By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
KINGSTON – Selinsgrove dominated a small field of teams in District 4, winning 17 straight district titles before the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association combined District 2 and 4 to create a subregional in Class 2A field hockey prior to the 2021 season.
Now, the Seals, who have also won 13 of 14 Heartland Athletic Conference Division 1 titles, must find a way to solve Crestwood.
The Lady Comets limited the Seals to three shots Wednesday night at Nesbitt Stadium while repeating last season’s subregional championship by once again beating Selinsgrove in the final, this time by a 2-0 score.
A year ago, Crestwood held Selinsgrove without a shot or penalty corner for more than 21 minutes in the second half before having to hold off a late surge to protect a 2-1 victory.
In the title repeat, the Lady Comets allowed even fewer opportunities.
All-state goalie Isabella Caporuscio was called on to make only one save, although Selisgrove coach Roz Erb praised the way she helped break up other plays before they could produce official shots on goal.
Crestwood gave up only one shot and one penalty corner in a first half. Both came in the opening minute of the second quarter and the half ended with Crestwood in front, 2-0.
Kylah Kelly, who came up with a clutch defensive save late in last year’s final, scored the game-winning goal with 11:04 left in the first quarter when she flipped a rebound high into the cage.
“I didn’t think one goal was going to be enough,” Kelly said. “I knew it was going to be an intense game, so we needed to score fast.”
Alex Geiger scored from in front 2:27 into the second quarter on a shot from in front off a feed from Ava McConnell, who had dribbled the ball to the endline on the right side before passing.
“A 2-0 lead is nothing,” first-year Crestwood coach Amanda Tredinnick said. “That can change on a dime. I just preached to them that we have to play our composed, passing, team hockey.
“There were some parts where we got a little shaky, but we cleaned it up when it mattered most.”
With a 2-0 lead, Crestwood’s offensive opportunities were limited, but the Lady Comets protected the lead well.
Selinsgrove had five second-half penalty corners, but Crestwood allowed just one shot each in the second, third and fourth quarters.
“They have a lot of speed,” Erb said. “We knew that coming in. I thought we did a good job of neutralizing their offensive speed, but we had a hard time busting through.”
The final shot total was 8-3 in Crestwood’s favor while Selinsgrove led in penalty corners, 6-3.
Crestwood (13-7) hosts District 1 fourth-place finishing West Chester East (15-7) Tuesday at 6 in the first round of the PIAA state Class 2A tournament.
Selinsgrove finished 13-8.
SEMIFINALS
Selinsgrove 2, Abington Heights 1
CLARKS SUMMIT – Selinsgrove held top-seeded Abington Heights without a shot for the final 52:56, giving the Seals time to find enough offense to score two fourth-quarter goals and rally for the semifinal victory.
The Seals pulled out the win on a breakaway goal with 2:47 left by Carly Aument, a speedster who sprinted to two gold and two sliver medals last spring in the District 4 Track and Field Championships.
“We came out fast every game,” Abington Heights coach Glenn Carr said after his team took the game’s first five shots and took the lead. “We always came out really fast; really aggressive.
“This was the first time we took that one-goal load and kind of really played defensive on it.”
The Seals took the game’s last 12 shots and last 11 penalty corners against the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 champions.
Aument was also involved in the tying goal. She got to a rebound on a penalty corner and slipped a short pass to Allison Bucher at the right post for the goal.
Bucher then sent the lead pass up the middle to set Aument free on her breakaway.
Caroline Pease gave Abington Heights the lead with 7:56 remaining in the first quarter when she scored on a rebound.
Crestwood 5, Dallas 0
Crestwood advanced to the final by posting the second of three straight playoff shutouts in the subregional tournament.
QUARTERFINALS
A recap of the opening round in which Crestwood defeated Shikellamy, 10-0; Dallas edged Pittston Area, 3-2, in overtime; and Selinsgrove blanked Wallenpaupack, 5-0, can be found at: FIELD HOCKEY: Crestwood opens title defense with dominant effort – NEPA Sports Nation
