FIELD HOCKEY: E-Town fights through rain to defeat Lampeter-Strasburg, 2-0
ELIZABETHTOWN - With the heavy rain that fell throughout Tuesday night's field hockey contest between Elizabethtown and Lampeter-Strasburg, it probably would have been beneficial to have an umbrella or two hanging around the goalie cages.
That said, the Lady Pioneers umbrella-like defense - a covered wagon, if you will - and superb play by goalkeeper Autumn Peters weren't quite enough to keep out a couple drops of Etown rain, the Lady Bears ultimately prevailing 2-0 to maintain their hold on second place in Section Two.
The win came one game after Elizabethtown (6-1 Section Two, 9-2 overall) dropped a 3-1 decision to Section Two frontrunner Manheim Central last Friday. Meanwhile, Lampeter-Strasburg (4-3, 5-7) was coming off a tough 6-0 loss to District 3 heavyweight Palmyra on Monday.
Needless to say that both teams were looking to regain their proverbial footing on the wet turf of Etown's Jane Hoover Field.
"Playing to the elements was just tough," said Elizabethtown head coach Andy Derr. "The girls, it didn't really show that it bothered them. We adapted well, I thought we were able to hit some good balls."
The Lady Bears did eventually put two goals into the cage in the second half, the first coming off the stick of senior Sarah Hayes following a corner with 10:40 to play. As L-S increased their pressure offensively, Penn State commit Sol Ortiz-Kreiner tallied the clincher with 5:32 to spare on an assist by Kortney Keller (Kent State).
In all, however, Etown netted just two of 23 shots on goal, while L-S was credited with just two corners and two shots for the game.
Many of Etown's chances came in the form of left-side crosses from either Hayes or Nicole Murphy, or as one of the Bears' five first-half corners inserted from Keller to Julia Demeester (Old Dominion). But Peters, very aggressive on anything coming into her zone, was able to play them all away with a little help from her "D".
"She's very aggressive when she's confident," Lampeter-Strasburg head coach Katrina Swarr said of her junior goalkeeper. "She knows what she's doing and she definitely uses that confidence to her advantage."
With 14 minutes left in the opening half, Peters (17 saves) came out to deflect a shot off a Bears' offensive corner. The ball trickled toward center circle with a wide open cage, but senior defender Bri Garber collected the stick save, one of four such defensive saves by the Pioneers defense.
"The defensive unit clicked as well tonight, so (Peters) felt like she was very well supported by the defensive unit," Swarr said, recalling a conversation she had with Peters as the game was winding down.
While Caroline Braungard was also credited with a pair of defensive saves, a bouncing ball through the legs of Peters early in the second half was gathered again by Garber for the important clear.
"We were saying how does a girl make two diving defensive saves and get them clean?" Derr offered, calling his team's two second half goals "like cracking the seal."
"It was a great battle," Swarr admitted, laughing off her choice of metaphor but nonetheless pleased with the Pioneers' performance.
"I think our passing combinations have gotten better, we're definitely cutting to the ball better, we still have to adjust to turf in five minutes because we still play on grass. That's a huge deal, so I would say the last two games, I can't be upset. I can't be."
After all, it wasn't just Swarr's team that came off the field soaking wet on Tuesday. Yet somehow, both teams seem to be all the better for it.
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Girls' High School Field Hockey
L-L Section Two
Elizabethtown 2, Lampeter-Strasburg 0
LS 0 0 - 0
ET 0 2 - 2
Lampeter-Strasburg Scoring: NA
Lampeter-Strasburg Assists: NA
Etown Scoring: S. Hayes (2nd, 19:20), S. Ortiz-Kreiner (2nd, 24:22)
Etown Assists: K. Keller
Corners-Shots: LS 2-2, ET 9-23
Goalkeeper Saves: LS A. Peters 17, R. Feaster 0; ET R. Sweger 2
Defensive Saves: LS B. Garber 2, C. Braungard 2