DALLAS TWP. — Of course, the book on the Dallas-Coughlin rivalry would close with a playoff thriller.
The defending champion Mountaineers wrote the epilogue to arguably the most storied Wyoming Valley Conference girls soccer rivalry. Dallas pulled away from a tied match in the second half with three late goals for a 5-2 victory Thursday in the District 2 Class 2A quarterfinals.
Fourth-seeded Dallas advances to the district semifinals Tuesday at 4 p.m. at top-seeded Crestwood.
“Halfway through the second half, we just went lights out,” Dallas head coach Nikki Pekarski said.
With a one goal lead, Alison Francis scored a hat trick by finding the back of the net three times in a five-minute span to pull away from the Crusaders. Coughlin added a garbage time goal with less than two minutes remaining.
But it was junior midfielder Emma Sweitzer who stole the show with a goal and an assist, providing the magic the Mountaineers needed to get past a pesky Coughlin team that came into the playoffs on a six-game winning streak.
Sweitzer created a scoring opportunity all by herself in the 15th minute. She retrieved the ball from 50 yards out in the midfield. Sweitzer made a move toward the center of the field, passing through five defending Crusaders before rifling a 25-yard shot for the first goal of the game.
“She’s been doing that since her freshman year,” Pekarski said of Sweitzer. “I told her when she does that she’s unstoppable.”
After going toe-to-toe with the Mountaineers, fifth-seeded Coughlin opened the second half with a goal in the 42nd minute. On a give-and-go chance, Esa Mendola stretched out to corral the ball from the left side. Her shot was stopped by Dallas goalkeeper Jensen Meade, and the Crusaders’ Allyse Filowich rushed the net to head the ball past the goal line for the equalizer.
The 1-1 standoff was short-lived due to a superb Sweitzer assist in the 53rd minute.
Sweitzer delivered a beautiful cross pass right to teammate Olivia Maniskas’ foot on the far side of the field. Maniskas finished with a one-timer for the go-ahead goal.
“Ali and I have been playing together for years, and we know our positioning,” Sweitzer said. “I took it out wide, crossed it, Liv was there to finish it.”
Dallas lost 3-1 to Crestwood Oct. 20 in the de facto Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 championship game.
“We’re ready to play that game,” Pekarski said. “That loss is so fresh on our memory that we’re going into that game. Yeah, there’s formation stuff but, mentally, we’re ready.”
In other Thursday action:
GIRLS SOCCER
Lake-Lehman 12
Meyers 0
Madison Brdaric and Emily Smith scored four goals each as the top-seeded Black Knights rolled through the District 2 Class 2A quarterfinals.
Brdaric also had two assists.
Abby Paczewski had a goal and four assists.
Lake-Lehman will host Western Wayne Tuesday.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Dallas 3
Pittston Area 0
Dallas advanced into Monday’s semifinal against Tunkhannock with the 25-20, 25-17, 25-22 victory.
Tunkhannock 3
Wyoming Area 0
Tunkhannock swept the District 2 Class 3A quarterfinal, winning all three games by 25-16 scores.
Jena Simmons had six kills, four digs and four aces in the win.
