2009 Spartans 12 wins Playoffs Wyoming Valley West 0 November 5 One is enough to boost CoughlinThe Crusaders captured the District 2 Class 3A title on senior Angie McClosky's goal. By Dave Konopki dkonopki@timesleader.com WRIGHT TWP. Angie McClosky's heart was pounding in anticipation as the ball quickly approached her field hockey stick. Moments later, her heart was pounding for a different reason. The Coughlin senior scored the game's only goal with 10:24 remaining, as the Crusaders captured their fifth District 2 Class 3A championship with a 1-0 win against Wyoming Valley West on Wednesday night at Crestwood High School. Coughlin (11-7) will host the No. 3 seed from District 3 in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs Tuesday night at a time and place to be determined. Valley West ends its season at 12-5. With the teams battling late in the second half of a scoreless tie, Gianna Handza was awarded a free hit and sent a perfect pass to McClosky, who blasted a shot into the back of the cage. McClosky said she tried to stay low and focus on the ball and it made its way toward her. It wasn't easy. My heart was pounding out of my chest, McClosky said. I just imagined me hitting the ball into the goal. I just wanted it so bad. After I made it, everyone was jumping all over me, attacking me. It was incredible. We wanted this so bad. The Crusaders won four consecutive district championships under head coach Colleen Wood before Lackawanna Trail ended the streak last season. The Coughlin coach says winning never gets old. Each year is a different group of kids, Wood said. I'm really proud of them. They played hard. A few weeks ago, winning a district championship was the furthest thing on the minds of the Crusaders, who lost five consecutive games after jumping out to a 6-0 start. Three of those losses came against teams such as Delaware Valley, Holy Redeemer and Wyoming Area. We lost a ton of kids from last season. We only had three starters back, Wood said. You try to get the girls to realize how important it is to work together. That's the only way you're going to win. The girls really stepped it up. The Coughlin defense and midfield held the Spartans to just four shots on goal, all of which were stopped by goalkeeper Stephanie Engle. Valley West goalkeeper Kristie Rollman kept her team in the game by stopping 11 of the 12 shots she faced. Everyone played well. Everyone put it on the line, Valley West head coach Linda Fithian said. Our passes were a little out of sync. At halftime, we told everyone to make it simple and try to bring it back together again. Coughlin is a tough team to play against. They're very physical and hard-hitting. The Coughlin players were playing with heavy hearts following the recent passing away of Elizabeth Breese, longtime Coughlin junior high school field hockey coach. The funeral was held Wednesday. This win really means a lot, said Handza, a senior. We wanted to win it for our junior high coach. This win is definitely for her. DISTRICT 2 CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIPTwo of the top field hockey programs in the state meet tonight with a district championship and a berth in the state playoffs on the line when Wyoming Seminary and Crestwood battle for the District 2 Class 2A title at 6 p.m. at Spartan Stadium. Wyoming Seminary (17-0) enters the game as the defending district and state Class 2A champion, as well as the only undefeated team in District 2. Crestwood enters the game with a 16-1 record, the only loss coming against the Blue Knights, 2-1, three weeks ago. District 2 Class 3A championship Coughlin 1, Wyoming Valley West 0
Second half: 1. COU, Angie McClosky (Gianna Handza) 10:39. Shots: COU 12, WVW 4; Saves: COU 4 (Stephanie Engle), WVW 11 (Kristie Rollman); Corners: COU 9, WVW 4. Playoffs Wyoming Valley West 2 Rollman saves season for WVW By Dave Konopki dkonopki@timesleader.com KINGSTON With a solid defense and quality players in front her, Wyoming Valley West goalkeeper Kristie Rollman always doesn't play a key role in the outcome of her team's games. That wasn't the case Monday night. Rollman stopped five of the final six penalty strokes she faced and Maura Anistranski scored what proved to be the game-winning goal as the Spartans advanced to the District 2 Class 3A championship game with a 2-1 win against Honesdale. The teams were tied 1-1 following regulation play and two 15-minute overtime periods. Valley West outscored Honesdale 4-3 in penalty strokes to advance to Wednesday's championship game at 6:30 p.m. at Crestwood High School. There were games this season when I touched the ball just once or not at all, said Rollman. I wanted to show what I could bring to the team and do what I could do help them. I went in with confidence. I believe in my team that if I miss one, they're right there to get me back in. I had confidence in myself and in my team. With the Spartans (12-4) trailing 1-0 in the final minutes of regulation, Valley West senior Dominique Pasqualichio was called on