NAZARETH — Second-seeded Whitehall and the sixth-seeded Stroudsburg girls soccer teams played the first of two District 11 Class 4A semifinals at Andrew S. Leh Stadium in Nazareth on Tuesday night.
The Mountaineers defeated Whitehall 2-1 in overtime. In the nightcap, the Emmaus boys beat Stroudsburg 3-1.
The Zephyrs (13-6-1) girls defeated Stroudsburg 3-2 in their only regular season matchup in September.
Stroudsburg got on the board first Tuesday when senior Amber Quinn scored seven minutes into the first half.
“My team was all in it with their hearts” Quinn said. “I knew if that if I matched that we could do anything.”
Whitehall freshman Kate Bonshak evened things up minutes later when her shot hit the crossbar and fell into the goal.
Zephyrs senior goalie Kay, Solderitch, was injured with about three minutes left in the first half in a collision with a Stroudsburg player. She was replaced by Grace Clary, who finished the game.
“It makes your heart ache for her,” Whitehall coach Chris Bleam said of Solderitch. “She’s a softball player. Kids pulled her out of the hallway this year and said, ‘Come play for us this year.’ She just did a great job and we wouldn’t have been where we are without her.”
The teams went into the half tied 1-1.
“Whitehall is an amazing team,” Stroudsburg coach Doug Batt. “We just dug deep and held on for dear life. This just came from their heart. They stepped up and started clicking.”
In the second half, the Zephyrs had a few chances, but Mountaineers goalie April Manhart made some nice saves, including one on a Kate Bonshak breakaway with eight minutes left.
The game would head into overtime where with a mere five seconds left on the clock in the first overtime, Quinn found the goal again for Stroudsburg giving the Mounties (14-6-3) a 2-1 victory.
“It was crazy that we got to this point from where we started,” said Quinn. “We worked really hard to get here. We knew that we could do it.”
Manhart had 10 saves for Stroudsburg.
“I’m disappointed for them, but certainly not in them,” Bleam said. “The seniors as a group have been fantastic. I feel bad for them. We were down three starters, but they just continued to lead their team. The ball bounced the wrong way for us tonight.”
Stroudsburg advances to play top-seeded and undefeated 23-0 Parkland in the final on Thursday at a site and time to be determined.
“Whatever they found today they’ve got to find more of it,” Batt said. They’ve got to find triple of that in order to go up against Parkland. We’re looking forward to it.”
The later game featured the top-seeded Stroudsburg boys, winners of 16 straight games, versus fifth-seeded Emmaus, winners of five of their last six.
Emmaus, the defending district champion, lost to Stroudsburg 3-0 in September
“That was the lowest point in our season,” Emmaus coach John Cari said. “We didn’t play well and we had a real rough stretch there. Our kids didn’t forget it and we made some adjustments to make a difference out there and we’ve been playing hard defense. I’m proud of our effort tonight.”
Emmaus sophomore Callen Reid scored off a nicely placed corner kick five minutes into the first half.
Stroudsburg senior John Burns hit an equalizer for the Mounties with 22:50 left to play in the first.
Emmaus took a 2-1 lead less than seven minutes into the second half on goal by freshman Nicholas Cari that was assisted by junior Jonathan Heberlein.
A Stroudsburg penalty with 21 minutes remaining in the half set up a penalty kick by Emmaus senior Kacper Grycel. Grycel scored when the ball ricocheted off the bottom part of the right post into the back of the net, putting the Hornets up 3-1.
“I got excited because I knew there was nothing going to stop me from putting it in the back of the net,” Grycel said. “This is the game we’ve all been looking for. We brought it to them, we attacked, we defended, we did everything well.”
Emmaus (11-6-4) advances to play second-seeded Parkland in the title game Thursday at a site and time to be determined.
“We have to defend … and we have to manufacture some goals,” Cari said. “It’s getting better for us, but we’re still not a high-powered offensive team. That Emmaus and Parkland game, that rivalry is high, especially when there’s a title on the line. I think people had us counted out after dropping six games this year, but we’re there and I’m proud of them.”
Stroudsburg (20-3), winner of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tournament, sees its winning streak snapped and its season come to an end.
“We had a terrific year,” Stroudsburg coach Michael Kane said. “Division champions, EPC title, winning 16 straight; I don’t want any of that to go unnoticed. We’re obviously disappointed. They just capitalized on their opportunities more than we did. They’re an experienced postseason team and their defense was strong tonight.”
Justin Burkhardt is a freelance writer.
