First Posted: 5/21/2014

Scranton Prep more than doubled the number of shots Dallas was able to produce in Tuesday’s District 2 boys lacrosse semifinal.

George Pfieffer, the Mountaineers fourth-year goalkeeper and second-year captain, made sure those numbers did not matter.

Pfieffer repeatedly turned away the Cavaliers while making 29 saves to lead Dallas to a comfortable, 8-5 victory that put the Mountaineers back in the district championship game.

“We got an unbelievable game from our keeper,” Dallas coach Chris Hampel said. “He was the difference in the game.”

The Mountaineers opened a 7-1 lead when they scored the first goal of the second half.

Dallas reached the district final for the fourth straight season, but for the fourth time it was scheduled to face top-seeded Delaware Valley, which won the previous three meetings.

Hampel calls Pfieffer “our leader on and off the field” and has gotten a strong season from the veteran while Dallas went 10-2 to finish second in the Wyoming Valley Conference and land the second seed in the district tournament. Against third-seeded Scranton Prep, which was coming off a 13-1 rout of Tunkhannock in the quarterfinals, Hampel was at his best.

“He’s a hard worker. He’s dedicated to it,” Hampel said. “He’s a talented athlete.”

Pfieffer also plays goalie in ice hockey.

“I don’t know know if the skills necessarily transfer,” Hampel said. “but his reflexes are sharp. He’s just a natural athlete.

“He does some things that very few kids at our level – and very few kids at a higher level – do. Some of it just leaves us scratching our heads on the sideline as coaches wondering ‘how could he do that?’”

Brenden Baloh had two goals and an assist to lead the Dallas offense. Jesse Goode and J.T. Carey also scored two goals while Omar Nimjeh had three assists.

Carey and Goode scored in the first two minutes to get the Mountaineers off to a strong start.

Dallas also had balanced scoring in the May 15 quarterfinal when it overpowered North Pocono, 16-1.

Nimjeh led the way with three goals.