yaiaascores

York Dispatch Staff Report

Dallastown High School’s Becca Austin recently signed her National Letter of Intent to play NCAA Division I women’s soccer at Coastal Carolina in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Austin was a standout goaltender for the Wildcats, registering 54 career shutouts. She was the York-Adams Division I Player of the Year in 2012 and helped the Wildcats win the Division I title for a fifth-straight season.

She also won the Character Counts Sportsmanship Award at Dallastown for the second straight season.

Coastal Carolina was 10-9 overall in 2012 and 7-4 in the Big South Conference.

York Dispatch Staff Report

York Suburban High School standout Mikala Kin recently signed a National Letter of Intent to play NCAA Division I women’s soccer at the University of Delaware next season.

Kin was the York-Adams League Division II Player of the Year this past fall, when she scored 23 goals. For her career, Kin finished as Suburban’s all-time leader in goals (60) and points (144).

By RYAN VANDERSLOOT 854-1575 x455 / @YAIAAscores

LANCASTER — For most of the girls on the York-Adams League roster, Sunday’s clash against their senior all-star counterparts from the Lancaster-Lebanon League was all about having fun.

But for York Catholic senior Grace Keiber, it also marked the end of a very long high school season.

Keiber played alongside her York-Adams’ peers at Lancaster Mennonite High School less than 24 hours after her Irish team was eliminated from the PIAA state playoffs by Greensburg Central Catholic, 6-0.

While the outcome of Sunday’s match was similarly disappointing (a 4-2 loss to the L-L standouts), the all-star game environment was still an enjoyable experience.

“It was really great,” Keiber said. “It was really cool to put names and faces together. And to just be able to talk to some of them and play with them was really neat.”

Keiber, who will not play in Wednesday’s York-Adams League Senior East-West All-Star contest, will have a lot of time to look back at one of York Catholic’s most successful seasons ever. The Irish won two District 3 Class A contests as well as a PIAA game during a 15-8 campaign.

“I was really proud of my whole team,” she said. “We had a really great season. A lot of the younger girls stepped up and played really well.”

That theme was also echoed by Dover senior Emily Firestone, who finished her high-school career in style, helping the Eagles claim their first York-Adams League playoff crown. The triumph capped a remarkable run for Dover, which finished third in the Division II regular-season standings.

“We really came together toward the end of the season,” Firestone said. “We got along well and our team chemistry definitely helped. We had a great team.”

For Firestone, who was the only one of four Dover seniors selected for Sunday’s contest, it was a big tribute to be able to play in what was the first-ever cross-river clash between the two neighboring leagues.

“It’s really an honor to be selected to play in this game,” Firestone. “To play with such great players around the county as well as in the Lancaster-Lebanon League was a great experience.”

The game: The contest was a tale of two halves. The York-Adams side got two quick goals before the half only to see the L-L team score four unanswered goals in the second half. Not coincidentally, the L-L side played almost an entirely different lineup over the game’s final 40 minutes.

“I think they had two separate teams,” Keiber said. “We had maybe half as many girls as they did.”

West York standout Shyanne Kimbrough had a hand in both of her team’s first-half goals. Kimbrough, who hit a post earlier in the half, sent a rocket into the net with 2:40 left in the first half. She also had the assist on a goal just 1:22 later by Bermudian Springs standout Abby Smith.

The L-L side dominated in the second half, when players from Donegal, ELCO and Cocalico took to the field. Cocalico’s Kathleen Lawver, Donegal’s Mollie Hoffman, ELCO’s Kalie Parker and Annville-Cleona’s Katie Buck each scored during a 14-minute-plus barrage that saw York’s 2-0 lead turn into a 4-2 deficit.

– Reach Ryan Vander sloot at sports@yorkdis patch.com.

York Dispatch Staff Report

York-Adams League senior girls’ soccer players will compete in two all-star games over the next week.

It was previously announced that a team of York-Adams standouts would take on a team of Lancaster-Lebanon stars at 3 p.m. Sunday at Lancaster Mennonite.

Information on an additional East-West All-Star Game, featuring only York-Adams League players, was released Wednesday. That game will be played at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Central York.

Following are the rosters for the East-West game:

West — Coaches: Delone Catholic’s Derf Maitland and Hanover’s Tyler Smith. Players: Danielle Cramer, Biglerville; Shyanne Kimbrough, West York; Darby Sells, West York; Samara Chisolm, West York; Erin Donaldson, Fairfield; Katyelyn McDonald, Fairfield; Shannon Kelso, Fairfield; Liz Myers, Fairfield; Karina Padilla, Biglerville; Oliva Moore, Biglerville; Kelsey Crum, Biglerville; Destinee Winhauer, Hanover; Hannah Garlan, Hanover; Marianne Freed, Delone; Bethany Ball, Delone; Amy Spigelmyer, South Western; Courtney Kauffman, Spring Grove; Ashley Madison, Spring Grove; Leah Roy, Spring Grove; Alexis Seaman, Spring Grove; Margo Jacoby, New Oxford; Abby Smith, Bermudian Springs; Rachael Wilkins, Bermudian Springs; Kelsey Crum, Biglerville; Sarah Bentajar, Littlestown; Jodi Shorb, Littlestown; Sarah Bentajar, Littlestown; Allison Jacobs, Littlestown.

