web1_web1_Field-Hockey-file-art-640x381.jpg

PIAA field hockey: Valley West, Wyoming Area advance in state tournament

web1_TTL110718Cartwright1.jpg

Cartwright keeps seat in US House with win over Chrin

<p>LEHMAN TWP. &#8212; Mechanicsburg gave Dallas a hint of what was to come prior to the opening kickoff of Tuesday night&#8217;s PIAA Class 3A girls soccer opening-round game.</p><p>Three girls to the left of the center circle. Two inside it. Then attack with all five players and keep doing so for 80 minutes.</p><p>The relentless offense ended Dallas&#8217; season as Mechanicsburg defeated the Mountaineers 4-0 at Lake-Lehman High School.</p><p>District 3 runner-up Mechanicsburg (22-1) will play District 12 champion Archbishop Ryan (14-2) in the quarterfinals on Saturday. District 2 champion Dallas ended its year at 17-3-2.</p><p>From the start, the Wildcats put Dallas in a defensive mode, with a good portion of the first half played in the Mountaineers&#8217; side of the field.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve always preached I don&#8217;t want to go back,&#8221; Mechanicsburg coach Jake June said. &#8220;If we get the kick, we want to get in their half and create opportunities from the get-go. That&#8217;s how we&#8217;ve always done it.&#8221;</p><p>Mechanicsburg finally broke through in the 15th minute on a goal by Meg Schrass. The Wildcats made it 2-0 about 14 minutes later when Halle Engle scored off a corner kick by Abbey Engle.</p><p>Dallas nearly made a dent into the deficit just before halftime, only to have Ali Francis&#8217; shot from the left side of the penalty area go wide to the far post.</p><p>While Francis was clearly the fastest Mountaineer on the field, she and her teammates couldn&#8217;t overcome the discrepancy in overall team speed.</p><p>Add some impressive ball skills and unselfish passing, and Mechanicsburg gave Dallas just too many items to defend.</p><p>&#8220;We did have film on them and I did reach out to a few coaches and they all said (Mechanicsburg) is very, very, very fast,&#8221; Dallas coach Nikki Pekarski said. &#8220;They use their wings, which we saw today. We tried our best to prepare for it, but we just don&#8217;t see that kind of speed in our league.</p><p>&#8220;We are the speed in the league, but to see it today.&#8221;</p><p>Francis and Emma Sweitzer came out on the attack for Dallas to start the second half, resulting in a collision with Mechanicsburg keeper Linsday Costello but no goal. Francis made a strong run from midfield a short time later, only to have Costello turn away the shot.</p><p>Dallas had a few more chances, including a 30-yard direct by Francis off the hands of Costello about midway through the second half. But by that time, the Wildcats had bumped their advantage to 3-0 on a goal by Isabella Martin.</p><p>Seven minutes after Martin&#8217;s goal, Elena Hinkson closed out the scoring on a crossing pass from Martin.</p><p>&#8220;We never quit,&#8221; Pekarski said. &#8220;The girls know no matter the score is, we always play to the end no matter if it was 4-0 us or 4-0 them.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PIAA Class 3A First Round</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Mechanicsburg 4, Dallas 0</strong></p><p><strong>Mechanicsburg`2`2 &#8212; 4</strong></p><p><strong>Dallas`0`0 &#8212; 0</strong></p><p><strong>First half &#8212;</strong> 1. MEC, Meg Schrass (Abbey Engle), 15th minute; 2. MEC, Halle Engle (A.Engle), 28th; <strong>Second half &#8212; </strong>3. MEC, Isabelle Martin (H.Engle), 52nd; 4. MEC, Elena Hinkson (I.Martin), 59th.</p><p><strong>Shots &#8212;</strong> MEC 22, DAL 9. <strong>Saves &#8212;</strong> MEC 4 (Linsday Costello 4/Alicia Elder 0), DAL 17 (Sarak Krokos). <strong>Corners &#8212;</strong> MEC 7, DAL 3.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Soccer-ball.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Soccer-ball.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

PIAA girls soccer: Dallas falls to Mechanicsburg in 3A first round