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WEST PITTSTON — All those goals, all that glory, all the good times will soon become little more than marvelous memories.
Because it’s all coming to an end for Lauren Parente.
But before she leaves the sport of field hockey, she’s leaving a shot of excitement behind.
Make that a few of them.
Parente scored her second straight hat trick Tuesday and Wyoming Area moved closer to an anticipated division title clash by hammering Honesdale 5-0 at Atlas Field.
“We did not take this team lightly,” Parente said. “We went in with the mindset that we had to work for this to keep our place.
“We’re in a good spot right now.”
That spot is right there with Wyoming Seminary in the battle for the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 regular season championship and the top seed in the quickly approaching District 2 Class A playoffs.
Wyoming Area moved to 10-0-1 in league play and trails 11-0 Sem in the league title race. The two will play Tuesday at Sem in a showdown that should also decide the No. 1 slot for districts, as the Warriors just jumped Sem — which lost its first two games of the season against nationally ranked powers Eastern (N.J.) and Sacred Heart (Ky.) this past weekend — for first place in the District 2 power ratings.
“We have to keep boosting our record so we could stay in first place,” Parente said. “It could be very important for the seedings for the playoffs.”
It’s particularly important to Parente, who has 103 goals in a field hockey career that won’t last past high school. The senior forward is headed to Bloomsburg to major in education.
“But I’m not going to play,” Parente said. “I’ve had some hip problems. It was a tough decision. It’s definitely sad. When the season ends, hopefully on a good note, it’s going to be tough knowing that I’ll never pick up a stick again, or play with my teammates anymore. But everything comes to an end.”
She’s intent on making this ending a happy one.
A game after rattling off three goals Saturday to reach her career 100-goal milestone — she needed 22 entering this season — Parente popped in the first two goals against Honesdale to raise her season total to 24 and her career number to 102.
“Just because I hit 100 doesn’t mean I’m going to back off,” Parente laughed. “It was super special (Saturday), I wouldn’t have been able to do it without everyone on this team. I needed every one of them. It was a really good feeling.
“But I don’t want to be like, ‘I got 100, I’m done.’ ”
Apparently, neither are her teammates.
Kari Melberger and Kayla Kiwak each added a goal and an assist in the first half, with Kiwak’s scoring coming a second before intermission to give the Warriors a 4-0 lead over Honesdale. The Hornets are now in third place in the District 2 Class 3A power ratings and fighting to move up to No. 2 for a home playoff game in the district quarterfinals.
“Honesdale is talented,” Wyoming Area coach Erin McGinley said. “They’re a good team, well-coached.”
But the Hornets were little match for a determined Wyoming Area team that held them without a shot until the final five minutes, when Warriors goalie Ellie Glatz made three kick saves and backfield ace Morgan Beppler stuck her stick on an attempt at the goal line for a shot block to preserve the shutout.
“We played a nice game of hockey today,” McGinley said. “Everybody knows big picture, what you’re looking for at the end of the season. Of course we know what’s coming next week. But we do keep on telling them, ‘One game at a time.’ ”
For Parente, it’s more like one goal at a time that keeps stacking up to big numbers with the team’s biggest regular season game right on the horizon.
She scored the only goal of the second half 7:07 after intermission to set the final score and record a hat trick for the second consecutive game.
“Lauren has a great knack for the goal,” McGinley said. “Always has. She can get rebounds, she can get tips, she can get great shots. Lauren puts pressure on herself to succeed and do well. She also wants the team to win and also to be successful.
“And she wants to complete it (her career) out.”
Wyoming Sem 5, Hazleton Area 1
Hannah Maxwell fired in two goals and added two assists as the Blue Knights recovered from their first two losses of the season in the Eastern Classic by thumping the Cougars.
Alex Wesneski finished with a goal and two assists as Sem moved to 11-0 in league play and maintained a half-game lead over Wyoming Area in the battle for the WVC Division 1 championship. The two will meet Tuesday at Klassner Field.
Sem, now 14-2 overall was coming off losses of 7-4 to host Eastern and 2-1 to Sacred Heart, both nationally ranked teams by Max Field Hockey, in Saturday’s Eastern Classic. The Knights fell behind 14-0-1 Wyoming Area by .018 percentage points entering Tuesday for the top seed in the District 2 Class A playoffs.
But the defending Class A champs got back on track quickly, as Dani Reiser’s goal gave Sem a lead 59 seconds into the game off an assist from Maxwell — who also assisted on Emma Watchilla’s goal that set the final score.
Haylee Petroski scored for the Cougars to cut Sem’s lead to 3-1 just 1:30 from halftime.
Elaina Ashman made seven saves for Hazleton Area, which is battling Wilkes-Barre Area for the top seed in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs, while Mia Magnotta stopped six shots for Sem.
Northwest 8, Tunkhannock 0
Sydney Franchella scored six goals as the Rangers warmed up for a big showdown Thursday by maintaining sole possession of first place in the WVC Division 2 by trouncing Tunkhannock.
Northwest improved to 10-1 in league play, just ahead of 8-2 Lackawanna Trail in Division 2. The two will meet for the third and final time in the regular season Thursday at Trail, after splitting their first two games.
