Sports

College field hockey

By Dave Konopki dkonopki@timesleader.com
Assistant Sports Editor

If there were any lingering doubts regarding the quality of field hockey played in the Wyoming Valley Conference, they were certainly shattered Sunday afternoon.

More than a half-dozen former WVC standouts helped lead their respective teams to the NCAA Division I national semifinals during quarterfinal action.

Former Wyoming Seminary standout Kat Sharkey led the way, scoring a college career-high four goals as Princeton outlasted Syracuse, 7-4. Sharkey’s four goals were one goal shy of equaling the NCAA Division I record for goals scored in a tournament game.

In other quarterfinal action, former Dallas standout Paige Selenski scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lead Virginia past Michigan State, 3-2. And former WVC standouts Kelsey Kolojejchick (Wyoming Seminary) and Elizabeth Drazdowski (Crestwood) each scored a goal as North Carolina advanced to the final four with a 4-1 win against Wake Forest.

The top four seeds advanced to the national semifinals, which will be held this weekend at Kentner Stadium on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The action begins Friday with No. 4 seed Princeton taking on defending national champion – and No. 1 seed – Maryland, while third-seeded North Carolina will square off against No. 2 seed Virginia. The winners advance to Sunday’s championship game.

Princeton trailed 3-2 at halftime before going on the offensive attack in the second half. Sharkey led the way, scoring three consecutive goals in a 10-minute span in the second half to go along with her first-half goal.

“I think our attacking mindset in the second half won the game for us today,” said Sharkey, a sophomore forward who was recently selected as an Ivy League first-team all-star. “I got a lot of great help from my teammates. (Scoring the goals) was really exciting. I was just happy to keep giving Princeton another point on the scoreboard.”

Sharkey wasn’t the only former WVC standout who played well in the game. Former Dallas standout Alyssa Pyros, who was recently named as an Ivy League second-team all-star, started the game at defensive center-mid for Princeton.

Former Meyers standout Lindsey Conrad scored a goal for Syracuse. The junior scored her 17th goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1 just five minutes into the contest. Former Coughlin standout Heather Susek is a sophomore starter for the Orange.

Selenski wasted little time in the overtime period helping Virginia (20-3) advance to its first national semifinals since 1998. The sophomore blasted a shot from the top of the circle just 1:52 into overtime at Hall Turf Field in Charlottesville, Va., setting off a wild celebration.

Selenski, who had a team-high 24 goals during the regular season, gave the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the game and combined with another WVC product on Virginia’s second goal. After MSU tied the game at 1-1, former Lake-Lehman standout Traci Ragukas tipped in a cross from Selenski to give the Cavaliers a 2-1 lead. Ragukas entered the playoffs with eight goals.

Former Dallas standout Tara Puffenberger also played a solid game for Virginia. The freshman didn’t score, but she was credited with taking five shots on goal. Puffenberger recorded a team second-best 10 goals during the regular season.

At Winston-Salem, Kolojejchick scored the 15th goal of her freshman season to help lead North Carolina (18-2) past the Demon Deacons. The goal – recorded 15:21 into the game – gave the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead.

Drazdowski, a junior midfielder/forward, closed the door on Wake Forest by scoring an unassisted goal with 19:12 remaining in the game. The goal was her fifth of the season.

Sharkey was thrilled to hear about the accomplishments of her former high school teammates and opponents.

“I think it shows how strong the Wyoming Valley Conference is,” said Sharkey, who went into the tournament as the No. 10-leading scorer in the country. “It’s cool to see the conference represented so well in college. It will be great to have so many players from the Wyoming Valley Conference who will be playing in the final four.”