Quarterfinal

At this time of year, after 21/2 months of use, Poppy Yoder Field is more dirt than grass. The Perkasie field could take its biggest pounding Friday night, when Pennsbury and Pennridge, two run-oriented teams, clash in a PIAA District 1 Class AAAA quarterfinal. Pennsbury's wing-T offense is powered by halfback Shawn Pepper, who has rushed for 1,320 yards and 13 touchdowns, and bulldozing fullback Daquan Mack. For the Rams, junior halfback Mike Class, in a wing-T, power scheme, has carried 248 times for an area-best 2,201 yards and 29 TDs. Sixth-seeded Pennsbury is trying for its first district championship since 2006.

A late ejection erased any chance for Holy Cross to rally past Notre Dame on Tuesday afternoon, and the Lancers fell, 7-3, in the quarterfinals of the South Jersey Non-Public A boys' soccer tournament. Trailing by just a goal, Holy Cross lost a fullback to a red card, which spurred Notre Dame to score three straight goals to cap the scoring. Kevin Bodine, a senior, scored two goals and senior Jon Mackie added another for Holy Cross. Senior Keenan Campbell and junior Evan Kirton scored twice each for Notre Dame.

Scarlett Walsh scored two goals to lead Archbishop Ryan over Archbishop Carroll, 3-0, in a Catholic League girls' soccer quarterfinal on Saturday. Walsh scored twice in the first half, and Julianne Blank added a goal in the second. Jazmin Gonzalez stopped three shots to earn the shutout. In other Catholic League playoff action: Deanna Messner stopped seven shots to pace Archbishop Wood to a 3-1 victory over Cardinal O'Hara. Jackie Pierson started the scoring for the Vikings in the 20th minute off a cross from Carly Hoelsworth.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Matthew Mattare of Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa., reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Conway Farms Golf Club with a 2-and-1 win Tuesday over Stephen Cox of Jonesboro, Ark. Cox had beaten Joe April of the Philadelphia Cricket Club, 3 and 2, in the round of 32. Former Pennsylvania Amateur champion Nathan Smith of Pittsburgh also advanced to the quarterfinals. HERSHEY, Pa. - Lisa Schlesinger of Laytonsville, Md., the qualifying medalist, recorded a 2-and-1 win over Anna Schultz to make it to Wednesday's quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur at Hershey Country Club.

LONDON - Defiant and defensive, Mike Krzyzewski hardly sounded as if he coaches the best team in the world. He's tired of the criticisms of the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team, fed up with questions about why it isn't as easy for the Americans as it used to be. For more than 13 minutes Tuesday, Krzyzewski fought back against every notion that his squad should never dare find itself in a close game. Now it's time for his players to answer for themselves. The quarterfinals start Wednesday against Australia, the Americans needing three victories - however they get them - to win the gold medal that seems such a foregone conclusion most times, but far from a sure thing during long stretches of their last two games.

WIMBLEDON, England - Thanks to a bit of advice from her big sister and a bunch of aces from her big serve, Serena Williams is back in the Wimbledon semifinals. With two more victories, Williams will be holding a Grand Slam trophy for the first time in two years. As the thud of racket against ball reverberated under the closed Centre Court roof, Williams smacked 13 aces at up to 120 m.p.h. and overpowered defending champion Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 7-5, in the quarterfinals Tuesday at the All England Club.

LAURELDALE, Pa. — La Salle advanced to the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals with a 7-6 win Friday over Central Dauphin. Ryan Otis drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh, scoring pinch-runner Marcus Sistrun. The Explorers scored three in the sixth on a bases-clearing double by Chris Melillo. La Salle will play Hatboro-Horsham in the semifinals. The game is tentatively scheduled for noon Monday n

Farryl Groder singled with two outs in the ninth inning to drive in the game-winning run as Pennsbury outlasted Lower Dauphin, 7-6, in the PIAA State Class AAAA softball tournament quarterfinals on Thursday at Lyons Field in Fleetwood. The Falcons (22-4) outhit the District 3 third-place team (25-3) by 17-9 but each team scored three runs in the eighth inning to set the stage for the clincher in the top of the ninth. Taylor Boltersdorf and Jess Greenwald had three hits apiece, and Lauren Cregan supplied a key two-out, two-strike triple in the eighth.

The origin of Bret DeStefano's nickname, "Bart," dates back about a decade, when he was playing in a Little League tournament for Northampton. "The P.A. announcer called me Bart DeScripto, " the Council Rock South lefthander said. "He got both my first and last name wrong. The first name stuck. " With his teammates chirping "C'mon, Bart" throughout Thursday's PIAA Class AAAA state baseball quarterfinal vs. Coatesville, DeStefano pitched the Golden Hawks past the Red Raiders, 5-1, at Spring-Ford's Ram Stadium.

LAURELDALE — The senior members of Ss. Neumann-Goretti High's baseball team now have an extra reason to forever remember their graduation ceremony. A baseball game will surround it. Thursday afternoon at Muhlenberg High, right outside Reading, the Saints began to play Blue Mountain in a PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal. After two weather delays totaling 57 minutes apiece — rain the first time, lightning/rain the second — the umps sent everyone home at 7:03, and a decision was made to finish the game Friday.