Playing singles first and with no repeats, the tennis team earned a solid 4-1 victory over visiting McCaskey Friday, Sept. 16.

"After winning two of the three singles matches, we let the doubles teams know we only needed one more win to win the match," said head coach Annie Hammel. "Both teams stepped up and played more aggressively and did their part to pull out the victory."

Ava Peiffer and Kiara Chmielecki pulled out a marathon result 7-6 (7-3), 4-6 (10-5) while Caroline Lantz and Hailey Stanton won 6-4, 6-1. In singles play it was Adrienne Dolan (6-2, 6-1) and Grace Pursel (6-2, 6-0) helping to provide the win, Solanco's fourth of the season.

At Hempfield last Wednesday, Peiffer's 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles was Solanco's only win in a 6-1 loss to the Knights. Purcel split sets with Megan Wendell but then dropped the tiebreaker 10-4.

BOYS SOCCER

The boys' soccer team, with just four seniors, continued pushing for their first win of the season. In back-to-back games, the Mules dropped a tightly contested 2-0 final against Elco on Thursday, Sept. 15 and one day later suffered a 4-0 loss at Elizabethtown.

"We're a very young team," said head coach Remy Wright. "Was proud to see the defense work great today. That is our biggest improvement. We were working as a team instead of as individuals.

"Ben Drumm played his best game of the season, despite allowing those two goals," he added. "And Ayden Herr earned his starting stripes after this game. I feel confident with his abilities and decisions."

After a scoreless first half, Elco took the lead and then some, knocking in both scores in less than a minute.

A pair of first half goals proved to be the difference in Solanco's 2-0 loss at Lebanon last Tuesday.

FOOTBALL

Solanco's 25-17 win over Ephrata Friday, Sept. 17 was their fourth win of the season. Solanco started the 2018 season with four straights wins as well. They finished 7-5. In 2015 the Mules won nine straight en route to an 11-3 final record.

The visitors opened the scoring with a 2-yard keeper by Brody Mellinger in the first quarter (the two-point conversion was denied) and closed the scoring with a Cole Harris 4-yard run (the PAT kick was blocked).

Ephrata got on board with a 30-yard field goal late in the first quarter and both teams traded scores over the rest of the second and third frames. Solanco scored on a Mellinger (106 yards on 24 carries) one-yard keeper and Harris (118 yards on 21 carries) scampered 11-yards to paydirt and 19-10 first half lead.

"We still had some breakdowns on special teams that we have to fix," said head coach Tony Cox. "The guys fought through some adversity and finished on top. The defense held them to 53 rushing yards and Cole Harris, and the line, did a great job as well. But the best part of the night was hearing the kids on the sidelines talking positive encouragement when things weren't going our way.

"We're taking it one game at a time," said Cox. "There's still a lot to work on."

Josiah Forren, Aden Herr and Nick Defrancesco combined for 22 total tackles.

FIELD HOCKEY

Playing four games over a stretch of seven days is a tall task. The field hockey team put forth its best efforts, posting mixed results. They dropped a 5-0 result at Lancaster Country Day on Thursday, Sept. 15 and bounced back with a 1-1 tie at Eastern York. Last Monday they hosted Garden Spot and suffered a 3-0 defeat. They wrapped up the four-game stretch on Wednesday with a 1-0 shutout over Lebanon for their third win of the season.

LCDS scored in three of the four quarters to pull away. Julianna Tice recorded a pair of defensive saves while keeper Caitlin Bennethum added ten saves.

Against Eastern York it was Sadie Cook, assisted by Kate Kauffman, who gave Solanco a first quarter lead. The hosts knotted the score in the third quarter. Bennethum was credited with 13 saves.

The Spartans controlled the tempo last Monday, pounding out 19 shots in the 3-0 final. Bennethum collected 16 saves in the loss, Solanco's sixth of the season.

A Hannah Landis goal at the 4:32 mark of the fourth quarter was the game-winner for Solanco who dominated with 10 corners and 18 shots.

GIRLS' SOCCER

After opening the season with six straight wins, the girls' soccer team hit a rough patch, dropping four straight.

Thursday, Sept. 15, the Bears' Jena Witters notched three goals in a span of 13 minutes to erase Alyssa Harpe putting Solanco on the board in the opening minute. E-town made it 4-1 at the half. Harpe scored the final goal of the game in the 73rd minute.

"This was our toughest game to date," said head coach Matt Jansen. "Witters made the most of her opportunities. We made some adjustments in the second half and played much better. We did have chances, but things did not go our way.

"Alyssa Harpe had a great game and Alanna Brown showed great leadership on the field and helped our team to keep playing hard."

On Saturday morning Solanco suffered a second straight loss, this one 2-1 against visiting Cocalico.

"Both teams scored on penalty kicks in the first half, and they got the game-winner in the second half on a free kick just outside the penalty area," Jansen pointed out. "They did a nice job capitalizing. We had a couple of set pieces in dangerous areas and couldn't get the break we needed. In a competitive game like that, you have to look to capitalize."

Brown scored in the eighth minute, giving Solanco a short-lived lead as the Eagles tied the game one minute later.

Last Monday Solanco built a 15-6 edge in shots on goal and led 9-1 in corners yet dropped a 3-1 decision against Ephrata. The Mounts jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the hosts prevented the shutout when Harpe capitalized on a pass from Sarah Landis in the 61st minute.

Solanco's unlucky string continued with a 2-0 loss at Manheim Central last Wednesday despite earning more corners and taking more shots.

VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball team battled Elizabethtown and Manheim Central over the last week and finished with two more losses. The Bears opened with a 25-10 first set win and went on to win 25-17, 25-9. Marissa Cannizzaro topped the chart with 22 digs while Alaina Herr recorded 7 dills, 1 block and 1 ace. Sophie Stoltzfus dished out 6 assists, Emily Powl added one block and Cheyenne Henry one ace.

Last Tuesday Solanco set the tone early, winning 25-20 against visiting Manheim Central. The Barons, however, regrouped to win 25-17, 25-18, 25-7.

"We had good ball control in that first set and capitalized on their errors," said head coach Dillon Costrello. "The second and third set we got off to a slow start and played catchup. In the fourth set, we just struggled.

"On the plus side, our middle, Emily Powl (9 kills), crushed it offensively and did a nice job."

Addison Boyd (13 assists), Cannizzaro (9 digs), Herr (1 block), and Stoltzfus (5 aces) were the stats leaders.