With a tough 1-0 loss at home to Ephrata on Thursday, September 29, the Garden Spot boys' soccer team fell to 3-4-0 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. The loss evened the team's overall mark at 6-6-1.

Garden Spot goalie Josh Martin had a sensational game in goal, making 11 saves as the Mountaineers (6-2-0 league) had 13 shots on goal.

Chad Jones managed to finish one of the Mountaineers' chances, scoring 32 minutes into the match.

The Spartans posted their second draw of the season at Lampeter-Strasburg, Monday, October 3. Rowan Sensenig scored just before the halftime whistle, tying the score at 1-1. The game remained scoreless in the second half, making the Spartans 3-4-2 in league play.

FIELD HOCKEY

With a 59-8 gap in goals scored versus goals surrendered, it's no wonder the Garden Spot field hockey team has a 12-2-0 record and is sitting atop the Section Three standings with a 7-0 league mark.

"Honestly, our defense has been super strong this year," Katy Eby, the Spartans' head coach, remarked. "They are doing a great job stepping up and stopping the play before the other team gets to the circle. We're just not allowing shots against us this year."

The defense has notched 10 shutouts so far, including a recent 2-0 shutout of Elco followed by a dominant 8-0 defeat of Solanco four days later.

"Elco is a scrappy team that doesn't give up," said Eby. "They made us work hard for our goals."

In the away game on Thursday, September 29, Melanie Esh scored a second-period goal off a Kyle Barshinger assist to give Garden Spot a 1-0 lead. The game stayed close until Morgan Watt doubled the visitors' lead at the 2:26 mark of the fourth quarter. Esh provided the assist.

The Spartans went into the fourth quarter of the home game with Solanco leading 4-0. Esh, who finished with four goals and an assist, scored twice in the final period. Lauren Horning also had a hat trick. She and Emma Swatski each scored in the fourth quarter as well.

Karis Minninger also had a big day, registering three assists. Barshinger and Horning each had one assist as Spot out-shot Solanco 22-1. It was an easy shutout for goalie Kasey Miller.

Wednesday, the Spartans welcomed Cocalico to New Holland. The second-place Eagles fell to 4-2-1 in the league as Garden Spot eked out a 2-1 win.

Horning's goal at the 11:37 mark of the fourth quarter proved to be the winning goal. She scored off an assist by Esh, who also had a second-period goal.

Miller finished with three saves to notch another win.

FOOTBALL

Garden Spot head football coach Matt Zamperini has been emphasizing the importance of having a reliable place kicker all year.

And on Friday, September 30, against Section Three rival Ephrata, Nick Gleason proved his coach's point.

"Nick Gleason came up big with a beautiful 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to put us up 24-21," Zamperini stated.

The 24-21 lead that Gleason gave Garden Spot proved to be the winning margin. The Spartans (5-1) improved to 3-0 against Section Three rivals. They are part of a tight race for section supremacy as Elizabethtown and Solanco - both of whom are unbeaten at 6-0 - also share first place.

The Ephrata game was also a comeback win for the Spartans, who trailed 14-7 at the half. The go-ahead touchdown for the Mountaineers was a 34-yard pass from Sam McCracken (12-for-23, 201 yards, 2 TD's) to Jeremiah Knowles.

"Defense held Ephrata to 52 yards on 32 carries, but gave up 200 yards passing," Zamperini noted. "We blitzed in passing downs more in the second half and were able to get good pressure on their quarterback. That helped us a lot."

Kye Harting connected with Zac Nagle for a 22-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring before Ephrata put up 14 in the second quarter. Harting finished with 105 passing yards on 10 completions in addition to running for 130 yards and a touchdown on 16 rushing attempts.

"Ephrata did not have an answer for him," Zamperini said of Harting. "He rushed for over 100 yards for the second week in a row.

Harting's 54-yard dash to the endzone along with Gleason's PAT tied the score at 21-21 in the fourth quarter. Tyler Hurst also scored on a three-yard carry in the third stanza.

Blake Weaver had some big running plays, gaining 114 yards on 10 carries. Jadon Burkholder carried the ball six times for 33 yards. He also caught a 14-yard reception.

Including his touchdown, Nagle caught four passes for 56 yards. Nick Smucker caught two passes for a total of 21 yards.

Asked about this team's growth and hard work, Zamperini commented, "The biggest thing the coaching staff has seen in these young men is that they are starting to really believe in themselves and in each other. They don't stop playing on Friday nights."

GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL

In a wildly intense girls' volleyball match at New Holland, Lampeter-Strasburg regained momentum and stabilized the match just in time to top Spot 3-2 on Thursday, September 29.

The Pioneers gained the early edge with a 25-15 victory. The Spartans battled their unrelenting adversary in the second set, finally posting a 25-23 win.

After a Pioneers 25-11 win, Garden Spot outlasted L-S 28-26 only to lose the tiebreaker 15-8.

Garden Spot fell to 3-6 in league competition while the Pioneers improved to 5-3.

Valerie Martin came through with 12 kills and two aces for Spot. Summer Stern led the team in digs with 22 while Jada Dickson dished out 15 assists.

Also contributing for the Spartans were Chloe Grady, who had two kills, and Avery Smith, who registered two blocks.

The Spartans lost three close sets in a Tuesday night Section Two match at home. Ephrata won by scores of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-21.

Smith had seven kills and five blocks. Ashlynn Rapp also finished with seven kills while Kayla Kauffman led the Spartans with 16 assists. Mya Paparo had a pair of aces and 16 digs.

GIRLS' SOCCER

In a close L-L League contest, the Garden Spot girls' soccer team won by a 2-0 score at home over Lampeter-Strasburg on Monday, October 3.

The Spartans scored two early goals - both in the first 10 minutes of the match - and made the 2-0 lead hold up.

Amelia Sharp and Ashton Gonzalez scored for Spartans, who claimed their first league win (1-7) and improved to 2-11-0 overall.

The Mountaineers topped the Spartans 4-0 at Ephrata the previous Thursday with Emily Weidner leading the Mounts offense - one goal and two assists.