To get another likely shot at its most frequent nemesis, Wyoming Area will have to get past the nemesis from the biggest field hockey game in its school history.
Wyoming Area’s rapid rise in the field hockey world hit its previous peak in 2019 with a state semifinal appearance against Oley Valley.
The Lady Warriors are back to the same point Tuesday, with a rematch against Oley Valley as part of a doubleheader in which the Wyoming Valley Conference has half of the teams in the Final Four of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A tournament.
The semifinal doubleheader at Whitehall’s Zephyr Sports Complex gets started at 4:30 p.m. when three-time defending state champion Wyoming Seminary takes on Line Mountain. It had originally been scheduled for 4, but has been changed by the PIAA.
Wyoming Area is scheduled to play Oley Valley at 6, although as the second game of a doubleheader, there is a good chance it actually will start later.
Oley Valley and Wyoming Area were scoreless into the final 14 minutes of their 2019 meeting before Oley Valley pulled out a 2-0 victory.
Aside from that game, Wyoming Area’s only six losses in the past three seasons have all come to Wyoming Seminary, two each season.
Both Oley Valley and Wyoming Area won their quarterfinals, 5-0. Oley Valley beat Lancaster Mennonite while Wyoming Area defeated Christopher Dock Mennonite.
“They passed well; they were accurate; they were aggressive,” McGinley said of her recollection of the Oley Valley team from two years ago. “They had very good, clean skills; they created opportunities.
“At that point, that’s what you should be expecting with the last four teams in the state.”
Oley Valley is the highest-scoring team in the tournament so far, outscoring opponents, 14-2, in the first two rounds.
Wyoming Seminary is next, outscoring team’s 12-2 with the help of Ella Barbacci hat tricks in each round.
Tuesday’s winners return to Whitehall Saturday morning at 10 a.m. for the state final.
