Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

KINGSTON — An unexpected bounce, an alert move and an unobstructed angle from which to shoot.

In an instant, everything broke right for Emma Watchilla.

Just like it did for Wyoming Seminary all season.

Watchilla took advantage of a big break by scoring the tiebreaking goal Tuesday, Hannah Maxwell added a goal and an assist and Sem swept to its third straight Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 title by completing another unbeaten regular season with a 3-1 victory over stubborn Wyoming Area at Klassner Field.

“It’s just an amazing feeling to know you have not lost a game this whole season,” Watchilla, a freshman, said.

Her older Sem teammates are pretty used to it.

The defending PIAA Class A champion Blue Knights extended their league unbeaten streak to 41 consecutive games over four seasons, winning Division 1 championships with a 14-0 record in 2017, a 12-0-1 mark last year and this season’s 13-0 mark.

Sem last lost in WVC play in the second-to-last game of 2016 when Coughlin, now part of the Wilkes-Barre Area sports jointure, pulled out a 2-0 victory at Guthrie Field. The Blue Knights then won the last game of the 2016 regular season and have been unbeatable in league play since.

Wyoming Area, which finished the season at 11-1-1 while hoping for another battle with the Blue Knights in districts, was the only team to blemish Sem’s record during that stretch — as the teams played to a scoreless overtime tie in last year’s regular season finale.

Watchilla made sure this one would be different.

After the ball bounced the opposite way off a Wyoming Area stick, Watchilla suddenly found the ball on hers deep in Wyoming Area territory. She made a quick cut and got off a quicker shot, slamming the go-ahead goal into the cage with 8:04 remaining in the game.

“It was kind of just in the moment,” Watchilla said of her shot. “You don’t have time to think. I just kind of shot. When you get in the circle, your main focus is shooting the ball.”

Her score helped shoot Sem’s home winning streak at Klassner Field to 29 consecutive games — including five straight wins in the District 2 Class A playoffs — and the Blue Knights will get a chance to continue that when they host a district quarterfinal game, likely as the tournament’s top seed, next week.

“Definitely a really big win for us,” Maxwell, a senior, said. “We needed that to prove we belong where we are, not just because we’re Sem. We really earned it today.”

Maxwell provided perhaps the game’s most critical goal for Sem.

After Lauren Parente got Wyoming Area jumping with the game’s first goal, the Warriors seemed to be carrying most of the momentum at the midway point of the first half.

But Maxwell scored off a penalty corner 13:04 from intermission, helping settle a Blue Knights team that appeared unnerved at times by Wyoming Area’s long, downfield passing.

“They’re a really strong grass team, and they definitely knew how to hit the ball to get it up the field,” Maxwell said. “We weren’t used to that. I think they did a very good job scouting us, we had a lot of man-to-man marks in the circle. It was hard for us to get close to the ball. It was very important to go into the second half at least tied 1-1. That was really big for us.”

It set up Sem’s big finish.

With Wyoming Area swarming Sem’s shooters and continually storming into Sem’s end, Watchilla turned the tide with one quick shot.

“We’ve been waiting for her to do that all season,” Wyoming Seminary coach Karen Klassner said. “Being a freshman, she has taken a step back and let the more experienced players take over. We need her to take over.”

And when Maxwell fed fellow senior Alex Wesneski for another goal with 2:31 remaining, all the suspense was pretty much over.

“To go undefeated in Division 1, I think it’s a real accomplishment,” Klassner said. “We knew we’d be in for it tonight. We told the kids we had to play our best game of the season. We were on the sideline getting ready for our seven-a-side (a 7-on-7 overtime). Then when we scored, and scored again, we didn’t need our seven-a-side. We needed some people to step up tonight. And they did, in the second half.”

Lackawanna Trail 1, Northwest 0

Dariane Jones scored on a penalty stroke just under three minutes into the game and the Lions joined Northwest at the top of the WVC Division 2 standings by winning the regular season series between the two while creating some suspense entering the final day of the regular season.

Northwest will play at Berwick today and Lackawanna Trail will be at Nanticoke Area — where the Lions fell out of first three weeks ago by losing to the Trojanettes.

Lilly Rejrat earned the shutout by stopping all five shots against her as Trail beat the Rangers for the second time at Lackawanna Trail.

Cassidy Gray made 11 saves for Northwest, which won the middle game between the two teams at Edwards and Lewis Stadium.

Lake-Lehman 1, Wilkes-Barre 0

Rachel Galasso scored the lone goal less than six minutes into the game and Amy Supey made it stand up with four saves as the Black Knights prepared for the upcoming District 2 Class A playoffs by pretty much locking down the No. 3 seed by upending the Wolfpack.

