Girls' soccer: Yurchak's goal in double OT pushes Conestoga Valley into L-L semis
MANHEIM- It took over one-hundred minutes but a ball finally found the back of the net when Conestoga Valley junior forward Gianna Yurchak scored in double overtime to push the Buckskins past Cocalico, 1-0 in the L-L quarterfinals.
Yurchak handled an entry pass from Alana Dickson about six yards out with her back to the net before settling the ball and striking it to the top right corner of the net with 3:32 left in the second overtime period.
"They (Cocalico) were usually right on my back so I just had to calm down because I wasn't going to be able to turn right away," Yurchak said. Both teams dealt with a swirling wind throughout the contest which benefitted the Eagles for the majority of the first half.
"The conditions had a little bit to do with it today with the wind," Cocalico coach Dan Hogan said. "I was very happy with our entire first half. I knew it would be different once the second half came around."
Hogan's premonition came true as the pitch completely titled in the Buckskins favor for the final forty minutes of regulation.
However, no goals were tallied and extra time was needed to crown a winner.
"At that point, it's just about who's going to dig deep and get the win," CV coach Keith Nagley said.
After twenty-seven more scoreless minutes, both teams began thinking about the possibility of the game being decided by penalty kicks, something Nagley's bunch practiced and planned for throughout the week.
"Fortunately, we didn't have to find out, Nagley said. "I don't like deciding games on PKs anyway and I'm pretty sure Dan didn't want to decide it that way either."
Apparently, the players don't like the game being decided by penalties either.
"I always try to not get into PKs," Yurchak said. "I just want to end it before that so that ball is in our hands because PKs can go either way."
Conestoga Valley will now move onto the L-L semifinals where they'll meet up with Section One foe Hempfield, who edged Elco, 1-0 in their quarterfinal matchup.
In their two head-to-head matchups this season, the Buckskins pulled out a 2-1 win on September 23 while drawing 1-1 with the Black Knights on October 15.
The third meeting of Conestoga Valley and Hempfield is slated for Tuesday at 7:30 at Manheim Central.
"I think we're going to have some momentum," Yurchak said. "We just played Hempfield so that will be another great battle because they're a great team."
As for the Eagles, they'll begin their preparation for the District 3 Class AAA playoffs on October 27.
"We have a couple days off. We'll relax a bit and hopefully this stings a little because it should," Hogan said. "Hopefully we'll be able to make a little noise in districts."