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By JOHN ERZAR; Times Leader Sports Writer
Friday, May 16, 1997     Page: 8B

Call it taking the fifth.
   
Eight Wyoming Valley Conference teams will try to do so as the fifth
District 2 Girls Soccer Tournament begins today with two games.
    Two more quarterfinal games will be Saturday. The semifinals will be at
5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday at Wyoming Valley West Stadium. The finals will
be 7 p.m. Wednesday, also at Valley West Stadium.
   
Since the WVC went to a tournament format, Bishop Hoban won the title
twice, in 1993 and ’95. Coughlin won in ’94, and Wyoming Seminary was last
year’s champion.
   
Here’s a look at the quarterfinal games.
   
Wyoming Area at Coughlin
   
4 p.m., today
   
Division II champion Wyoming Area (12-2) played its best game of the season
Monday, completing the regular season with a seven-game winning streak by
defeating Pittston Area. But despite strong passing and defense, the Warriors
will have to do more to defeat Coughlin.
   
Coughlin (11-3-1) finished second in Division I-A, and finished the season
by winning seven of its last nine games. However, the Crusaders will be
without leading scorer Emily Trievel. Trievel (eight goals, nine assists)
severely sprained her right ankle Monday. Still, they should be strong,
especially at midfield with Larissa Giza (three goals, two assists) and
Juliann Leskiw (five goals, three assists). Amy Schultz (five goals, one
assist) will be the top scorer up front.
   
Wyoming Area counters with an attack led by Meghan Calpin (15 goals, seven
assists), Elena Ragantesi (14 goals, seven assists), Chrissy Polak (7 goals,
one assist) and Carly Drahus (five goals).
   
The winner plays the Valley West-Dallas winner.
   
Wyoming Valley West at Dallas
   
4 p.m., today
   
Division I-A third-place Dallas (8-3-4) and Division I-B second-place
Valley West (7-5-2) played to a 1-1 overtime tie on April 30.
   
Offense has been Dallas’ problem all season. Only three teams in the entire
WVC have scored less than Dallas’ 25 goals. Part of the problem has been the
loss of midfielder Robin Holeman for the season. Still, Christy Callahan (13
goals, six assists) is one of the WVC’s top threats while Nicky Nackley (five
goals, two assists) has come on strongly.
   
Valley West’s problem is just the opposite. The Spartans can score with
Stacey Horn (21 goals, four assists), Renee Williams (15 goals, five assists)
and Corrine Hoyes (five goals, seven assists) leading the way. However, they
got into too many high-scoring games, allowing opponents 3.2 goals-per-game.
   
The winner plays the Wyoming Area-Dallas winner.
   
Bishop O’Reilly at Bishop Hoban
   
11 a.m., Saturday
   
Bishop Hoban won the only meeting of the teams this season, 2-1, on April
27.
   
However, that was near the end of a six-game winning streak that propelled
the Argents (9-6) into the playoffs. They ended the regular season with
one-goal losses to Lehman, Dallas and Coughlin.
   
O’Reilly (8-5-1) is heading in the opposite direction. After losing four of
five games, all against Division I-A opponents, the Division I-B champion
Queenswomen closed the season out by winning three in a row.
   
Carlene Kratz (12 goals, four assists) and Megan Augustine (seven goals,
nine assists) lead a Hoban offense that doesn’t score much. It averaged two
goals per game, fourth in the six-team Division I-A. However, the defense is
strong, ranking third with a 1.3 goals-per-game average.
   
O’Reilly’s offense is headed by Division I-B scoring leader Erin Stair, who
has 25 goals and seven assists. Stair, one of the top players in the league,
will play for Army next season. Liz Bustin (six goals, eight assists), Chrissy
Murphy (six goals, five assists) and Bianca Brdaric (four goals, four assists)
are the other weapons.
   
The winner plays the GAR/Lake-Lehman winner.
   
GAR at Lake-Lehman
   
2 p.m., Saturday
   
Call it a baptism of fire. Division II runner-up GAR (11-2-1) will play its
first game of the season against a Division I opponent. And Lehman is no
ordinary opponent.
   
Lehman (13-2-0) won the Division I-A title, its third consecutive
divisional title. It has the division’s top-ranked offense (3.7 goals per
game) and No. 1 defense (1.1 goals per game). It has speed with Sara Kasper
(11 goals, seven assists) and last season’s Division I MVP Kelly Spencer (22
goals, nine assists), and range with Jess Elston (nine goals, 10 assists).
   
GAR keeper Amy George has a WVC-high eight shutouts, but she and the
defense will be tested like never before this season. Offensively, Alissa
Smith (22 goals, 5 assists) was Division II’s top scorer. Nicole Flynn (10
goals, seven assists), Kara Elias (seven goals, nine assists) and Wendy
Karpinski (two goals, six assists) are also threats.
   
The winner plays the O’Reilly-Hoban winner.
   
WVC GIRLS
   
SOCCER