The seventh-seeded Whitehall Zephyrs opened play in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference girls soccer tournament with a 2-0 loss to second-seeded Allentown Central Catholic on Oct. 16 at J Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown.

“Whitehall’s really well-organized and very well-coached,” said Central coach Rob Spatzer. “All their players are in the right places so you have to figure out a way to break it down. [Whitehall coach Chris Bleam] makes really good adjustments, so we know that it’s not always going to be the same, first and second half, just based on the adjustments he makes. Setting up the opportunities is the main thing.”

Central forward Sammy Roth scored first for the Vikettes in the eighth minute.

Whitehall had two opportunities to score minutes later, the second of which was kicked out by Central goalie Armani Brickhouse.

Dee McMullen scored Central’s second goal in the 28th minute.

“I felt our midfield play was really good,” said Spatzer. “We were organized and finding feet really well, which, in the last couple of games, we got away from playing strong possessions. I thought our possession game was good. We won most 50-50 balls, and I liked the movement off the ball too.”

In the second half, Whitehall’s Sophia Mrazik attempted to score off her body on a cross from Ella Weber but missed in the 58th minute.

Then, in the last two minutes of play, Central’s offense threatened a third goal, but Whitehall keeper Samantha Kern made the stop.

“We’ve been working a lot on service across the goal and finishing, so we had two cracks at it, and a lot of it is about technique in that situation,” Spatzer said. “It’s tough to finish inside the 6, just because their nerves go up and they tend to rush a little bit sometimes, but if our finishing gets a little better, maybe we put in more goals.”

Kern made 12 saves for the Zephyrs, and Brickhouse made 4 saves for the Vikettes.

Central will take on Easton in a semifinal, scheduled for Oct. 18 at Whitehall.

“Easton’s a dangerous team, and they’ll certainly want some revenge, I would expect,” said Spatzer, whose Vikettes defeated the Red Rovers, 1-0, in the regular season.