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FOREST CITY — Better known for stopping offensive opportunities with her dominating defensive play, Lynea Gregory suddenly switched gears and decided to create a couple of scoring chances.
Because she did, Lake-Lehman is still unbeaten.
Gregory used timely assists to set up two goals in a six-minute span midway through the second half Monday and the Black Knights moved to the brink of a Wyoming Valley Conference title with a gritty 2-1 comeback victory over Lackawanna Trail.
“We knew coming into this game it was going to be difficult,” Gregory said. “I just kept pushing forward. I knew either my forward or midfielder would be up there for the tip.”
Her late-game play may have tipped the scales toward Lehman in the race for a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 title. Lehman, now 11-0-1, can clinch that championship by beating Honesdale on Wednesday and Coughlin on Thursday, or by winning one of those final two regular-season games if 11-1-1 Crestwood drops its season finale to Wyoming Seminary on Thursday.
“I’m very proud,” Lake-Lehman coach Jean Lipski said of Lehman’s first-place positioning in the schedule’s final week. “It’s a testament to their work ethic, and their dedication, and their passion for the game.”
The game was getting away from the Black Knights at Lackawanna Trail’s grass field, an oddity in the WVC’s turf-filled schedule.
Courtney Dwyer took a feed from Madison Lee and put the Lions up 1-0 with a quick goal with 6:46 to play in the first half, and Trail used tremendous defense to hold Lehman out of the cage through the whole first half and nearly half of the second.
“Trail’s a very good team,” Lipski said. “On this surface, we can’t do that little stuff we do on turf. You just have to be relentless, keep hitting the ball. Trail can be a spoiler. They showed that (Monday).
“We just had to have character.”
It helped that the Black Knights had Gregory.
One of the WVC’s premier defenders, the versatile junior took the outlet on Lehman’s fifth penalty corner within a six-minute span of the second half. She drove on goal and drilled a hard shot that Makayla Adams deflected into the cage to tie the game at 1-1 with 15:42 to play.
“We said coming up, Trail’s coming after us,” Gregory said. “We knew it was going to be a good game. We just kept working hard, kept pushing through the defense. We kept going and finally we put one in.”
She made sure the Black Knights got one more across the goal mouth.
Taylor Alba deflected Gregory’s hard stroke across the goal line with 9:45 remaining, keeping the Black Knights at the top of the WVC Division 1 and as the division’s only team without a loss.
“Lynea is one of the best transition players I’ve ever coached,” Lipski said. “She goes from defense to offense flawlessly. A lot of college coaches have recognized that, too. She’s excellent defensively, but she has a very good offensive mentality. She sees the ball, sees who to pass to and knows how to transition.”
Coughlin 2, Wyoming Seminary 1
Jolen Ulinchney used a crafty reverse chip to score what proved to be the deciding goal as the Crusadars severely damaged Wyoming Seminary’s hope of winning a WVC Division 1 title by clinging to victory.
Ulichney’s shot came off an assist from Courtney Regan, giving Coughlin a 2-0 lead with 7:47 to play. Ashley Chase put the 7-5 Crusaders up 1-0 by scoring midway through the first half.
Alex Wesneski closed the gap to a goal by scoring for Sem with 4:36 to play, but Coughlin’s defense closed out the upset.
Wyoming Seminary fell to 11-2 and into third place in Division 1, behind 11-1-1 Crestwood and 11-0-1 Lake-Lehman. The Blue Knights still hold a slim shot of finishing first in the division, but must defeat Crestwood in its season finale Thursday and hope both Honesdale and Coughlin defeat Lehman later this week.
Dallas 4, Wallenpaupack 0
Hannah Yanovich and Maddie Kelley both scored twice in the first half and the Mountaineers defense held Wallenpaupack to just one shot in the victory.
Crestwood 4, Wyoming Area 1
Mackenzie Kile and Sarah Richards both scored a goal in each half as the Comets remained in contention for a WVC title by controlling a victory over Wyoming Area.
Crestwood improved to 12-0-1 in the WVC Division, and can tie Lake-Lehman for the league’s regular-season title by beating Wyoming Seminary in its final game combined with a Lehman loss in one of the two remaining games for the unbeaten Black Knights.
Meyers 2, GAR 1 (OT)
Kendra Krolick scored 4:47 into overtime as the Mohawaks survived a scare from winless GAR.
Alexis Bruno got Meyers on the board 3:22 before halftime, but the Grenadiers tied it on a goal by McKenzie Malys midway through the second half to force an extra period.
Holy Redeemer 4, Hanover Area 0
Abby Shorts scored twice as the Royals wrapped up their WVC Division 2 championship season with a 12-0 record and nailed down the top seed in next week’s District 2 Class A playoffs.
McKenna Dolan and Emily Easton also scored in the victory, while Randie Kuhar stopped four shots in goal to preserve the shutout.
Goalie Christina Kratz made 10 stops for the Hawkeyes.
Delaware Valley 7, Tunkhannock 0
Addy Ross scored two goals and Kara Gearhart finished with a goal and two assists to lead the Warriors.
Maecy Chlebowski picked up two assists in the victory and the Delaware Valley defense held the Tigers without a shot.
