When the head coach of a team says, "They gave absolutely everything and I couldn't be more proud," then it's obvious that the players came onto the field and gave a tremendous effort.

These were the words of Adam Morris, the Donegal girls' soccer team head coach. Morris described the way his squad battled against Fleetwood on Monday, October 24, in the first round of the District Three 3A playoffs.

The Indians and the Tigers played to a 1-1 draw through 80 minutes of regulation. Fleetwood (12-5-1) eventually won the game in the penalty shootout 4-1. Donegal (11-5-3) had entered the districts as the 10th seed, facing seventh-seeded Fleetwood on the road.

"We were tired going into overtime," Morris said. "The girls all left everything on the field."

The Tigers went up 1-0 on a goal that came as a result of a defensive lapse by Donegal.

"We started the game slowly and gifted the opening goal," Morris said. "We didn't defend the cross well and it floated into the far post netting. It was a very poor goal to concede so early in the game."

Another indication of this team's character and effort was how the Indians didn't allow that early letdown to derail their focus.

"We recovered and the game was evenly contested with chances on both ends," Morris said. "We regrouped at halftime. Laken Merchant, who was a constant danger, broke through and headed to the end line to produce a fine cross to Gina Phillips to tie the game."

The Tigers out-shot the Indians in penalty kicks, however, as they advanced to the quarterfinals.

"Losing on penalty kicks was heartbreaking, but we can be proud of the season we had," Morris said. "We made districts when every other team would have written us off early. We were unbeaten through league and section games in regulation time with only Elco beating us in overtime. That's a great season."

With Merchant, Phillips and another handful of seniors graduating, Morris looks forward to the returning crew for 2023.

"I'm already looking forward to preparing for next season and working with this year's group," he said. "Obviously, our seniors will be missed, but we have a lot of talent coming through."

BOYS' SOCCER

The Donegal boys' soccer team had its impressive 2022 run come to an end in heartbreaking fashion on Monday, October 24 at Conrad Weiser.

In an overtime playoff match, the Indians (13-6) suffered a 2-1 loss in the first round of the District Three Class 3A playoffs. The Indians had entered districts as the 11th seed, facing the sixth-seeded Scouts (15-2-2) on the road.

FOOTBALL

York Suburban 41, Donegal 18

Donegal 30, Palmyra 13

Wyomissing 41, Donegal 7

Donegal 28, Conrad Weiser 12

See the trend? Each time in what might have seemed like a demoralizing defeat, Donegal bounced back to post a victory the following week.

And following a tough 39-14 loss at Cocalico on October 14, the Donegal football team earned a 20-19 comeback win seven days later at home. The Indians (3-6) won this Section Four contest by grinding out a scoring drive in the fourth quarter. Landen Baughman's six-yard toss to Noah Roher overcame the Raiders' rally earlier in the final period.

"The kids showed a lot of poise and grit on the winning drive," head coach Chad Risberg said. "We made the plays when we had to."

When faced with insurmountable challenges on that drive, the Indians still came through.

"We were successful on two or three fourth-down conversions on that final drive," Risberg added.

Earlier in the contest, Ruben Mumper scored on a nine-yard rushing touchdown with Rohrer converting the PAT kick, giving Donegal a 7-0 halftime edge.

Mumper scored on a four-yard rushing touchdown with a Rohrer PAT to make it 14-0 in the third quarter.

Elco scored all three of its touchdowns on big plays by Jake Williams. He dashed to the Donegal endzone from 30 yards out in the third quarter plus a 42-yard and 64-yard run in the fourth. He finished with 261 rushing yards.

"We gave up a couple of big runs," Risberg said. "But our defense played well, especially in the first half."

Offensively for Donegal, Baughman completed seven passes for 131 yards. Mumper, whose four receptions accounted for 67 of those passing yards, ran for 59 yards on eight carries. Tyler Sload gained 50 yards of real estate on 11 attempts.

"The pass protection was good," Risberg said. "They blitzed a couple of times and got us. But for the most part, they gave our quarterback enough time to complete passes when we had to. "

Rohrer grabbed two passes for 21 yards and James Turbedsky's two catches went for a total of 35.