East — Coaches: Dallastown’s Barry Barbush, Central York’s Liz Critchfield and Central York’s Dawnyelle Rohrbaugh. Players: Jeanette Wilson, Susquehannock; Makenzie Bates, Susquehannock; Cassidy Layman, Eastern York; Kylie Goodling, Eastern York; Jensen Knappenberger, Northeaster; Courtney Weibley, Northeastern; Emily Firestone, Dover; Kylie McCall, Dover; Sam Andel, Red Lion; Tori Sprenkle, Red Lion; Jeanette Wilson, Susquehannock; Maddie Duty, Kennard-Dale; Harlie Sadler, Kennard-Dale; Alaina Curry, Dallastown; Becca Austin, Dallastown; Sam Sweeney, Central York; Alex Wright, Central York; Mikala Kin, York Suburban; Nikki Whare, York Suburban; Lexi Murphy, Susquehannock; Kelsey Clever, Red Lion; Brittany Temple, Dallastown; Kathleen Johnson, York Catholic; Kaila Ilyes, York Catholic.

York Dispatch Staff Report

The York Catholic girls’ soccer team made history just by making the PIAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

The Lady Irish, however, weren’t satisfied with just earning a state berth.

Tuesday evening, the Irish captured the program’s first-ever state triumph, downing Bishop McCort, 2-0, in a Class A first-round contest at Richland High School in Johnstown.

York Catholic won the game despite playing in McCort’s backyard. McCort, the District 6-A champion, is also located in Johnstown, which approximately a three-hour drive from York.

York Catholic, which is the third-place team from District 3, improved to 15-7 on the season. McCort finished at 12-8.

Natasha Vadas and freshman Liz Johnson scored York’s goals, with one goal coming in each half. Lisa Casagrande assisted on Johnson’s second-half score.

York Catholic sophomore Hannah Laslo picked up the victory in goal, making two saves. Laslo was playing on familiar turf. She was the goalkeeper for Richland’s District 6-A champion girls’ soccer team last fall before transferring to York Catholic last November. Laslo’s mother is a former basketball standout for McCort.

York Catholic dominated statistically, outshooting McCort, 15-2, and holding a 4-1 edge in corners.

The Irish will move on to the state quarterfinals on Saturday to take on District 7 champion Greensburg Central Catholic, which crushed District 9 champion Karns City, 7-2, in a first-round state contest on Tuesday. The site and time for Saturday’s York Catholic-Greensburg Central Catholic game have yet to be determined.

Greensburg Central Catholic is 20-1 on the season.

COLUMN By DICK VANOLINDA 505-5407 / @ydsports

Hannah Laslo will be on very familiar turf when the York Catholic girls’ soccer team takes on Bishop McCort in a first-round state Class A playoff game on Tuesday night.

The Fighting Irish sophomore goalie will return to Richland High School’s Herlinger Stadium, the place where she started as a freshman last fall on Richland’s District 6 Class A championship team.

Laslo transferred to York Catholic on Nov. 16, following soccer season, when her family moved to York from Johnstown.

“I thought I was finished playing at Herlinger, but I guess I get another chance,” she said on Monday afternoon. “I think it’s going to be really cool. I talked to a lot of my friends from my old school, and they’re going to come and support us.”

The 6-foot, 1-inch Laslo, who saw significant playing time on York Catholic’s District 3 Class AA basketball championship and state runner-up team last winter, now is headed for states with the soccer team.

“I didn’t think we would get there, but we got a lot better from the beginning of the year,” Laslo said. “Once we got into districts, I figured we had a chance to go to states.”

The York Catholic girls will make their first appearance in the state playoffs. The Fighting Irish feature 11 seniors, including Kathleen Johnson, who along with her freshman sister, Elizabeth, are the team’s leading scorers. Emily Ryan, the starting goalie last year, is a starter in the midfield this year.

“Emily provides stability for us in the midfield, and we have three seniors starting at defender, so we have experience there,” York Catholic head coach Ryan Luckman said. “The girls have confidence that if there is a mistake, Hannah will clean it up.”

Laslo, who uses her height to pull down rebounds and score inside during basketball season, swats away shots headed for the upper part of the net and stretches full length to make stops in soccer season.

