What was billed as the biggest game in Solanco girls soccer history became the biggest win in Solanco girls soccer history. The Mules (12-4-2) defeated Donegal 2-0 on Senior Night Tuesday, October 8, to greatly enhance their chances of earning a first-ever district playoff berth. "I am speechless. I'm not going to lie," said senior midfielder Alana Yoder, who scored the game's first goal and assisted on the other. "We came in hoping for a win. We needed it to make it to districts. All the pieces fell together…We just did what we had to do to move on. We just finished." Now, they wait. Solanco will learn its playoff fate later this week. Until then, the Mules can take comfort in knowing they handled the part they could control.
"First five minutes, it was a little iffy, a little rocky," Mules coach Ken Yoder said. "But second part of the first half I thought we connected passes. I saw some really good stuff, some overlapping runs from our outside backs, and just better communication than we've had in the past. I thought it was good. We responded to the pressure. We responded to the big stage, under the lights, in front of a home crowd, knowing we had to win. They just played a good game, a solid game. Donegal is a good team. We had to take care of business and we did." Solanco struck first with 13:05 left in the opening half. Seconds earlier, Meg Bailey dribbled down the left side and her shot was deflected over the end line by the Donegal goalie. Maya Dolan took the corner kick and sent a ball into the middle of the penalty area and Alana Yoder was there to head it home. "I just go to the ball wherever it is and just try to get it on goal," said Yoder. Taking a lead took some of the pressure off and spurred the Mules to control play for the remainder of the game. "I think it just gave us the momentum to just know we're ahead, we got this, just keep our heads up," Alana Yoder said. "Because a lot of times whenever we get scored on first we had the mentality to [let down]. But I think that's what changed this season. Whenever we get scored on first, it pushed us to keep going. So I think us scoring first got our wheels turning." Meanwhile, Mules center back Hannah Wood was anchoring the defense by marking Donegal striker Laken Merchant. "Hannah did a great job," Ken Yoder said. "We're just trying to neutralize their dangerous players and she, early on, seemed like the most dangerous one on the field for them. Hannah has done a great job in the middle of the field and usually will mark [the opposition's] most dangerous player. She did a good job." Solanco sealed the deal with 8:40 remaining in regulation when Nikki Trout floated a shot into the net from 25 yards away. "I don't even know, it's just so incredible," senior goalie Gabi Dolan said. "We pulled out a solid win. We dominated the whole game. I'm just so beyond proud of our team just for rallying this year and really putting together one of the best seasons Solanco's ever had." Solanco ends the regular season on a nine game unbeaten streak. Since losing to section champ ELCO 5-0 on September 19, the Mules have gone 7-0-2 by realizing actions speak louder than words. "I felt earlier in the year we were talking too much about the importance of games and maybe getting them a little psyched out," said Ken Yoder. "So we definitely, toward the second half of the season on this winning streak we've been on, we've taken a much more laid back approach. I think the girls are playing a little more loose. They're playing like they're capable of, just because we're trying to take some of that pressure off. I think they were starting to feel some of that pressure. It just seems like since that loss [to ELCO], they kind of woke up and have really just been responding well." Prior to this season, Solanco had never reached double digits in the win column. "It's incredible," said Gabi Dolan. "Coming into seventh grade, we weren't a good program at all. You couldn't have foreseen a season like this. It's a credit to the coaches, definitely, and to the work we've put in during preseason and all season. We want to win now. It's changing the culture to want to win now. We're not just showing up." Solanco missed out on a league playoff berth. Cocalico clinched second place beating Octorara. Thursday, October 17 is the final day for regular season games to be contested so Solanco will know if it made more history shortly thereafter. "I'm definitely going to be checking every day to see who's winning and who's losing," Gabi Dolan said. "I'm just going to be on the edge of my seat until then." Comments are closed.
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