News and Features
Blazers Second in State Soccer
Lancaster Mennonite, the defending 2008 state champion and 2009 Lancaster-Lebanon League section champion, lost the state girls soccer championship to league rival Donegal by a score of 3-0 at Hersheypark Stadium on June 5.
Mennonite was fresh off a 3-0 semi-final win over Fleetwood, who defeated Donegal 5-1 for the District III championship. Having shut out a team that scored 5 on Donegal, the stage was set for Blazers to celebrate a second straight state championship -- if they brought their "A" game to Hersheypark.
The Blazers came out blazing, putting early pressure on the Indians, only to suddenly find the ball in front of their own goal. Donegal's first shot on the goal, although stopped by a defender, bounced to another Donegal player who re-directed it into the net through a maze of defenders in front of the goal. After that, in the words of Lancaster Newspapers, "a pair of fluke goals before halftime helped pad its lead."
By halftime, although leading in shots on the goal and corner kicks, Mennonite was in a 3-0 hole from which they would never recover. The teams played to a draw in the second half, but the damage was done. In the end, the Blazers got nothing out of the 6-5 edge in shots, 7-1 advantage in corners and 6-3 edge in scoring chances they had built.
The second-place team still brought a trophy back to the Lancaster Campus where a crowd awaited to celebrate another fine season.