Hazleton Area 9, Pittston Area 0
Megan Reed scored five goals and Mikayla Cavenas added two more scores as the Cougars rolled to victory.
Annie Amentler finished with three assists while Ciara Bannon assisted on two goals in the victory. Jill Buchman added a goal and an assist in the victory.
Shelby Gardner made 23 saves in goal for the Patriots.
Lake-Lehman 2, Lackawanna Trail 1
Lake-Lehman`0`2`—`2
Lackawanna Trail`1`0`—`1
First half — 1. LT, Courtney Dwyer (Madison Lee), 6:46. Second half — 2. LL, Makayla Adams (Lynea Gregory), 15:42; 3. LL, Taylor Alba (Gregory), 9:45.
Shots — LL 18; LT 4. Saves — LL 3 (Alicia Galasso); LT 16 (Sarah Weisenfluh). Penalty corners — LL 22; LT 4.
Coughlin 2, Wyoming Seminary 1
Wyoming Seminary`0`1`—`1
Coughlin`1`1`—`2
First half — 1. COU, Ashley Chase (Hannah Rushkowski), 14:01. Second half — 2. COU, Jolene Ulichney (Courtney Regan), 7:47; 3. SEM, Alex Wesneski (Hannah Maxwell), 4:36.
Shots — SEM 9; COU 4. Saves — SEM 2 (Alexis Sokach); COU 8 (Briannah Lee). Penalty corners — SEM 12; COU 9.
Dallas 4, Wallenpaupack 0
Wallenpaupack`0`0`—`0
Dallas`3`1`—`4
First half — 1. DAL, Hannah Yanovich (Maddie Kelley), 27:21; 2. DAL, Kelley (unassisted), 25:31; 3. DAL, Kelley (Mikaila Chakon), 4:53. Second half — 4. Yanovich (unassisted), 21:03.
Shots — WAL 2; DAL 8. Saves — WAL 1 (Irving); DAL 2 (Melinda Ratchford). Penalty corners — WAL 6; DAL 3.
Crestwood 4, Wyoming Area 1
Crestwood`2`2`—`4
Wyoming Area`0`1`—`1
First half — 1. CRE, Mackenzie Kile (Sarah Richards), 28:15; 2. CRE, Richards (Lauren Shiplett), 18:55. Second half — 3. CRE, Kile (Arden Morgans), 29:05; 4. WA, Emilie Wanko (Grace Angelella), 26:02; 5. CRE, Richards, 18:47.
Shots — CRE 17; WA 6. Saves — CRE 3 (Marlee Dillon); WA 11 (Katie Wolfgang). Penalty corners — CRE 11; WA 9.
Meyers 2, GAR 1 (OT)
GAR`0`1`0`—`1
Meyers`1`0`1`—`2
First half — 1. MEY, Alexis Bruno (Madyson Davis), 03:22. Second half — 2. GAR, McKenzie Malys, 16:35. Overtime — 3. Kendra Krolick, 10:13.
Shots — GAR 7; MEY 26. Saves — GAR 24 (Samara McDaniels); MEY 6 (Olivia Jackson). Penalty corners — GAR 2; MEY 21.
Holy Redeemer 4, Hanover Area 0
Holy Redeemer`2`2`—`4
Hanover Area`0`0`—`0
First half — 1. HR, McKenna Dolan, 26:24; 2. HR, Abby Shorts (Kayla Kruk), 24:35.
Second half — 3. HR, Emily Easton (Talia Kosierowski), 19:48; 4. HR, Shorts, 3:43.
Shots — HR 14; HAN 4. Saves — HR 4 (Randie Kuhar); HAN 10 (Christina Kratz). Penalty corners — HR 9; HAN 4.
Delaware Valley 7, Tunkhannock 0
Tunkhannock`0`0`—`0
Delaware Valley`3`4`—`7
First half — 1. DV, Addy Ross (Eileen Nikles), 23:29; 2. DV, Skylar Padgett (Kara Gearhart), 7:10; 3. DV, Lyndsay Floystad (Ross), 2:05. Second half — 4. DV, Brenna Cavallaro (Gearhart), 19:30; 5. DV, Ross (Maecy Chlebowski), 18:04; 6. DV, Gearhart, 14:23; 7. DV, Leah Yost (Chlebowski), 7:30.
Shots — TUN 0; DV 19. Saves — TUN 12; DV 0 (Meghan Kelly). Penalty corners — TUN 0; DV 6.
Hazleton Area 9, Pittston Area 0
Pittston Area`0`0`—`0
Hazleton Area`3`6`—`6
First half — 1. HAZ, Megan Reed (Ciara Bannon), 25:06; 2. HAZ, Reed (Annie Amentler), 16:55; 3. HAZ, Jill Buchman, 9:19. Second half — 4. HAZ, Mikayla Cavenas, 27:51; 5. HAZ, Reed (Amentler), 26:02; 6. HAZ, Reed (Bannon), 22:50; 7. HAZ, Reed (Amentler) 19:44; 8. HAZ, Cavenas (Buchman), 9:28; 9. HAZ, Ariel Slowik (Meleah Hoats). 5:52.
Shots — PA 1; HAZ 30. Saves — PA 23 (Shelby Gardner); HAZ 1 (Margaret Fulton). Penalty corners — PA 6; HAZ 16.