressure on them offensively, it might have been a different outcome," he said about the 2-1 loss which ended Bermudian's season.
However, it might be difficult to argue on the basis of a playoff game with a program which has produced a 131-52-2 record, including 66-17-2 in divisional play, in Bixler's nine seasons at Bermudian Springs.
"My philosophy is you always have seniors. You have players you're going to lose. You just adjust and adapt to what you have," he said. "Does the pipeline run dry at some point. Most schools go through cycles at some point, but it may not be for a while yet."
In fact, Bixler said an experienced midfield group offers much reason for optimism in 2010. He said Angie Pasquini will be a capable replacement for graduating goalkeeper Alexis Eisenhart and two of the team's top scorers, Abby Orwig and Allison Miller, both return.
"In the whole of York-Adams I, II and III, we have one of the top players in Abby Orwig coming back," he said.
