Soccer experiences eu-four-ia

Third Place

Headline Writing

Division 2

Soccer experiences eu-four-ia

Nathan Biemiller

Grade 12

Hi-Lite

Manheim Township HS

Adviser: Marty Pflieger

For the fourth straight year, the soccer team won the AAA district title. This was the first time this feat was accomplished since the district went to separate enrollment classifications.

The win came over Redland, who was a very tough and honorable opponent. “They played us tougher than a lot of our other opponents,” says Luke Oostdyk ’10, “they played possession instead of run and shoot.” Township won in a fierce overtime battle. The first score of the game came with 2:21 to play when Pete Bulat ’08 finally found a way past their goalie.

On the ensuing kickoff, Redland moved the ball straight down the field and scored, taking only 17 seconds after almost two halves of being shut out. In the end though, the game was Township’s as Justin Brown ’08 hit a game winning shot in overtime. “The win meant a lot,” says Alex Schultz ’08, “it meant a lot more winning it the way we did in overtime.”

Three days later, the Streaks lost to Central Bucks East 1-0. “It was extremely disappointing, but in soccer the better team doesn’t always win,” says Zach Kamen ’08. The loss also hit many of the seniors on the team hard because they do not know how many games they have ahead of them.

Finishing the season at 22-3-1 was a huge accomplishment for the team this year and is one of the many things that the seniors have to be proud of. Looking toward the future, Oostdyk ’10 thinks that the success achieved this year can be done again. “We are graduating 13 seniors, but I think some of our younger experienced players will lead the team well in years to come,” he says. “The younger guys have the talent, but need to keep their head straight,” says Kamen ’08, one of the graduating seniors.

Future teams will have a lot of their shoulders as they try to keep past successes going and go further into the playoffs.

“We are graduating a large part of our starting lineup, but the team has good coaches and they really work well together,” says Schultz ’08. It will be interesting to see how the team responds to the loss of so many great players.