GREENCASTLE — Greencastle-Antrim girls soccer coach Chris Noblit liked the way his team started the game, and he liked the way they played in the second half.

Mia Libby

But he knows there is lots of room for improvement, despite the fact that the Blue Devils dominated Solanco 3-0 in a District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal game at Kaley Field on Thursday night. It will take a better effort if No. 1 seed G-A (19-1) wants to get past No. 4 Mechanicsburg (15-3-2) in a semifinal game Monday night at Kaley Field at 7 p.m.

The top four teams in 4A qualify for states, so the Blue Devils have already achieved that goal.

“We responded in the second half,” Noblit said. “I thought we started off good, but then we had about a 20-minute spell where we were back on our heels. It was like we were playing to hold that 1-0 lead for the whole game. We had eight players back on defense and couldn’t get the ball up to the forwards.”

The good start Noblit referred to came from the foot of Courtney Andruczk. In the fifth minute, Andruczk took a pass from Avery Parks, stopped the ball, turned and cracked a shot over the head of Golden Mules goalkeeper Caroline Drumm that rippled the net for a 1-0 lead.

While the Blue Devils continued to press, Solanco (14-5) gradually worked its way into the flow of the game. The Mules managed only two shots, neither on target, but they were able to slow down G-A’s offense and won more 50-50 balls.

But in the second half, until very late, Solanco found itself bottled up in their defensive end. The Greencastle defenders applied high pressure that resulted in more space for Andruczk and Parks to operate and that proved deadly for the Mules.

Seven minutes into the half, Haley Noblit made two excellent moves to slip around defenders, but the second player caught her foot and the resulting trip was called for a penalty kick. Unfortunately, Mia Libby’s PK slid outside the right post and Solanco dodged a bullet.

But that seemed to make the Blue Devils work harder. And it got results — Parks hit a through ball that freed up Andruczk for a one-on-one with Drumm and her shot hit the keeper’s body and found the net. That came less than two minutes after the PK.

And just two and a half minutes later, Abbie Guthrie took a corner kick that drew a crowd inside the box. Somehow Libby, the shortest player, got a head on it and it snuck into the net for a 3-0 advantage.

Coach Noblit said, “In the second half we put Courtney at striker and moved Haley to the win, and we told our forwards to not come back down the field. Once we got the ball up to them, we kept it up there. And because they had to pay attention to Haley outside, it opened things up in the middle.  In the first, they were able to keep the middle clogged up.”

Greencastle defender Rylee Henson, who covered a ton of ground and delivered several good free kicks, said, “I know we could have hit some shots better, but the main thing is we got the win. Coach wanted us to step to the ball and keep it in, and that led to some easy shots.”

The Golden Mules did not threaten until the final 10 minutes. First, Meg Bailey got free for a one-on-one vs. goalkeeper Lexi Nelson, but Nelson timed her charge just right and Bailey’s rushed shot went wide. Later, Solanco had two forwards behind the defense. Nelson came out to disrupt the play and Karleigh Bubeck flew across the field to take care of  knocking the ball away.

Henson said, “Our keeper’s confidence has been a lot better toward the end of the season. She knows we have her back and we know she has ours.”

Now it’s on to the semifinals, and Noblit knows his team faces a tough challenge. Mechanicsburg defeated Northern York 3-0 Thursday.

“They have the Player of the Year in the Mid Penn (Halle Engle), but our defense has been lights out, so something has to give, right?” he said.

Greencastle-Antrim 3, Solanco 0
Solanco                   0      0      —      0
Greencastle            1     2      —      3
First Half
GA — Courtney Andruczk, asst. Avery Parks, 5th minute
Second Half
GA — Andruczk, asst Parks, 48th minute
GA — Mai Libby, 51st minute
Shots — Sol 3; GA 26. Saves — Sol 8 (Caroline Drumm); GA 1 (Lexi Nelson). Corner kicks — Sol 1; GA 7.