Play enough games in a long season and athletic teams are bound to face adversity. Success in sports doesn't come from avoiding adversity; it comes from managing it and from the methods derived to handle it.

The Lancaster Mennonite boys' soccer team's historic fall season could serve as a poster child for dealing with adversity. Instead of imploding or pointing fingers when they faced adversity, the Blazers turned it around and transformed it into positive energy.

"One of the things that helped get us where we were was some of the adversity we faced," said Lancaster Mennonite head coach Fred Winey. "We weren't a real deep team, and we had a number in injuries. We were relying on people stepping up and making adjustments. But in doing that, it helped galvanize us as a team. You go through adversity, but looking back it helped us develop a certain toughness. We definitely learned a lot along the way."

On Nov. 15 at Cumberland Valley's Eagle View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, in their 26th match of the fall season, the Blazers edged District Seven champion Bentworth 1-0 in overtime to capture the PIAA Class A championship. Msafirii Amisi scored the state-title-winning, golden goal nine minutes into the OT session for the Blazers on a well-placed left-footed free kick from the top of the box.

"It was a really evenly matched game," said Winey. "Both teams defended really well. It was a game between the boxes, and there weren't a lot of chances for either team. It was a back-and-forth game. (Bentworth) came in having scored a lot of goals. But we had adjusted to some other players who were dangerous. We hung our hat on our defense during the playoff run."

Lancaster Mennonite had reached the state championship game with a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over Camp Hill in a PIAA semifinal at Lower Dauphin Middle School on Nov. 12, defeating the same Camp Hill bunch that had edged the Blazers 1-0 for the District Three Class A championship 13 days earlier at Central Dauphin Middle School's Landis Field. During its four-game run in the state playoffs, Lancaster Mennonite surrendered only a single goal.

In their first season of competing at the Class A level, the Blazers compiled an overall mark of 17-6-3.

"I think there was a certain amount of steady improvement throughout the season," said Winey, who's compiled an overall mark of 311-78-14 in his 18 seasons as the Blazers' head coach. "I think (the district final loss to Camp Hill) was kind of the turning point. Our guys realized they could beat that team. When it gets to those games, the margins are so small. I think that gave our guys confidence moving forward, and they knew they could get it done."

The state championship was the second in the storied history of Lancaster Mennonite boys' soccer program and its first since 2011. The Blazers had also reached the PIAA final in 2017, 2014 and 2012.

"There have been excellent teams that have not gone as far as you think they should have," said Winey. "Then you have others that surpass your expectations. It takes something special to reach a district championship game, a state championship game. You need a special performance to complete the job. This team did something that few teams did before it. I'm just really proud of the effort the team gave. Everyone was there making sacrifices."