Dock Mennonite blanks Calvary Christian for District 1-1A title
TOWAMENCIN >> It was a complete effort by Dock Mennonite Academy Thursday night, as the Pioneers earned a 6-0 shutout victory over Calvary Christian to claim the District 1-1A Title.
Coach Stacy Vaitis supplied the leadership, along with some extra motivation.
“The deal was if they win districts, they get to dye my hair green,” Vaitis said as the postgame celebration continued at midfield. “That was their incentive for the whole season.”
The top-seeded Pioneers made sure a season’s worth of hard work payed off on their home turf, controlling things from the start and locking up a spot in states.
“I’m not playing soccer in college so it’s great to have this team and to win together and keep going,” said senior Peyton Scialanca, a major reason Dock possessed the ball for most of the contest. “I really didn’t want this to be my last soccer game ever. It’s the thrill of it – this is what we’ve been working for all season.”
Dock got an instant boost from its pair of Abby’s — Abby Lanning and Abby Mellinger each scored to make it 2-0 Dock 14 minutes in.
Two goals by Ashley Lapp were sandwiched around a breakaway score by Emma Kratz, and it was 5-0 Dock at the half.
An own goal, coming off a corner by Lapp, wrapped up the scoring after the break, with Laura Frederick securing the shutout in net for the Pioneers.
“They were ready to go,” Vaitis said. “They had high intensity, a lot of positivity on the field. They worked for it. They wanted it.”
Dock split the regular-season series with Calvary Christian and got the third matchup in decisive fashion.
“This is amazing. We knew coming into preseason that this was gonna be our year,” Vaitis said. “The girls worked hard since we got the okay to play again, and we just feel grateful and blessed that we’re actually on the field.”
The journey continues.
“It’s super exciting. This is what we’ve been working for since July,” Scialanca said. “(States) is nothing we can’t win. We’ll put a lot more hard work into it. This is what we want.”
District 1-1A Final
Dock 6, Calvary Christian 0
Calvary Christian 0 0 – 0
Dock 5 1 – 6
First Half
D-Abby Lanning, 31:34; D-Abby Mellinger, 25:28; D-Ashley Lapp, 20:55; D-Emma Kratz, 12:28; D-Lapp, 2:58.
Second Half
D-Own goal, 18:30.
