While it wasn't an upset over a top ranked team, it was a thriller of an upset against a team the Pioneers have not beaten for at least ten years.

Last Tuesday at home, the Pioneers fought off a two-set deficit and rallied for three straight wins to knock off third place Garden Spot. In the first two sets, the Spartans need a little extra time to pull out 26-24 wins. Unfazed, L-S kept at it. Set three was tied numerous times, including 21-21. Key serves from Emily Mullin lifted the Pioneers to a 25-21 win.

"When we got the lead, I think the girls internalized that we could win and they never looked back," -stated head coach Sharon Mullin. "And Emily Mullin had five aces at the end of that third set which swung the momentum our way. I am proud of their determination and perseverance."

The fourth set saw starting setter Hannah Williams leave with an injury. In stepped senior Riley Stoltzfus who didn't miss a beat and guided the team to a 25-18 fourth set final. "Riley works hard and is always ready to go in," said Mullin.

The final set was tied at 7-7 before L-S took control for good, outscoring the Spartans 8-3 for a 15-10 victory.

"As a team, we only had 11 serving errors in five games," said Mullin. "We've been working on that at practice, and it paid off."

Mullin was a force at the net with 13 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. She also delivered 10 aces. Williams (15 assists), Morgan Lapp (24 digs) and Jenna Hoover (3 blocks) also had key stats. for more photos see townlively.com

TENNIS

Finishing second in Section Two, the girls' tennis team opened post-season action Thursday, Sept. 30 against Hempfield, the Section One runner-up. The Knights advanced in the team portion of the L-L League Championships with a 3-0 victory.

"We had hoped to win the section title again," said head coach Mark Trach, "but it was E-town's year. We lost to Hempfield in the team tournament but split sets at No.2 singles and No. 2 doubles."

Katie Fin and Lindsey Steele dropped a 6-4, 6-1 result at No. 1 doubles while Maddie Snyder and Jess Salgado did not finish at No. 2. In singles play, Ryan Gerhardt lost 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 and Laura Leaman, playing No. 3, lost 6-0, 6-3. Kylie Gerhardt did not finish her No. 2 singles match as Hempfield already secured the three points needed to win.

GIRLS' SOCCER

Lampeter's hectic game schedule continued with three games over the last week. Losses to Solanco (3-2) and Manheim Central (2-1) leave the Pioneers with a three-game losing streak.

Solanco visited L-S on Oct. 1 and prevailed despite being out-cornered 6-1, and out-shot 10-4.

"I think we overlooked them," said head coach Emily Lebo. "It was a long week with five games in eight days. We did rally over the last ten minutes, scoring twice three minutes before the end of the game."

Jenna Daveler tallied both Pioneer goals.

Last Monday in Manheim, the girls fell behind 1-0 in the first half and couldn't make up ground as both teams scored twice after the break. Daveler again came through, scoring her fifth goal of the season.

FOOTBALL

Senior quarterback Berkeley Wagner rushed for 104-yards on 15 carries, scored five touchdowns and passed for 192-yards (13-of-18) and another TD as the Pioneers (5-1) dominated Lancaster Catholic 42-14 in the Section Three opener Friday, Oct. 1.

"Berkeley works hard at everything he does," said head coach Victor Ridenour. "His focus and attention to detail helps him play well. And our offensive line is starting to gel well. They do a great job of communicating at the line of scrimmage. Nick DelGrande, Evan Sellers, Trey Spahr, Tristen Showers, and Jeremy Reed are all working hard."

Tied at 7-7 in the first quarter, L-S scored two touchdowns in the second and two more in the third quarter, to take control. Three of those were by Wagner with Giovani Malatesta scoring the fourth on a 13-yard strike from Wagner.

Catholic scored its second TD early in the fourth but L-S had the last say when Wagner's interception resulted in another TD, this one 13-yards. Andrew Reidenbaugh booted six PATs on the night.

"A kid who quietly flies under the radar but makes huge plays for us is Gio Malatesta," Reidnour added. "He had a great night returning punts (66 yards), scored on a pass play and had a pick on defense."

FIELD HOCKEY

Last Monday night the Pioneers honored five seniors (Jaiden Marzean, Kyra Benner, Keiva Middleton, Emaly Garrett and Alexa Turner) before their home game with Donegal and then earned a second straight win, knocking off the second place Indians (6-3) and avenging their 1-0 first half loss.

Donegal controlled the stats with a 12-6 advantage in corners and a 12-8 lead in shots and took an early lead, scoring in the first quarter. The hosts, however, got two goals from Middleton, about two minutes apart, in the third quarter and held on for the upset.

"We finally scored on a corner," said an elated head coach Katrina Swarr. "And Keiva scored on a stroke as well. Defensively, Maggie Swarr and Kara Scranton both had defensive saves and Brooke Zuber saved some big shots."

The Pioneers topped Cocalico 3-1 on Oct. 1. First quarter goals by Emaly Garrett and Tori Heiser gave L-S early momentum while Alexa Turner's second quarter score pushed the lead to 3-0.

BOYS' SOCCER

With three games over the last week, the Pioneers came away with one win, one loss and a tie, bringing their overall record to 2-10-2.

At Octorara on Saturday, Oct. 2, L-S controlled the action with a 13-1 advantage in corners and a 10-4 edge in shots on goal but couldn't find the win. They settled for a 1-1 tie after Conor Kouterick's first half goal was matched by the Braves in the 73rd minute.

The Pioneers righted the ship last Monday with a 2-1 thriller over Manheim Central. Andrew Reidenbaugh opened the action with a goal in the fifth minute and knocked in the game-winner ten minutes after Manheim tied the game. Dylan Bliss needed three saves to preserve the victory.

Two days later, in a contest featuring six total goals scored, L-S settled for a 3-3 tie at McCaskey.

Both teams found the back of the net once in the first half and twice after the break. Ian Meyer and Landon Rice each scored once and assisted on the other while Reidenbaugh notched his fourth goal of the season.

CROSS COUNTRY

Colin Whitaker (16:49), Parker Stoner, Ben Devine and Adrian Elia finished first through fourth and Luka Vranich followed in sixth place as the Pioneers improved to 9-0 with runaway wins over Garden Spot (15-50) and Octorara (16-48) last Tuesday. David Pritchard (7th) and Luke Smith (10th) also cracked the top ten.

The girls' team (7-2) also earned two wins, holding off Garden Spot (23-36) and Octorara (25-37). Molly Wissler (23:44) and Morgan Wright finished third and fourth respectively, Jocelyn Wolff settled in at seventh and Victoria Smith and Aubrey Magagna rounded out the counters in ninth and tenth place. K Smecker was right behind in 11th.

"It was a hilly and muddy course loaded with walnuts and some bees," said head coach Mari Cunningham. "A real cross country adventure."