LEHMAN TWP. — Mechanicsburg gave Dallas a hint of what was to come prior to the opening kickoff of Tuesday night’s PIAA Class 3A girls soccer opening-round game.
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.
The relentless offense ended Dallas’ season as Mechanicsburg defeated the Mountaineers 4-0 at Lake-Lehman High School.
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.
From the start, the Wildcats put Dallas in a defensive mode, with a good portion of the first half played in the Mountaineers’ side of the field.
“I’ve always preached I don’t want to go back,” Mechanicsburg coach Jake June said. “If we get the kick, we want to get in their half and create opportunities from the get-go. That’s how we’ve always done it.”
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.
Dallas nearly made a dent into the deficit just before halftime, only to have Ali Francis’ shot from the left side of the penalty area go wide to the far post.
While Francis was clearly the fastest Mountaineer on the field, she and her teammates couldn’t overcome the discrepancy in overall team speed.
Add some impressive ball skills and unselfish passing, and Mechanicsburg gave Dallas just too many items to defend.
“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,” Dallas coach Nikki Pekarski said. “They use their wings, which we saw today. We tried our best to prepare for it, but we just don’t see that kind of speed in our league.
“We are the speed in the league, but to see it today.”
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.
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.
Seven minutes after Martin’s goal, Elena Hinkson closed out the scoring on a crossing pass from Martin.
“We never quit,” Pekarski said. “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.”
PIAA Class 3A First Round
Mechanicsburg 4, Dallas 0
Mechanicsburg`2`2 — 4
Dallas`0`0 — 0
First half — 1. MEC, Meg Schrass (Abbey Engle), 15th minute; 2. MEC, Halle Engle (A.Engle), 28th; Second half — 3. MEC, Isabelle Martin (H.Engle), 52nd; 4. MEC, Elena Hinkson (I.Martin), 59th.
Shots — MEC 22, DAL 9. Saves — MEC 4 (Linsday Costello 4/Alicia Elder 0), DAL 17 (Sarak Krokos). Corners — MEC 7, DAL 3.
