By Erin O’Neil, Sports Editor
Expectations were high as ’Stoga soccer fans milled around the Teamer stands on Halloween, ready to watch what was expected to be yet another stepping stone on the way to a state title.
They cheered for Conestoga’s first goal 10 minutes in, and continued to smile even after Henderson scored one of its own. The score was still tied when the buzzer ran out, but ’Stoga remained optimistic as the rain started to fall and the two teams plunged headfirst into double overtime. But opportunity after opportunity fell through for the Pioneers and still no goals had been scored. Mental reassurance morphed into hushed anxiety as buckets of rain began to empty themselves onto the slippery turf and a select few stood ready to take their penalty shots.
“During the penalties, I was telling myself we were prepared for this,” junior Tamzin Ellerbeck said. “All we had to do was focus.”
In the end, Henderson capitalized on one more goal than ’Stoga to advance to the state tournament. The Pioneers wiped the rain off their faces, walked off the field and shook hands with the victors.
And then came the shock.
“The season ended so quickly,” Ellerbeck said.
But apart from the end result, this year’s soccer season was virtually indistinguishable from any other. The team dominated the Central League, losing only one game, and swept its last league match with a 6-0 win over Germantown before heading into the playoffs. But then the competition stiffened. Conestoga managed to snatch a 1-0 win over Villa Maria in the second round of the playoffs (having received a bye in the first), but the ease with which victory had come earlier was fading first.
And then of course, they faced Henderson in the rain.
But it must be said that, although ’Stoga fell short of this year’s championship aspirations, its season was still by no means a failure. The Pioneers not only won the Central League for the third year in a row but advanced as far into the district playoffs as any other ’Stoga team did this fall.
Not to say that we didn’t expect a third championship, but we forget that ’Stoga is just as susceptible to an unlucky round of penalty kicks, and can just as easily fall victim to goal posts and unlucky bounces as any other team. This particular year, ’Stoga was simply unable to clear the bar that has been steadily rising since 2007. But next season presents a clean slate for a team that has never disappointed us with talent.
Pioneer supporters shouldn’t pack away their dreams for states just yet: We were close, and there’s nothing like a heart-breaking playoff defeat to fuel a vengeful next season.
Erin O’Neil can be reached at eoneil@stoganews.com.
Printed originally on p. 21 of the Nov. 24, 2009 issue of The Spoke.
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