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Bring out the old, in with the new.
The opening of the PIAA field hockey playoffs Tuesday provides plenty of both, starting with a record number of state teams from the Wyoming Valley Conference.
As usual, there’s Crestwood, Wyoming Valley West and Lake-Lehman, who were all PIAA participants within the last two years. Throw in state newcomer Holy Redeemer, and the odds of the powerful District 2 adding another state crown to its total of 13 only increase.
It all starts with Tuesday’s doubleheader at Wyoming Seminary’s Nesbitt Field, where District 2 Class A champion Lake-Lehman faces Annville Cleona at 5 p.m. followed by a showdown between District 2 Class 2A champ Wyoming Valley West and Villa Maria Academy at 7 p.m.
There are no guarantee, though, no matter if teams are playing in their home district or in someone else’s.
“The 16 teams that are all here, they’re all great teams,” said Valley West coach Linda Fithian, a veteran of dozens of Class 3A state playoff appearances who will send her Spartans into the PIAA Class 2A state playoffs for the first time. “It’s just going to be a matter of on any given day …”
With the expansion of the PIAA field hockey playoffs to three classes from the previous two, District 2 sends its champion and runner-up to states in both Class A and 2A, giving Northeastern Pennsylvania a total of four state teams this season. In past years, District 2 sent only its Class 3A champion, along with its top two Class 2A teams, to states.
So this 2A field will be sort of a new experience for even an old state playoff hand like Valley West. The District 2 Class 2A champion Spartans (12-2-2) will meet District 1 No. 3 team Villa Maria (15-2) at 7 p.m. at Wyoming Seminary’s Nesbitt Field.
“I’ve seen their name in the 2A (bracket) in the state playoffs ever since I’ve started coaching. They’re good,” said Fithian, who guided Valley West to the 2003 PIAA Class 3A state title. “They’re always one of the top-ranked teams in the state of Pennsylvania.”
Villa Maria won the 2014 PIAA Class 2A title, reached the state finals last season and returns star scorers Anina Iacobucci, Hannah Miller and Emily Doyle. But after storming through Springfield-Delco, 14-0 and Radnor, 3-1 in the District 3 tournament, the top-seeded Hurricanes were upended by Merion Mercy, 3-2 in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Valley West used two assists by Mercedes Jasterzenski and the scoring punch of Natalie Zasada to knock off defending champ Crestwood as the Spartans captured their first-ever Class 2A District 2 title last week. Valley West last made the state playoffs as a Class 3A team in 2014.
“It’s whoever brings their best game,” Fithian said. “It’s not like the World Series, where you might be able to get one off night. You have to be on your game in every single one of them.”
Crestwood’s very familiar with the situation.
And the 2012 Class 2A champion Comets will run right into the fire with a potential barnburner, a 7 p.m. rematch of last season’s state semifinal against last year’s eventual Class 2A champ Twin Valley at Exeter Twp. High School.
Twin Valley, 18-7 and the runner-up team from District 3, brings back some faces familiar to Crestwood, including shooters Riley Knapp, Grace Hiddeman, Kara McClure and Erica Wolfgang — who had a hat trick in the Raiders’ 8-0 win over Greencastle in a district quarterfinal game.
The Comets, though, are down-playing the drama.
“There are not many players on this year’s team who are returning from last year,” said Crestwood coach Patsy Moratori, whose team suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to Twin Valley a year ago. “I think they want to play just for this team. They’re excited just to prove themselves.”
First, though, the Comets — who played in three straight state finals from 2012 through 2014 — will have to get past a 2-0 loss to Valley West in the District 2 title game. The Comets feature top scorer Arden Morgans and have leaned on playoff-tested Jordan Olenginski and goalie Marlee Dillon to compile a 12-3-1 record, and appear primed to make another postseason run. Even after that difficult defeat in the district title game.
“Nothing we could do better except shoot and put the ball in the cage, and if we can do that, yes,” Moratori said about the possibility of going on another playoff roll. “I was very happy with the way we played. A lot of it in district championship games is, regardless if you win or lose, you still go to states. There’s less intensity to that. During states, everybody seems to want to pick it up a notch.”
Lake-Lehman will by trying to notch its third PIAA championship, but first since 2002 and first in the Class A bracket after competing in Class 2A for three decades.
The Black Knights will face Annville Cleona, 20-3 and the No. 4 team from District 3, which enters states on a two-game losing streak after dropping a third-place district game to Greenwood. That short postsesaon skid came after Annville Cleona won 17 of its first 18 games to claim its first sectional title in 44 years behind scorers Morgan Zimmerman and Emily and Katelyn Boughtbill.
The 16-0-1 Black Knights are loaded with eight Division 1 college commitments, including talented scorers Taylor Alba, Mikayla Adams, but have stars everywhere. Lilli Stepanski scored both goals in Lehman’s 2-1 overtime victory over Holy Redeemer in the District 2 Class A title game; a dominating defense led by Lynea Gregory limits opportunities (high-scoring Holy Redeemer had just four shots in the title game); and goaltending great Alicia Galasso’s made some game-changing stops.
“With this team, they’ve been really steady,” Lake-Lehman coach Jean Lipski said
That helped Lehman hold off a District 2 title charge from 13-1 Holy Redeemer, which may have lost its 13-game winning streak during last year’s overtime championship showdown, but not its spirit.
The District 2 runner-up Royals will make their state debut in a 5 p.m. game against District 3 runner-up Boiling Springs at Milton Hershey High School.
“The energy I’ve seen in practice after that (District 2 title) game has just been excellent,” said first-year Redeemer coach Maura McCormick, who inspired the team’s first-ever trip to states. “They’ve reacted really well. I think we had a lot of anxiety going into the Lake-Lehman game. We learned to adjust and turn it from nervous anxiety into playing energy.”
That showed, as Redeemer picked it up near the end of a 2-1 overtime loss to the Black Knights and were one break-away miss from winning a district title.
Leah Mullery, Kat Finnegan and Kayla Kruk lead Redeemer’s charge into states, where only dynamic point producers Abby Shorts and Talia Koseriowski have experience — but in other PIAA sports.
They’ll be battling a 15-7 Boiling Springs teamn that dropped a 2-1 decision to Oley Valley in the District 3 title game and revolves around top scorer Paige Bond and stingy goalie Megan Lay.
“I think they’re going to come in with the same energy as we have,” McCormick said. “Neither team wants to lose. I just want to see our girls play hard and put everything they’ve practiced for into effect.”