Perfect Central girls soccer team will get Tyrone in semis
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By Jon Fleck
For the Mirror
Central's smothering defense combined with three goals in an 11-minute span early in the second half lifted the Lady Dragons to a 4-0 win over Cambria Heights in the District 6 2A quarterfinals Wednesday at Mansion Park.
Central remains undefeated at 19-0 and plays Tyrone, a winner over Forest Hills, at 8 p.m. Monday in the semifinals at a location to be announced.
After limiting Heights to just three shots, Central coach Randy Trexler had nothing but praise for the team's defensive play.
"The reason we're 19-0 this season is because we've only given up 14 goals," Central coach Randy Trexler said. "That backline is stellar. They don't get nearly enough credit. That's why I do stats for everything so they can see the metrics and see how well they're playing."
Central kicked it in gear offensively right out the halftime gate.
"We're a very good passing team, and the field is so big. When we started moving the ball up and back that just opened up the passing lanes," Trexler said.
Ella Garner stared the second half spurt with a goal off a penalty kick after being dragged down in the box.
"I just pick the corner I wanted to go with confidence. I made eye contact with the goalie, and just hit it," Garner said.
It worked because the keeper froze on her shot to the lower left corner of the net to give Central a 2-0 edge at the 36:12 mark.
Garner struck again less than seven minutes later, this time scoring on a rebound off a corner kick.
Kira Trexler, the team's corner taker, looks for Garner a lot on those plays because "she can hit it with her head," but this time the ball found Bethany Kensinger at the top of the box on the left wing for a shot on goal.
Keeper Maria Wendekier made the save, but the rebound went straight to Garner, who wasted no time finding the back of the net for a 3-0 advantage.
"I always try to the crash the net. I just followed the ball. Katie (Ritchey) was there. She went in behind. I got around my defender and hit it in with my left," Garner said.
Trexler capped the flurry with an unassisted goal at 25:01 to make it 4-0.
"I touched it with my left foot. I went in between their outside back and their center back, just kept touching, and got the right angle for the goal," she said.
Ritchey opened the scoring with a goal setup by Carli Hart's centering pass at 24:10 of the first half.
"Carli got it to me off the wing. I crashed the goal and hit it off my arm. It got the past the goalie, bounced off the defender and went in," Ritchey said.
Cambria Heights' season ends with a 9-10 mark.
"They found some openings in the middle and took advantage," CH coach Nikki Spanik said. "Our season's been amazing. We have a good group of girls. We've come a long way. I've been coaching varsity for three years, and we've improved each and every year."
SCORE BY HALVES
Cambria Heights 0 0 -- 0
Central 1 3 -- 4
First Half: C--Ritchey (Hart), 24:10.
Second Half: C--Garner (penalty kick), 36:12. C--Garner (Kensinger), 29:34. C--Trexler (unassisted), 25:01.
Records: Cambria Heights (9-10); Central (19-0).