Veteran trio leads the way

KINGSTON – There are a handful of players back with Crestwood this season who were on the field last year when Wyoming Seminary downed the Comets in the District 2 final.

Three of those players figured in on all of the scoring as Crestwood took the Class 2A field hockey championship 2-1 Thursday at Spartan Stadium.

It was tight to the end, Crestwood coach Elvetta Gemski said. Everyone played as a team. It was very important for us to put together a good game here.

Both teams advance to the PIAA tournament beginning Tuesday. Crestwood (19-2) will face the fourth-place team District 3 – either Donegal or Hamburg – at a site expected to be in this area. Wyoming Seminary (12-7-1), the two-time defending state champion, travels to play against the District 11 champion, either Moravian Academy or Southern Lehigh.

The Comets pumped in two goals early to clinch their 19th District 2 title. Junior Marissa Surdy opened the scoring, taking a centering pass from Maury Cronauer and bouncing a shot past Blue Knights goaltender Hannah Dressler.

Six minutes later, Cronauer, a junior, was perched at the post to tap in a ball directed toward the goal by senior Chandler Ackers on a penalty corner, giving the Comets a 2-0 edge just over 10 minutes in.

The Blue Knights executed a perfect penalty corner, with the injection pass reaching Kristen Mericle for a blast from left wing that went just inside the post on the short side past Crestwood goalie Dallas Kendra.

It was kind of anticlimactic, Seminary coach Karen Klassner said. For both teams, the goal is a state championship. The intensity wasn't there from either team.

It's important to play defensively with a lead, Gemski said. We were producing some offense, but felt we needed to pick it up a bit.

Kendra made three saves as she kept the Blue Knights from scoring on their final four shots. Dressler finished with seven saves.

First half: 1. CRE, Marissa Surdy (Maury Cronauer), 25:46; 2. CRE, Cronauer (Chandler Ackers) 19:48; 3. SEM, Kristen Mericle (Julia Grosek), 14:36.

Shots: SEM 5, CRE 9. Saves: SEM 7 (Hannah Dressler), CRE 3 (Dallas Kendra). Corners: SEM 3, CRE 6.