Pictured above: Emma Watchilla
Wyoming Seminary opened the season as the third-ranked high school field hockey team in the country, according to maxfieldhockey.com, but the four-time defending state champion Blue Knights did not move ahead for good until the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s season-opening battle of local powers.
Maddie Olshemski and Emma Watchilla scored fourth-quarter goals to lift Wyoming Seminary to a 3-1 victory over visiting Crestwood in a meeting of defending District 2 champions at Klassner Field.
Olshemski received a penalty corner insert, dribbled just inside the top of the circle and fired a drive into the goal to break a tie with 13:47 remaining.
Watchilla added her second goal of the game to give the Blue Knights a little breathing room.
Ella Barbacci had two assists for Wyoming Seminary.
Wyoming Seminary has won 35 straight and gone 62 straight unbeaten in the WVC. The Blue Knights won WVC Division 1, District 2 Class A and Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A state titles last season. They opened this season ranked first in District 2 in the Golden Dome Abstract Super Six Field Hockey Rankings and second in Pennsylvania by maxfieldhockey.com.
Crestwood, the defending District 2 Class 2A champion, is ranked third in the Super Six and 18th in the state.
In other WVC Division 1 openers: Lake-Lehman shut out defending District 2 Class 3A champion Hazleton Area, 6-0, and Honesdale defeated Lackawanna Trail, 4-2, in a meeting between the No. 5 and No. 6 teams in the Super Six.
Terese Ciaccia scored four goals and assisted on one for Lake-Lehman, ranked fourth in the Super Six.
Claire Campen had two goals for Honesdale while Roz Mikulak added a goal and an assist.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHT
Matt Bufano from Wyoming Seminary posted video of the game-winning goal on his Twitter account. Find it here: https://twitter.com/MattBufano/status/1567650340916404226.