Franchella completed the scoring with five straight goals, including all four in the second half.
Ariana Walker finished with three assists in the win, Milana Straub added a goal and two assists and Lauren Okuniewski started the scoring with a goal for Northwest 9:12 into the game.
Ella Larioni and Iesha Hartman combined to make nine stops for the Tigers.
Lake-Lehman 5, Pittston Area 0
Grace Ciaccia finished up with the game’s last two goals and Madison Lasinski had a pair of assists as the Black Knights broke open a tight game at halftime and rolled to victory.
Jaedyn Kolb scored the game’s first goal midway through the first half to give Lehman the lead before the Black Knights opened things up in the second half.
Amy Supey stopped both shots against her to preserve the shutout.
Arianna Pisano made 14 saves for the Patriots.
Wilkes-Barre 2, Crestwood 1
Jolene Ulichney scored her second goal of the game with 5:46 to play, lifting the Wolfpack over the Comets.
After a scoreless first half, Ulichney gave Wilkes-Barre Area its first lead with her first goal 3:28 into the second stanza, but Aubrey Colo tied it a few minutes later by scoring for Crestwood.
Ulichney scored her winning shot off an assist from Kaya Stets.
Abington Heights 3, Dallas 0
Jaclyn Kobrynich and Shaelyn Kobrynich each scored goals as the Comets shut down the Mountaineers.
Meghan Vanwert tallied the final goal in the victory and Claudia Kozar assisted on all three goals.
Wyoming Area 5, Honesdale 0
Honesdale`0`0 — 0
Wyoming Area`4`1 — 5
First half — 1. Lauren Parente (Bianca Pizano), 24:12; 2. WA, Lauren Parente (Kari Melberger, Toni Minichello), 13:25; 3. WA, Melberger (Kayla Kiwak), 4:35; 4. WA, Kiwak (Parente), 0:01. Second half — 5. WA, Parente, 22:53.
Shots — HON 3; WA 25. Saves — HON 19 (Nicole Miszler); WA 3 (Ellie Glatz). Penalty corners — HON 1; WA 14.
Wyoming Seminary 5, Hazleton Area 1
Hazleton Area`1`0 — 1
Wyoming Sem`3`2 — 5
First half — 1. SEM, Dani Reiser (Hannah Maxwell), 29:01; 2. SEM, Alex Wesneski (Ella Barbacci), 22:57; 3. SEM, Maxwell (Wesneski), 6:00; 4. HAZ, Haylee Petroski (Jenna Wetterau), 1:30. Second half — 5. SEM, Maxwell (Wesneski), 16:22; 6. SEM, Emma Watchilla (Maxwell), 8:09.
Shots — HAZ 7; SEM 12. Saves — HAZ 7 (Elaina Ashman); SEN 6 (Mia Magnotta). Penalty corners — HAZ 4; SEM 6.
Northwest 8, Tunkhannock 0
Northwest`4`4 — 8
Tunkhannock`0`0 — 0
First half — 1. NW, Lauren Okuniewski (Sydney Franchella), 20:48; 2. Franchella (Milana Straub), 7:20; 3. NW, Straub (Ariana Walker), 5:44; 4. NW, Franchella (Walker), 2:25. Second half — 5. NW, Franchella (Straub), 25:00; 6. NW, Franchella (Irelyn Kishbaugh), 17:08; 7. NW, Franchella (Kishbaugh), 10:28; 8. NW, Franchella (Walker), 7:24.
Shots — NW 17; TUN 0. Saves — NW 0 (Cassidy Gray); TUN 9 (Ella Lorioni 6, Iesha Hartman 3). Penalty corners — NW 11; TUN 1.
Lake-Lehman 5, Pittston Area 0
Pittston Area`0`0 — 0
Lake-Lehman`1`4 — 5
First half — 1. LL, Jaedyn Kolb (Madison Lasinski), 15:26. Second half — 2. LL, Madeline Newman (Ava Radel), 3:58; 3. LL, Coley Leo (Therese Ciaccia), 22:24; 4. LL, Grace Ciaccia (Madison Lasinski), 4:55; 5. LL, G. Ciaccia (Grace O’Donnell), 2:56.
Shots — PA 2; LL 19. Saves — PA 14 (Arianna Pisano); LL 2 (Amy Supey). Penalty corners — PA 0; LL 3.
Wilkes-Barre Area 2, Crestwood 1
Wilkes-Barre`1`1 — 2
Crestwood`1`0 — 1
Second half — 1. WB, Jolene Ulichney, 26:32; 2. CRE, Aubrey Colo (Sarah Richards), 21:41; 3. WB, Ulichney (Kaya Stets), 5:46.
Abington Heights 3, Dallas 0
Abington Heights`0`3 — 3
Dallas`0`0 — 0
Second half — 1. AH, Jaclyn Kobrynich (Claudia Kozar), 15:36; 2. AH, Shaelyn Kobrynich (Kozar), 11:15; 3. AH, Meghan Vanwert (Kozar), 7:23.
Shots — AH 5; DAL 13. Saves — AH 13 (Makenna Thorpe); DAL 2 (Olivia Podskoch). Penalty corners — AH 5; DAL 6.