Three games into the season the lady Comets sit with a section-high 17 goals for and just three against. They opened with a 3-2 loss to Solanco but rebounded with a pair of dominating shutouts, crushing Exeter Township 7-0 and Lampeter-Strasburg 8-zip. Leading the way is D-1 recruit Carly Keene who has scored seven goals and dished out seven assists.

"We expected to be competitive this season, so we beefed up the schedule a bit," said former boss Bill Zapata who returns to the sidelines after 11 years. "As long as we stay healthy, we only have 14 on varsity, we're hoping to be in the mix at the end of the season. We lost four or five starters but have a key group back and picked up Annaleise Mann."

The Comets, missing a key player against Solanco, saw a two-goal lead slip away but they rebounded with back-to-back shutouts. "The last two games we scored in the first two minutes and set the tone early," said Zapata. "Section One is tough. There are no easy games."

Keene tallied four goals and two assists against Exeter with Lilly Rineer, Lauren Stoner, and Kennedy Dings chipping in. Paityn Smith also assisted twice.

At L-S on Sept. 2, Rineer's hat trick paced the balanced attack. Mann, Carolyn Hinkle (3 assists), Izzy Kligge, Keene (5 assists) and Stoner also contributed.

In the league opener Wednesday night, the Comets broke a 2-2 tie with three unanswered goals and left Cedar Crest with a 5-3 thriller. "It was like a professional ping pong match," Zapata said.

Goals by Kennedy Dings, Lilly Rineer, Kligge (1 assist), Keene (2 a) and Hinkle (1a) provided the balanced attack the Comets needed. Allison Burkholder recorded five saves to secure the win.

GOLF

The Comet golfers sit at 6-6 after three section matches and hold down third place in Section One. This comes one year after an impressive run that fell just shy of the Section crown.

"We still have a young team but almost all of them return from last year," said head coach Tom Reustle. "We're definitely not where we thought we'd be at this point but are confident we will begin to post some lower scores."

Manor's solid group this year includes Jesse Shue, JP Radwanski, Aiden Doyle, Brady Musser, Cole Beakes, Brayden Souder, Seb Elias, and Ben Hermansen.

TENNIS

What a difference a year makes. Last season the Penn Manor girls' tennis team won two matches. This year, after five matches, the girls are 3-2 having picked up wins over Exeter, Garden Spot and Daniel Boone.

"We have everyone back this year, including Catherine Rabatin (LL League singles champ, PIAA District 3 champ and PIAA quarterfinalist) so I'm expecting to win more matches and put up more competitive numbers," said head coach Amanda Pryzbylkowski.

The Comets opened September with a 3-2 win over Daniel Boone, their second 3-2 non-league win of the season having topped Exeter earlier. Autumn Kirkley and Daphne Eisenhauer got things rolling with a 7-6 (7-5 tiebreak)/ 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles. Rabatin put up a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 and Erin Shipley clinched the victory with a 3-6/6-3/1-0 (10-7 tiebreak) over Jenny Hoy at No. 3.

The team hosted Lampeter-Strasburg Friday but, with two starters out of the lineup, dropped a 5-0 result. Rose Emenhieser and Lydia Meier battled at No. 2 doubles in a 1-6/ 6-7 (6-8 tiebreak) loss.

FIELD HOCKEY

The defending league champ Comets opened the season with a 4-3 loss to Twin Valley, defending District 3 2A champ, Friday, Sept. 2. The hosting Comets fell behind 3-0 and actually tied the game in regulation before dropping the overtime result.

The Comets, with eight starters returning, dominated with advantages in corners (22-3) and shots on goal (18-8) but could not find the back of the net. Isabelle Thatcher, Avery Bradburn and Liz Bustillo accounted for the scoring with Caity McGough dishing out a pair of assists.

"It's not easy to come back from a 3-0 deficit," said head coach Rachel Suter. "I was proud of the girls and how they kept fighting the entire game."

VOLLEYBALL

After suffering a 3-0 loss to Ephrata, the volleyball team turned in a solid effort at the Trinity Tournament on Saturday. They went 2-0 over York Suburban and Milton Hershey and split with Cedar Cliff and Palmyra before topping Middletown in a play-in round. They suffered a 1-0 loss to Trinity in the quarterfinals.

"We were pleased with the results especially considering we used a lineup of starters and a lineup of substitutes against each team in pool play and still felt successful," said head coach Tim Joyce. "Despite having just one senior, Cassidy McCollum, we return juniors Eliana Knaub, Taylor Long, Lezlie Nguyen, Jillian Kloc, Maggie Garvey, Janelle Bowmaster, and Jordan Bailey and add newcomers Maya Sugra, Brianna Lee, Mackenzie Cassel, all juniors, and sophomore Alyssa Mattern to complete the roster. The girls have high goals."

In Section One action last Tuesday, Sept. 6, the Comets battled to a 3-0 loss against Hempfield, putting up three competitive games, 25-19, 25-18, 25-22.

With 11 kills, McCollum was tough at the net. Long and Nguyen were also collecting five blocks each. Knaub added 24 assists, Bailey recorded nine digs and Sugra served up four aces.

BOYS' SOCCER

After opening the season with a 3-0 loss to Northeastern, the Comets rebounded with a 6-1 victory over Solanco on Sept. 1 but one day later dropped a 2-0 final against visiting L-S.

Hunter Evans fueled the Solanco victory with two goals while Lucas Victorino, Alexander Mowery, Gavin Roberts, and Owen Leddy also contributed.

Manor evened its record at 2-2 with a 3-0 shutout over McCaskey in the league opener Wednesday night. Jonathan Harthon and Mowery provided first half tallies while Leddy scored in the 69th minute.

Drew Lebo earned the shutout with three saves.

CROSS COUNTRY

The harrier teams opened the 2022 season with a muddy contest in Neffsville Tuesday, Sept. 6. The final results favored the hosts, who swept both PM and Cedar Crest. While both Comet teams failed to produce a win, they did have some notable efforts. Kaleb Kabakjian broke up Township's top five with a fourth-place finish in 17:03 and Tristan Weaver's 12th place finish in 18:33 was just four seconds away from top ten.

Abby Ames was the top finisher for the girls, who also suffered a pair of losses. She was 13th and Mackenzi Nafziger followed two places back.

"It was cross country at its best with the rain and mud," said first year head coach Andrea Kramer. "Kaleb gave the team a solid start and was followed by newcomers Weaver, Jack Hightower (25th) and Jack Steele (30th). Aidan Gerlach, Carter Vinson, and Donovan Landis also had top performances," she added.

"Abby, Kenzi and Bethany Hetrick (17th) led the charge for the girls," Kramer stated, "and were helped by first year varsity runners Madison Martin, Alyssa Eby and Madeleine Rohrer, along with Zoe King."

FOOTBALL

Just one week after a 27-13 thriller over CV, the Comets traveled to Lampeter for week two action and were handed a 35-0 defeat. Eli Warfel threw for 138 yards and Jonathan Osman carried the ball eight times for 19 yards and made four receptions for another 98.

Turnovers, however, played a role and carried momentum. A first quarter blocked punt and recovered fumble resulted in a pair of touchdowns and an early 14-0 lead by LS.