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First Posted: 8/31/2014 Even in spite of Dallas&#8217; Wyoming Valley Conference title, the Mountaineers entered the state playoffs last year as gigantic underdogs. District 3 continually churned out quality teams that had lashed WVC girls soccer teams at states, and the conference had little-to-no experience against the rest of the state since making the move from a spring to a fall sport.
Two overtime bouts in the state playoffs changed everything. One, a 1-1 win over Northern York settled in overtime; the other, a 4-3 heartbreaking loss in overtime to Hopewell.
A year later, Dallas finds itself as one of the premier teams in the state with a shot to advance farther than 2013&#8217;s quarterfinal appearance.
&#8220;We have some very young talented players,&#8221; Dallas coach Abe Lewis said. &#8220;It almost makes practices more competitive than a lot of games.&#8221;
To get there, Dallas must first ramble through the conference that this year was changed to reflect PIAA classifications. In essence, every team &#8211; save for Meyers and Wyoming Seminary in Class A, and Hazleton Area, Wyoming Valley West and Pittston Area in 3A &#8211; will vie for the 2A division crown. None of Dallas&#8217; PIAA hopes can be achieved unless it reaches the District 2 Class 2A final. Aside from the usual suspects of Berwick, Coughlin and two-time defending champion Scranton Prep in the way, 2013&#8217;s Class 3A runner-up Abington Heights joins the fray this season.
Dallas is fortunate to return all 11 starters from last year&#8217;s team that finished second to Prep in the district.
&#8220;Knowing everyone is back is going to make it very hard to determine who you&#8217;re going to play,&#8221; Lewis said. &#8220;It allows us to play with our offense more than we have in the past.&#8221;
Dallas&#8217; depth, particularly in the midfield, allows them to adopt a 4-3-3 formation this year. Lewis said he&#8217;s enabling his team to be &#8220;more controlled&#8221; so that everything starts from the back.
&#8220;We&#8217;re trying to style our game like the teams we play in the state playoffs,&#8221; Lewis said. &#8220;Knowing we can play at that level, we have been changing some of the ways we operate. I feel we have the personnel.&#8221;
The Mountaineers&#8217; talent starts with 2013 The Times Leader Girls Soccer Player of the Year Talia Szatkowski. Szatkowski passed on basketball last year to focus on playing at the club level in the spring to improve her skills. She led the league in scoring with 34 goals, 13 assists and 81 points.
Lewis&#8217; breakout star in the playoffs was goalkeeper Sydney Emershaw. While her lack of acclaim was overlooked based on her defense&#8217;s continued excellence, the junior shined in the state playoffs. Emershaw made 13 saves against Northern York, including two point-blank saves in penalty kicks. She made 23 saves in the loss to Hopewell.
&#8220;All of the coaches we faced at states were raving about how phenomenal she played in goal,&#8221; Lewis said.
Dallas will also feature the league&#8217;s fifth-leading scorer in Ashley Strazdus. Strazdus chipped in 20 goals, 12 assists and 52 points last year as a junior.
The addition of two talented freshmen and a host of prolific sophomores moves Tiffany Zukosky (22 pts), Ruby Mattson (32 pts) and Madison Goodwin (5 pts) to the midfield, the catalysts for the Mountaineers&#8217; 4-3-3 offense.
Dallas opened its season by putting 11 goals on the board Friday in a win over Tunkhannock.

Dallas out for postseason glory