Consistency lifts Spring Grove soccer
With its second win over Susquehannock this season on Tuesday night, the Spring Grove girls' soccer team extended its YAIAA unbeaten streak to 14 consecutive games. But even with a Division record of 12-1-2, the Rockets remained below Dallastown in the Section 1 standings.
That one defeat? It came to Dallastown in the season opener. The teams' second meeting ended in a draw, leaving the Rockets 0-1-1 against their biggest competitor this season and presumably showing the Wildcats superiority over the Rockets.
But assuming Spring Grove manages to defeat winless William Penn on Friday, the Rockets will clinch the Division I as well as Section 1 title and earn a top seed in next week's YAIAA tournament. They earned the title because they refused to slip up even once for the remainder of the season and the Wildcats just couldn't keep up.
Dallastown recorded its second league loss of the season Wednesday night, dropping a 1-0 decision to Kennard-Dale to fall just behind Spring Grove in the league standings. While the Wildcats are 12-2-1, Spring Grove boasts a 12-1-2 mark. The other Dallastown defeat came against Central York midway through the season.
When it comes to regular season championships, the ability to perform at a top level every night separates the title-winners from the second-place finishers. Spring Grove proved it was the best team over the course of the season even if they couldn't take down Dallastown head-to-head.
Of course, regular season titles only mean so much. As they play for the YAIAA crown or compete for the District 3 title, the Rockets will likely run into Dallastown at some point again. This time, they'll have to prevail. Spring Grove coach Ashley Rohrbaugh has seen noticeable improvement from his squad recently, particularly on offense.
"They have been elevating their play the last couple of games," Rohrbaugh said. "Maggie (Hoff) and Katie (Holtzapple) have really been keying off each other. They have both been stepping it up."
The best thing about earning the top seed from Division I for the YAIAA tournament may be a spot on the opposite side of the bracket from Division II champion Eastern York, which has blown by competition en route to a perfect 14-0-0 league record this season.