She delivered an unforgettable performance against Dallastown in this year’s York-Adams League Tournament, recording 18 saves in a 2-1 double-overtime loss to the Division I champion Wildcats.

Laslo credits her teammates with helping improve her confidence and decision making.

“I always had trouble figuring out when to come out (leave the goal area),” she said. “I never played the field, and I didn’t know what to tell them (the defenders). The girls here helped me with that.”

Laslo and her teammates made history by qualifying for states after finishing third in the District 3-A Tournament. On Tuesday night, they’ll seek to earn the program’s first state playoff victory.

To do so, they’ll have to overcome the District 6 champions, who shut out both of their district tournament opponents, 1-0.

Bishop McCort, which broke Richland’s string of four straight district titles, also happens to be the alma mater of Laslo’s mother, Chris McClurkin Laslo. McClurkin Laslo finished an outstanding basketball career at McCort with more than 1,500 points and 1,500 rebounds and earned an NCAA Division I scholarship to Marshall University.

“She (McClurkin Laslo) always had trouble at Richland whenever we played McCort because she still has pride in her alma mater,” Hannah Laslo said. “One of my friend’s parents said to my mom, ‘you can’t root for your alma mater because your girl is playing against them.’”

Dick VanOlinda covers high school sports for The York Dispatch. He can be reached at dvanolin da@yorkdispatch.com.

York Dispatch Staff Report

The York-Adams League will face off against the Lancaster-Lebanon League in a senior all-star girls’ soccer showdown this season.

The game is set for 3 p.m. Sunday at Lancaster Mennonite High School.

Following is the list of York-Adams all-stars expected to compete in the game:

Shyanne Kimbrough, West York; Erin Donaldson, Fairfield; Karina Padilla, Biglerville; Destinee Winhauer, Hanover; Sarah Bentajar, Littlestown; Marianne Freed, Delone Catholic; Emily Firestone, Dover; Amy Spigelmyer, South Western; Courtney Kauffman, Spring Grove; Jeanette Wilson, Susquehannock; Madelyn Duty, Kennard-Dale; Sam Andel, Red Lion; Jensen Knaapenberger, Northeastern; Cassidy Layman, Eastern York; Brooke Heilman, Central York; Becca Austin, Dallastown; Margo Jacoby, New Oxford; Abby Smith, Bermudian Springs; Kelsey Crum, Biglerville; Katyelyn McDonald, Fairfield; Mikala Kin, York Suburban.

By JOHN WALK 505-5406 / @yorksportsguy

LANDISVILLE — The chilly evening at Hempfield High School had started poorly enough for York Catholic.

Perhaps it was a sign of things to come for the No. 5 seed Irish in a District 3-A girls’ soccer semifinal contest against top-seeded Tulpehocken. Just 13 seconds into the game, York Catholic’s Kelly Waser took a deflection squarely off the right side of her face and had to leave the game for a few minutes.

Moments later, Tulpehocken took the lead on an own goal when York Catholic defender Grace Kiebler misjudged the ball and headed it backward over the arms of her goalkeeper, Hannah Laslo.

In the end, though, Tulpehocken proved to be too much for York Catholic, defeating the Irish, 3-0.

“I thought we were ready but it was pretty obvious we weren’t and that’s on me as a coach,” York Catholic coach Ryan Luckman said afterwards. “(Tulpehocken) came out and did a great job at setting the tempo. They played really fast and put a lot of pressure on us. I think that put us back on our heels.”

Despite the loss, York Catholic (13-7) still has a chance to keep its season alive Saturday against No. 6 seed Halifax (13-7-1) in a consolation game for third place in the district tournament and a berth to the PIAA tournament.

The Irish will have some things to work on from Thursday’s loss. Tulpehocken (20-1-1) outshot York Catholic, 7-1. The Berks League Division III champion Trojans went ahead 2-0 at the 13:38 mark in the first half when Dylan Shipe sent a corner kick toward the goal into the outstretched arms of Laslo. The ball quickly slipped from Laslo’s hands and Tulpehocken’s Casey Rightmyer headed it in for the score. The Trojans scored their third goal less than four minutes later. Laslo finished with five saves.

“Their constant pressure put us under duress,” Luckman said. “We played tentative and when you play tentative you allow those things to happen.”

The Irish had their lone shot on goal with under 17 minutes to play when Natasha Vadas booted the ball from about 20 yards out into the arms of keeper Jamie Fisher.

York Catholic will have a quick turnaround to prepare for Halifax with a practice Friday and the consolation game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Eagle View Middle School in the Cumberland Valley School District.

“I’m not concerned (about the turnaround). It’s gonna be easy because in our league with as many games we play, there were days where we played back-to-back games,” Luckman said. “Having the day of practice in-between is gonna be good.”

– Reach John Walk at jwalk@yorkdispatch.com.