Skip to main content

Girls' soccer: Annville-Cleona cruises to 6-0 win in district opener


ANNVILLE>> The wait had been long enough.

Having simmered all year over its defeat in the first round of districts a season ago, the Annville-Cleona girls soccer team had no intention of letting another District Three Class A tournament opener slip way. So within two minutes of the opening kickoff, junior Regan Hess scored. And then she scored again.

And then sophomore Morgan Dancause found the net. And after each would strike once more, Sophia Miller capped the night's with a goal of her own before history officially belonged to every Little Dutchmen to take the pitch that night.

Fifth-seeded Annville-Cleona claimed its first district tournament victory in program history with a 6-0 romping of No. 13 West Shore Christian (7-8) on Monday. The Little Dutchmen (13-7) were boosted by Hess' hat trick, but they ultimately sustained their dominance through a monopoly on possession. Annville-Cleona finished with a dominant 28-2 edge in shots and will now travel to No. 4 Mount Calvary Christian on Thursday night.

"It feels great, so great. We get that one check off the box and now we're moving on," Little Dutchmen coach Lisa Schuyler said. "Playing the bigger schools in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, these girls have learned the possession game and not forcing things. They know now if we own that and keep control, it'll come to us."

Senior Jordyn Shifflet picked up a pair of assists, and Dancause fed Hess' final goal in the 62nd minute with a perfectly placed cross inside the six-yard box. Hess' tap-in furnished Annville-Cleona a 5-0 lead, which included a sharp-angle Dancause goal from the right corner in the 31st minute, which the sophomore said fueled her right through the final horn.

"I had a bunch of adrenaline after that first goal and it kept me going," Dancause said. "It was crazy. The whole teams me build up and up. They all make me better, the seniors really taught me a lot. It all helps."

Defensively, Annville-Cleona received a big boost from its senior back line that fended off nearly every Bobcat ball to cross midfield. Amanda Bates and Hannah Fischer intercepted a number of passes, while fellow captains Kennedy Kreamer maintained a regular presence around the ball and Julia Soliday earned an assist.

"We knew they had a couple quick players so we had to cut down their outside runs," Schuyler said. "We had to make sure they were taken care of and we knew that when they were shut down, everything would shut down."

The Little Dutchmen's victory seemed to mirror their thorough preseason win over West Shore Christian back in August. Annville-Cleona did not meet Mount Calvary Christian during the regular season.

Annville-Cleona 6, West Shore Christian 0

WSC 0 0 — 0 A-C 3 3 — 6

First half — 1. A-C, Reagan Hess (Jordyn Shifflet), 1:53. 2. A-C, Hess (Julia Soliday), 10:58. 3. A-C, Morgan Dancause (Liane Lech), 31:00.

Second half — 4. A-C, Dancause (Shifflet), 58:00. 5. A-C, Hess (Dancause), 62:00. 6. A-C, Sophia Miller (Jo Myers), 66:00.

Shots on goal — A-C 28, WSC 2

Corners — A-C 3, WSC 0

Saves — A-C: Anna Soliday (0 saves), Alyssa Blackman (0). WSC: Hannah Heintzelman (8 saves)