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By STEVE SEMBRAT [email protected]
Sunday, November 17, 2002     Page: 10C

AMBLER – Because members of the Lake-Lehman field hockey team weren’t able
to roll up their sleeves on Saturday for the PIAA Class 2A field hockey state
championship game, they did the next best thing.
   
The Black Knights taped up the shoulder straps of their sleeveless uniform
tops to send a clear message that nothing would break their concentration,
certainly not the weather.
    Lehman defeated Lancaster Mennonite, 3-0, in intermittent rain, brisk winds
and biting cold at Wissahickon High School. Still, the Black Knights’ starters
taped up their sleeves the way players do when it is hot and humid outside.
Most also didn’t wear tights under their kilts and shinguards as many players
do in cold weather.
   
The point was to show that the elements would not bother them, which was
not the case in the District 2 Class 2A championship game. Lehman lost that
game, 2-1, to Wyoming Seminary in a steady snow. After the game, Lehman coach
Jean Lipski said she felt that the elements became as much of an opponent to
her players as Seminary was.
   
Against Mennonite, though, the Black Knights made it clear they were ready
to deliver in rain, sleet, snow or shine.
   
“We’re not afraid to play in any kind of weather,” senior forward
Meredith Edwards said. “We’ll go out in anything and do what we have to do.”
   
Stunning upset
   
Central Bucks East (26-1-1, District 1 third-place finisher) shocked Emmaus
(27-1, District 11 champ) 1-0 on a late goal in the Class 3A championship game
that followed the 2A final at Wissahickon High School.
   
Emmaus was seeking to repeat as state champs. The Hornets had outscored
opponents 188-7 heading into the contest, setting a national record for goals
scored in a season.
   
Instant replay
   
The Pennsylvania Cable Network will televise Lehman’s game against
Lancaster Mennonite twice today, first at 2 p.m. and again at 11 p.m. The game
is also scheduled to be shown again at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 29. On all
three occasions, the 3A final will be shown following Lehman’s victory.
   
Helping hand
   
When handing out thank yous on Saturday, Lake-Lehman field hockey coach
Jean Lipski didn’t forget the rest of the Wyoming Valley Conference.
   
“I thank our conference for getting us ready for this,” Lipski said.
“I’ve always said that getting out of our conference is one of the hardest
things to do. Crestwood is sitting home and they are one of the best teams
we’ve played all year. They didn’t even get the chance to make a run.”
   
Lehman defeated Crestwood in a penalty-stroke shootout in a District 2
Class 2A semifinal game. The Black Knights would not have advanced to the
state playoffs had they lost that contest.
   
Trophy presentation
   
Lehman was presented its state championship trophy by District 2 chairman
Frank Majikes. It was fitting because Lehman would not have made the state
playoffs if it had not been for some work behind the scenes by Majikes.
   
The number of state playoff berths each district gets is proportional to
the number of schools that sponsor the sport in each area. When the brackets
were drawn up for this year’s playoffs, only the District 2 champ was penciled
in for a berth, but Majikes helped the district keep a berth for its
runner-up, which was Lehman.
   
“We could have been sitting home as well,” Lipski said. “It is a matter
of looking beyond the numbers and looking at the impact areas have on the
state playoffs.”
   
The District 2 Class 2A runner-up has reached the state championship game
in three of the past four years. Crestwood also won a state title as the
district’s second-place team in 1999.
   
Singing in the rain
   
And other assorted notes … Lake-Lehman sophomore Chelsea MacDougal sang
the national anthem before both championship games … Wyoming Valley West was
the one team to play both state champions this season. The Spartans lost to
Central Bucks East and Lake-Lehman, both 1-0 … while Lehman will graduate
some very talented seniors, there is reason to believe the Black Knights will
remain among the elite teams in the state. Sophomore center midfielder Amanda
Sagan and freshman forward Traci Ragukas each had an outstanding game for
Lehman, and help give the Black Knights a foundation for the future.