In a Section One tennis match at Penn Manor on Friday, September 23, Hempfield came away with a close 4-3 victory, improving to 5-1 in the L-L League.

"It was a tough match, but our girls stepped up. We had crucial victories at number 2, 3 and 4 singles along with number two doubles.

"Our girls fought hard until the entire match," Bell added. "It was evident they wanted this win."

Alex Gregory and Megan Wendel claimed that number two doubles, 8-3.

In singles, Gregory topped Haley Hutchinson 6-1, 6-0. Sullivan won 6-1, 6-1 while Wendel won in straight sets at number four singles.

Lindsay Over and Selena Felices lost a close third doubles match as did Sullivan and Sophie Carson at number one.

Hempfield came up short at Conestoga Valley in a 4-3 match on Monday.

Gregory and Wendell collected all of the team points for Hempfield, including an 8-3 doubles win followed by Gregory winning number two singles 7-5, 6-2 and Wendell the fourth singles (7-6, 6-0).

Carson played a tough match at first singles, winning 6-3, then losing the next set before undertaking a marathon tiebreaker. She lost 16-14.

"That loss ended our chances of getting into the league playoffs," Bell noted. "There is an outside chance we get into districts."

GIRLS' SOCCER

Hempfield played host to Northern in a non-league girls' soccer match Friday, September 23. The Polar Bears' frigid defense denied the Black Knights as the visitors posted a 2-0 victory.

"We had a couple of opportunities to get on the board but were unsuccessful," head coach Jason Mackey said. "Offensively, we have been able to create more chances as a team this season."

The Bears scored twice in the first half, making their 2-0 lead last the final 50 minutes of the match. Anna Lehman's goal in the 30th minute gave the Bears their eventual winning margin.

Emileigh Antesberger made six saves for Hempfield. The Knights directed three shots on goal but were denied.

"We have been able to keep many of our games close in both our wins and losses," Mackey said. "We are anchored by Emileigh Antesberger defensively."

Antesberger made three saves in Tuesday's 3-0 shutout of Conestoga Valley in Landisville. The Knights improved to 2-4-0 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

Gabbie Moore assisted on all three goals, dishing out scoring chances to Sam Earhart, Tessa Groff, and Faith Siegrist.

FOOTBALL

The Knights strengthened their postseason hopes by beating Manheim Township 17-14 on the road Friday, September 23, in a clash between Section One rivals. With the win, the Knights improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in Section One.

"No question this was a big win for our players," head coach George Eager said. "We know Manheim Township is a playoff team and this gives our players confidence moving forward."

Hempfield scored first with a 25-yard Cannon Biscoe field goal.

"We were able to score on the opening drive," Eager pointed out. "Having a reliable kicker can win you games. At the end it was a three-point win."

The 36-yard pass from Stephen Katch to Gabe Benjamin in the final seconds of the half made it 10-0 Knights.

Another special teams' score helped Hempfield go up by 17 points when Grant Hoover returned the second half opening kickoff 93 yards.

"To start the second half like that provided so much energy as well as a solid lead," Eager said. "It was a game changer.

"Also, for special teams, our punting team did a good job of putting Township in long field positions," Eager said. Jackson Landis averaged 38.1 yards per punt on seven punts.

MT's Hayden Johnson completed 32-of-44 attempts for 234 yards. He scored on a quarterback keeper in the third quarter and hit Landon Kennel on a nine-yard scoring pass in the fourth to make it 17-14.

Landis completed 12-of-24 passes for 115 yards to also lead Hempfield.

Nick Beck had a team-high 10 tackles while Benjamin recorded seven. Brian Williams and Deyvid Palepale each had six tackles.

"Defense and special teams were mainly why we won this game," said Eager. "We were able to hang on because of our defense."

Hanging on they did as Township's late drive resulted in a missed field goal that would have tied the score.

"Township's kicker is very good," Eager said. "He has hit some long ones. We were fortunate his last attempt didn't go through."

CROSS COUNTRY

Hempfield topped Manheim Township 24-31 and Conestoga Valley 15-50 in Section One cross country on Tuesday, September 27.

Aidan Hodge and Joe Fahrney grabbed the top two spots in the race with respective times of 15:55.5 and 15:59.

Also leading the Knights (6-0) to victory were Sam Meyer (6th) Isaiah Hollinger (7th) Sam Freedman (12th) Chris Titter (13th) and Frank Christoffel (15th).

The Hempfield girls (2-4) beat CV 19-44 but lost to Township.

Molly Siebert was third (20:23.7) while Norah Rynier (11th) Ashley Page (12th) and Roz Scott (15th) also finished strong.

BOYS' SOCCER

Coming off a 3-0 loss to Chambersburg in a non-league Saturday match, the boys' soccer team bounced back with a 1-0 defeat of Section One foe Conestoga Valley on Tuesday. Jacob Carr made six saves for Hempfield (6-3-2, 5-0-1 league) to help Jase Colino's early second-half goal stand up for the victory.

FIELD HOCKEY

With 28 shots on goal, Penn Manor defeated Hempfield 10-0 on Thursday, September 22 in an L-L League match. The Knights fell to 1-8-0 overall.

"We have a very young team this year," said head coach Sara Brooks. "We have seen sparks of the team giving all-out efforts and playing as a team the entire game. We continue to learn and grow from each game as we strive to better ourselves."

In a close non-league match against Central Dauphin on Monday, the Knights fell 3-0.

Paige Brosig exemplified her coach's words of "all-out effort" by making 18 saves.

GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL

In Section One girls' volleyball action, Hempfield topped Cedar Crest 25-13, 25-9 and 25-22 in a 3-0 victory on Thursday, September 22. The Knights raised their record to 6-0 on the year.

Addie Leber poured in 14 kills, registered three blocks, and tied Sarah Hess in aces with two.

Melody Butzer gave out 27 assists while Kate Howard added 12 digs.

GOLF

Ethan Green shot an 8-over-par 79 at Fairview Golf Course on Monday, September 26, in the L-L League Championships. In the Class-AAA competition, Green finished tied for 11th with Warwick's Joey McGinty and Penn Manor's Seb Elias.

Hempfield teammates Jadon Lee and Drew Bennett shot 86 and 88, respectively.

Crest and Township finished 1-2 in the team standings with respective scores of 300 and 306.

Hempfield (344) finished seventh in the team standings.