to take a penalty stroke after a shot from a teammate hit the body of a Honesdale (8-9) defender. Pasqualichio made the penalty stroke to make the score 1-1 with 3:22 remaining in the game. Although Valley West controlled play for much of the first overtime, neither team could find the back of the cage in either of the two overtime periods. That sent the game to penalty strokes. After both teams missed their first attempt, Sauni Davenport gave the Spartans a 1-0 advantage in penalty strokes. Desiraye Mack and Alicia Manzione scored on consecutive shots for Honesdale to give the Hornets a 2-1 advantage. Valley West's Kelcie Hromisin made sure the advantage was short-lived, blasting a shot into the upper left corner of the cage and following a pair of saves by Rollman Pasqualichio gave the Spartans back the advantage, 3-2. Honesdale senior Holly Hessberger, who scored the goal for the Hornets during regulation play, tied the penalty strokes at 3-3. Then Rollman and Anistranski took over. Rollman stopped a pair of Honesdale shots before Anistranski blasted a shot off the pads of Hornet goalkeeper Katie Carton and into the cage to make it 4-3. Rollman ended the game by making a nice save on the final Honesdale shot the 19th of the two teams in the special period. Kristie is so solid, she has so much experience, said Valley West coach Linda Fithian. She's done all of the homework and all of the extra stuff she needs to be a top-notch goalie. Despite the tough loss, Honesdale coach Becca Maciejewski who gave birth just three weeks ago had a smile on her face. I told our girls before the (penalty) strokes that no matter how this turns out, that whatever team comes out on top, they deserve to win it, she said. Both teams played so hard. The one thing our girls pride themselves on is playing with a lot of heart. That's what carried them through a lot of tough games this year. Rollman and Carton each finished with 14 saves, while Valley West held a 25-18 advantage in shots on goal. We're going to celebrate this win tonight and start thinking about Coughlin tomorrow, said Fithian. CLASS 2A SEMIFINALSFour teams who have combined for numerous Wyoming Valley Conference and District 2 championships as well as almost 10 state titles will compete in the District 2 Class 2A semifinals today. Wyoming Seminary, Crestwood and Lake-Lehman teams that have combined for a 45-3 record this season join Dallas in the four-team semifinals. Seminary won the WVC Division I championship this season, while Crestwood and Lake-Lehman finished in second and third, respectively. Dallas finished in seventh place in the nine-team division. Defending District 2 and PIAA Class 2A state champion Wyoming Seminary (16-0) hosts Dallas (7-8-1) at 6:30 p.m. at Klassner Field in Kingston. In the other semifinal game, Lake-Lehman (13-2) travels to Mountain Top to play Crestwood (15-1). During the regular season, Wyoming Seminary defeated Dallas 3-0, while Crestwood posted a 6-2 win against Lake-Lehman. The championship game will be played Thursday at Spartan Stadium in Kingston at a time to be determined. Only the district champion advances to the state playoffs, which begin Nov. 10.
First half: No scoring. Second half: 1. HON, Holly Hessberger (Elly Skinner) 11:49; 2. WVW, Dominique Pasqualichio penalty stroke) 3:22. First OT: No scoring. Second OT: No scoring. Penalty strokes: HON: Desiraye Mack, Alicia Manzione, Hessberger); WVW: Sauni Davenport, Kelcie Hromisin, Pasqualichio, Maura Anistranski. Shots: HON 18, WVW 25; Saves: HON 14 (Katie Carton), WVW 14 (Kristie Rollman); Corners: HON 10, WVW 13.
Wyoming Valley West 2 After a scoreless first half, the Spartans notched a pair of tallies in the second half as Kelcie Hromisin and Whitney Lukas had scores. Kristi Rollman secured the shutout with nine saves in net.
Second half: Shots: WVW 11, LT 11; Wyoming Valley West 1 Wyoming Valley West 1 Wyoming Valley West 3 Maura Anistranski scored a pair of goals and Kelcie Hromisin had a goal and assist for the Spartans in the victory. Dallas held a 14-8 advantage in penalty corners.
First half: 1. WVW, Maura Anistranski (Kelcie Hromisin) 10:38 Second half: 1. WVW, Anistranski 13:28; 2. WVW, Hromisin 3:41 Shots: WVW 10, DAL 15; Wyoming Valley West 5 Wyoming Valley West 7 Kelcie Hromisin found the back of the net three times as she led Wyoming Valley West to the win. Leeca Baron had 20 saves in goal for Hazleton Area.
First half : Second half : Wyoming Valley West 2 Pittston 0 Game Pictures Wyoming Valley West's Kelcie Kronmisin and Dominique Pasqualichio
First half: Wyoming Valley West 0 Crestwood 2 Game Pictures
Wyoming Valley West 0
First half: 1. Amanda Quick (Kristian Stefanides) 15:10. Shots: WVW 7, WS 17; Wyoming Valley West 3 Wyoming Valley West 5 Wyoming Valley West 4 Wyoming Valley West 3 Wyoming Valley West 0 Wyoming Valley West 4
First half: Second half: Shots: AH: 5, WVW: 22; Saves: AH: 18 (Magan Conaboy); WVW: 5 (Kristie Rollman; Corners: AH 2, WVW 11 |
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