Yoder scores twice, Christopher Dock tops Calvary Baptist in District 1-A first round

LANSDALE — The 10th time’s a charm.

At least that was the case for the Christopher Dock boys soccer team in the opening round of District 1-A playoffs against Calvary Baptist Thursday afternoon.

The Pioneers’ first nine shots on goal were steered aside by Calvary keeper Dustin Harris, but that tenth shot found its way into the top right corner and proved to be the game-winner for the Pioneers in their 2-0 victory over the Warriors.

In the 47th minute, freshman forward Austin Kratz dribbled the ball up the left side and cut to the center right at the top of the box. With a series of calm and controlled kicks, he worked around three defenders before finding a wide-open Josh Yoder streaking down the right side. Yoder’s shot was perfectly placed to give the Pioneers the lead in a game they dominated offensively from the start.

“It was pure work,’ Yoder said of Kratz’s pass. “He worked to get the ball and slotted the ball in. (It was a) perfect pass.’

“It was composure around the goal [and] it was a well distributed ball,’ added Dock head coach Matt Moyer. “That is what you need in district soccer. It was really well done.’

The goal was the result of almost 50 minutes of strong work in the offensive zone from the Pioneers. They took advantage of the Warriors’ defensive lapses and also took advantage of the small field size at Calvary Baptist to quickly transition from their own end to an offensive attack.

“That comes into play,’ Moyer said. “We trained in an environment like this knowing what we were going into, so our kids were well-prepared for it. They are expected to adapt to their surroundings and the different types of fields.’

That adaptation came very early, and resulted in 20 shots on net for the Pioneers, including 13 in the second half.

“We stayed on the ball and just (kept ripping shots),’ Yoder said. “It was bound to generate something and it did in the end.’

It was Yoder who netted his second goal of the game off his own rebound with less than two minutes left to secure the win. At the time, Calvary was pressing hard to tie the score and had several close chances on net, including one shot that just missed high above the crossbar.

“That just closed the game for us and totally put them away,’ Yoder said.

They could have put the Warriors away a lot sooner had it not been for a performance of the ages from Harris in net. The senior goalkeeper made 18 saves in the game, including two on straight breakaways and another several that seemed destined for the corner only to be knocked away by diving stops.

“[He was] tremendous,’ said Warriors head coach Jeff Bergey. “He played great and made saves I don’t think many keepers around here would have made. He made college level saves today.’

“Their keeper did an exceptional job today,’ Moyer added.

Dock goalie Seth Frankenfield played strong as well, steering away all seven shots he faced. However, the offensive chances from Calvary Baptist were sparse, especially in the first half when the wet grass, mud, wind and cold air made it tough to get anything going. By the time they started to get a steady set of shots on net, they simply ran out of time.

“We had some chances (but) we didn’t really adjust to playing in the wind and also the mud,’ Bergey said. “They adjusted better than we did. We didn’t get a lot of chances early, but [we] played hard. I can’t say [we] didn’t play hard.’

The loss was just the third all season for Calvary Baptist, who put together a 13-2 regular season record, and it eliminated them from the District 1 playoffs. Christopher Dock, who went 8-10 in the regular season, advances to Tuesday’s semifinals to face either No. 3 New Hope-Solebury or No. 6 Devon Prep — who play 7 p.m. Friday.

“I’m proud of our kids for their first district win,’ Moyer said. “Not making districts last year was difficult, so this is good for this group of boys.’