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BLOOMSBURG — Wyoming Area gave Susquenita a brief glimmer of hope Saturday morning.
A very brief glimmer because once the Warriors recovered from the Blackhawks’ short offensive burst in the first quarter they completely dominated.
Lucia Campenni scored two first-half goals and Ainsley Flynn added another as Wyoming Area rolled to a 4-0 victory in a PIAA Class A field hockey quarterfinal game at Central Columbia High School.
District 2 champion Wyoming Area (20-0) moves to the state semifinals for the second time in three years. The Warriors will play District 3 second seed Boiling Springs on Tuesday at a time and site to be announced.
District 3 third seed Susquenita (18-4-2) had a brief offensive surge midway through the first quarter where the Blackhawks had their only shot of the first half.
Before and after, the Warriors were in control.
Campenni took control of a long pass from Ainsley Flynn that whisked by several players and scored from five yards out with 4:55 left in the first quarter.
Wyoming Area then worked a sharp combination off a corner to score about three minutes later. Ella Campenni passed off a left corner to Lyla Rehill. Rehill slid a pass to Ainsley Flynn who connected from 13 yards out.
“In our district championship, we were down 2-0 and we ended up winning,” Lucia Campenni said. “We never gave up. So even though we were up 2-0, we knew this team maybe they could do what we did. So we never let off the gas.”
The credo zoomed Wyoming Area to a 3-0 lead by halftime. Lucia Campenni scored again seven minutes into the second quarter off an assist by Juliana Gonzales. It was the fifth consecutive game she has scored.
The second half played out much like the first half. Susquenita had an early shot, but Wyoming Area then steered the game the rest of the way.
“Our defense did fantastic today,” Wyoming Area coach Bree Bednarski said, “Addi Dragwa is our senior back there, our senior leader. We actually have a lot of people who roll through the back, about four of them, but they all held it down really well today.”
The Warriors’ final goal came 54 seconds into the fourth quarter. Gonzales sent a pass to Ella McKernan near the left post and she tapped it in from short range.
Wyoming Area will advance to the state title game for a second time in three years with a win on Tuesday. The Warriors lost 1-0 back in 2022. They were eliminated in districts last season.
“Last year, it really hurt,” Lucia Campenni said. “We fell short my freshman year and we’re hoping to finish the job this year.”
PIAA Class A Quarterfinals
Susquenita`0`0`0`0 — 0
Wyoming Area`2`1`0`1 — 4
First: 1. WA, Lucia Campenni (Ainsley Flynn), 4:55; 2. WA, Ainsley Flynn (Lyla Rehill), 1:19; Second: 3. WA, L.Campenni (Juliana Gonzales), 8:07; Third: 4. WA, Ella McKernan (Gonzales), 14:06.
Shots: SUS 2, WA 10. Saves: SUS 5 (Kelsey Lingle), WA 1 (Rylee Muniz 1/Adriana Fanti 0). Corners: SUS 1, WA 7.