Building a championship team does not happen overnight. Young teams must take their lumps as they gain experience. And when injuries and illnesses pop up, others must step in and benefit from the opportunity. Patience and perseverance play key roles.

Solanco's boys' soccer team is not a championship team but they're working hard to get there. With just five seniors (Mitchell Eckman, Gannon Kilgore, Dennis Kretzing, Braden Jarabak, Trent McDowell) and three juniors on the roster, they are young. And they will only get better.

Thursday, Oct. 7 they hosted an Elco squad that has given up just ten goals to date. And a couple of times Solanco had them on the ropes. They created scoring opportunities and competed from the start of the game to the final whistle. Their 6-0 loss doesn't highlight the bright spots that occurred.

"We are continuing to focus on the process," said head coach Brandon Smith.

"We have absolutely shown growth this season, especially in our passing and a couple of tactical concepts. This young group is only going to benefit down the road having gone through the experiences of this season."

Last Wednesday Solanco dropped a 4-1 result against Lancaster Country Day. Brady Janssen, assisted by Braeden Jarabak, prevented the shutout. For more photos see townlively.com

FIELD HOCKEY

Solanco went up against the only undefeated field hockey team in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Thursday night, Oct. 7. The Lancaster Mennonite Blazers have given up a league-low eight goals to date and have piled up a league-high 70. They handed Solanco an 8-0 loss.

Last Monday at home, Solanco hosted Lampeter-Strasburg (7-8 overall) but again, struggled on the offensive end, falling 5-0.

"Solanco gets better every time we play them," said Pioneer boss Katrina Swarr.

GIRLS' SOCCER

Coming off a 1-0 heartbreaker against Cocalico, Solanco traveled to Elco on Thursday, Oct. 7 for second round action against the Raiders, a team they defeated 1-0 in overtime on Sept. 20. Looking for the sweep, Solanco went toe-to-toe with the hosts, neither team willing to budge. The Raiders held a slim 6-5 edge in corners and both teams managed five shots on goal. Elco, however, got one through in the 59th minute and currently sits on top of the Section Three standings at 9-1. Cocalico moved into second place at 8-2 while Solanco, at 7-3, slipped to third.

"That was a tough one," said head coach Ken Yoder. "We put ourselves right where we wanted to be, playing for the section title. Losing at their stadium with the title on the line was a tough result to swallow. I have always dreamed of Solanco playing in games that actually have post-season and title implications so this year, for me, is very special."

CROSS COUNTRY

The lady harriers placed five runners in the top 20 and pulled out a 27-28 thriller over Lebanon at home last Tuesday but dropped a 19-42 result to McCaskey.

Emma Baxter finished third in 21:25 with Christine Wagner three places back at 22:02. Falling in at 15th was Olivia Singleton (24:30) while Nicole Dodson, with her second fastest time, (17th, 25:14) and Stella Woy (20th, 26:09) rounded out the top five.

"Emma had girls on her heels the whole race and used the hills in the last mile to her advantage," said head coach Andrew Musselman. "And Christine fought off runners over the final stretches. Nicole, our only senior, started the season recovering from a broken ankle and has come so far. Stella also ran a tough race."

The boys' race was just as exciting as the Mules held off McCaskey 24-31 and Lebanon 22-33 to even their record at 5-5.

Avery Jacobson (17:54), Anthony Solis (17:55) and Wyatt Tomison (18:04) finished third, fourth and fifth respectively while Jimmy Hartigan was close behind in 11th place (18:51) and Joey Hartigan's 19:31 rounded out the top five. Michael Eisenberger (26th, 23:04 PR) and Liam Barry (28th, 25:30- second fastest time) rounded out Solanco's lineup.

"Our top three ran great races and showed strength in the middle mile," said Musselman. "Jimmy also had an excellent race and did not let up. After a fast first mile, Joey kept his wits and finished strong."

GOLF

Logan Wagner, Andy Teaman and Anna Sexton competed in the District Three Championships at Briarwood on Oct. 8. Wagner was the only one to advance, firing a 73-77 for a two day 150 total, leaving him in a tie for fourth place.

"The course was tougher on Saturday and windy," said head coach Greg Minnich. "He moved from 10th to fourth place and reeled off seven pars in a row at one point. He is the first male golfer to medal at districts in my 16 years of coaching."

Teaman shot an 84 and did not advance to Saturday's round and Sexton, with a 103, missed the cut by three strokes.

"This was Andy's first trip, as a senior, and he hung in there, playing the last six holes at 2-over par," noted Minnich. "Anna needs to eliminate big numbers on a couple of holes. She will be back next year and do well."

VOLLEYBALL

After a 3-1 win over Lebanon, Solanco dropped two straight, suffering a tight 3-1 loss (25-12, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22) at L-S before a 3-0 defeat to Ephrata (12-2).

"It was senior night at L-S so a lot of emotion," said head coach Dillon Costello. "I moved Kate Unger to the outside position for set three. She's a good ball control player and capable of playing anywhere.

"We were hoping to take it to five, but some unforced errors prevented that."

The two-game stat totals include Unger (12digs, 5 blocks), Martha Weaver (2 blocks), Madi Davis (16 assists), Jaidee Beam (7 kills, 2 aces), Trinity Erisman (3 aces) and Karleigh Good (2 aces, 8 digs).

TENNIS

Solanco's tennis team competed in the Lancaster-Lebanon League flight tournament that got underway Friday, Oct. 8. The tournament officially wrapped up Solanco's season.

Grace Pursel, Solanco's No. 1, had the unfortunate draw of facing No. 2 seed and defending L-L champ Catherine Rabatin of Penn Manor who advanced to the finals without dropping a game.

In Flight two action, Adrienne Dolan, who had a 6-7 L-L singles record, suffered a straight set loss to Lampeter's Kylie Gerhardt while at No. 3, Destiny Langley lost to Cedar Crest's Annie Forry. Kara Armstrong competed in Flight 4 action and suffered a first round loss to Donegal's Aubree Jones, the No. 3 seed.

Suffering opening round losses in doubles play was Purcel and Dolan against Elizabethtown at No. 1, Langley and Armstrong against Manheim Central at No. 2, and Ava Peiffer and Wendy Lehmann whose season ended with a loss to Lancaster Catholic's No. 3 seed.

"Wendy had several different doubles partners throughout the season but her overall record, for doubles, was 5-4," noted head coach Annie Hammel.

"This was a season of learning, rebuilding, flexibility and lots of growth," the coach continued. "The scores never show how close some of the matches really are. We have a young team, and most will still be on the team for two more years. The girls are motivated to work hard during the off season to improve both their personal and team records next season."