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WILKES-BARRE — The ball rolled into Coughlin’s end of the field and a Crusader charged forward to swat it away.
Another one of her defensive-driven teammates did the same thing the next trip down. Then another.
Senior co-captain Kalie Reed and the rest of the ball-swatting Crusaders did it again. They protected their goalies and played a big part in registering another shutout.
Meanwhile, Kyra Wozniak scored the game’s only two goals at Guthrie Field and the Crusaders defense limited Hazleton Area to just three shots Tuesday as Coughlin contained the Cougars, 2-0, to move closer to claiming a second straight Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 crown.
“It feels great,” Reed said. “There are some great offensive forwards on Hazleton. We even play with some of them at club (field hockey). I’m pretty confident in our team and where we’re sitting right now.”
The Crusaders are sitting right where they want to be, at 8-0 atop the WVC Division 1 and holding a two-game lead in the loss column over Wyoming Valley West and three over Hazleton Area with four regular season games left.
Coughlin’s dynamic defense had a huge hand in that.
The Crusaders registered their fifth shutout of league play Tuesday, and haven’t allowed more than a single goal in any WVC game this season.
“It’s just, we all work together as a whole,” Reed said.
There’s only one drawback to such defensive success.
Coughlin goalies Megan Novak and M’Kensie Lee aren’t getting a whole lot of work. They were basically inactive against Hazleton Area, recording a total of three combined saves, and neither has faced enough shots to be included among the league’s saves leaders.
“It makes me nervous,” Coughlin coach Colleen Wood said, “coming to the end of the season where they’re not getting a lot of (tries) on the ball. (But) our mids have a ton of speed, our defense has been making very nice stops. They just really played well.”
So did Wozniak.
She found the cage in the 11th minute, taking a feed from Katie Anderson and clanging it home for the game’s first goal. And when Wozniak scored again with her second goal of the first half, off a setup from Brigid Wood, the Crusaders seemed as if they’d sealed the game with more than 40 minutes to play.
At least it seemed that way, the way Coughlin’s defense was limiting shots.
“You’re never safe at two goals,” Reed said, “especially playing such a good team like Hazleton. It’s never secure, because anything can happen.”
The girls in Coughlin’s back row, though, made sure nothing did.
“All the kids are really coming together,” Colleen Wood said. “Especially with a shutout against a fast team.”
Wyoming Valley West 12, Honesdale 0
Irelynd Sullivan scored four goals, Foto Tsioles hit a hat trick and Mercedes Jasterzenski and Elizabeth Owens both registered two goals as the Spartans remained two games behind Coughlin with four to play in the WVC Division 1 title chase.
Nina Magnotta finished with two assists for the Spartans.
Pittston Area 3, Wallenpaupack 1
Ali Dunn scored all three goals as the Patriots evened their record at 3-3-1 and remained in control of the fourth seed for the District 2 Class 3A playoffs.
Dunn scored two unassisted goals in the first half and hit the hat trick in the second half off a feed from Alana Platukus to give Pittston Area a 3-0 lead. Lindsay Tussel scored Wallenpaupack’s goal.
Lackawanna Trail 4, Holy Redeemer 1
Courtney Dwyer scored three times, Lauren Baldwin tallied a goal and Madison Lee recorded three assists as Lackawanna Trail stopped the Royals’ four-game winning streak.
Abby Shorts scored the lone goal of the night for the Royals.
Coughlin 2, Hazleton Area 0
Coughlin`2`0`—`2
Hazleton Area`0`0`—`0
First half — 1. COU, Kyra Wozniak (Katie Anderson), 10:48; 2. COU, Wozniak (Brigid Wood) 19:39.
Shots — HAZ 3; COU 16. Saves — HAZ 14 (Margaret Fulton); COU 3 (Megan Novak 2, M’Kensie Lee 1). Penalty corners — HAZ 2; COU 3.
Wyoming Valley West 12, Honesdale 0
Honesdale`0`0`—`0
Wyoming Valley West`8`4`—`12
First half — 1. WVW, Mercedes Jasterzenski (Nina Magnotta); 2. WVW, Irelynd Sullivan (Karaline Stelma); 3. WVW, Sullivan (Foto Tsioles); 4. WVW, Tsioles; 5. WVW, Sullivan (Magnotta); 6. WVW, Tsioles; 7. WVW, Jasterzenski (Payton Boler); 8. WVW, Natalie Zasada (Jasterzenski). Second half – 9. WVW, Sullivan (Madison Woods); 10. WVW, Elizabeth Owens (Rhyleigh White); 11. WVW, Owens (Carolyn Antell); 12. WVW, Tsioles.
Shots — HON 1; WVW 16; Saves — HON 4 (Mackenzie Jackson); WVW 1 (Nikki Hartzel). Penalty corners — HON 3; WVW 6.
Pittston Area 3, Wallenpaupack 1
Pittston Area`2`1`—`3
Wallenpaupack`0`1`—`1
First half — 1. PA, Ali Dunn 26:07; 2. PA, Dunn 1:26. Second half – 3. PA, Dunn (Alana Platukus) 12:20; 4. WAL, Lindsay Tussel (Alyssa Watson) 9:52
Shots — PA 13; WAL 7. Saves — PA 6 (Shelby Gardner); WAL 10 (Katie Irving). Penalty corners — PA 15; WAL 3.
Lackawanna Trail 4, Holy Redeeemer 1
Holy Redeemer`0`1`—`1
Lackawanna Trail`3`1`—`4
First half — 1. LT, Lauren Baldwin (Madison Lee), 14:41. 2. LT, Courtney Dwyer (Lee), 9:18. 3. LT, Dwyer (Lee), 3:59. Second half — 4. LT, Dwyer (Lauren Beamer), 20:11. 5. HR, Abby Shorts (Leah Mullery), 12:51.
Shots — HR 9; LT 12. Saves — HR 10 ; LT 10 (Sarah Weisenfluf). Penalty corners — HR 7; LT 10.