Alana Antonello assisted on the goal as the Black Knights moved to 12-3-2 overall.

Briannah Lee made 11 saves for Wilkes-Barre.

Hazleton Area 9, Delaware Valley 1

Jill Buchman and Gabby Cavenas each had hat tricks as the Cougars jumped on Delaware Valley and warmed up for the District 2 Class 3A playoffs by finishing the WVC season with a winning record.

Hazleton Area, which will be the No. 2 seed behind Wilkes-Barre in the district tournament, finished league play at 6-5-1 and, with two non-league games scheduled to close out this week, has a chance to improve on its 6-8-1 overall record by finishing .500 for the regular season.

Haylee Petroski scored twice for the Cougars, Kaitlyn Diehl scored the final goal after dishing out two assists and Buchman added two assists in the win.

Isabel Covert scored for the Warriors in the first half.

Nanticoke Area 6, Tunkhannock 0

Mackenzie Casey scored twice as the Trojanettes broke a scoreless tie with a second-half eruption and surged to victory.

Olivia Nice and Tiara Thomas both finished with a goal and an assist iin the victory and Alexus Nichols made five stops in goal to earn the shutout.

Ella Larioni made 13 saves for the Tigers.

Honesdale 1, Dallas 0

Chloe Nicolini scored the only goal of the game as the Hornets stung the Mountaineers.

Wyoming Sem 3, Wyoming Area 1

Wyoming Area`1`0 — 1

Wyoming Sem`1`2 — 3

First half — 1. WA, Lauren Parente (Toni Minichello), 19:06; 2. SEM, Hannah Maxwell (Ella Barbacci), 13:04. Second half — 3. SEM, Emma Watchilla, 8:04; 4. SEM, Alex Wesneski (Maxwell), 2:31.

Shots — WA 10; SEM 12. Saves — WA 9 (Ellie Glatz); SEM 9 (Mia Magnotta). Penalty corners — WA 5; SEM 7.

Lackawanna Trail 1, Northwest 0

Northwest`0`0 — 0

Lackawanna Trail`1`0 — 0

First half — 1. LT, Dariane Jones, 27:03.

Shots — NW 5; LT 12. Saves — NW 11 (Cassidy Gray); LT 5 (Lilly Rejrat). Penalty corners — NW 3; LT 5.

Lake-Lehman 1, Wilkes-Barre 0

Wilkes-Barre`0`0 — 0

Lake-Lehman`1`0 — 1

First half — 1. LL, Rachel Galasso (Alana Antonello), 24:22.

Shots — WB 4; LL 12. Saves — WB 11 (Briannah Lee); LL 4 (Amy Supey). Penalty corners — WB 2; LL 8.

Hazleton Area 9, Delaware Valley 1

Delaware Valley`1`0 — 1

Home`5`4 — 9

First half — 1. HAZ, Haylee Petroski, 28:58; 2. HAZ, Gabby Cavenas (Jill Buchman), 24:25; 3. HAZ, Buchman, 16:22; 4. HAZ, Petroski (Cavenas), 11:05; 5. DV, Isabel Covert (Shannon Croll), 8:30; 6. HAZ, Buchman (Kaitlyn Diehl), 2:25. Second half — 7. HAZ, Buchman (Diehl), 23:42; 8. HAZ, Cavenas (Buchman), 22:28; 9. HAZ, Cavenas, 20:07; 10. HAZ, Kaitlyn Diehl (Mia Dremock), 7:07.

Shots — DV 3; HAZ 24. Saves — DV 15 (Juliana Laurado); HAZ 2 (Elaina Ashman). Penalty corners — DV 0; HAZ 9.

Nanticoke Area 6, Tunkhannock 0

Nanticoke Area`0`6 — 6

Tunkhannock`0`0 — 0

Second half — 1. NAN, Mackenzie Casey (Olivia Nice), 29:24; 2. NAN, Tiara Thomas (Casey), 23:01; 3. NAN, Casey (Thomas), 21:25; 4. NAN, Josette Park, 17:51; 5. NAN, Nice (Grace Reed), 17:45; 6. NAN, Gabby Eldridge, 5:06.

Shots — TUN 5; NAN 19. Saves — TUN 13 (Ella Larioni); NAN 5 (Alexus Nichols). Penalty corners — TUN 4; NAN 6.

Wyoming Seminary’s Emma Watchilla goes after the ball as Wyoming Area’s goalie Morgan Janeski kicks it away in the second half of play Tuesday at Klassner Field in Kingston.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_sem_wa5_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Seminary’s Emma Watchilla goes after the ball as Wyoming Area’s goalie Morgan Janeski kicks it away in the second half of play Tuesday at Klassner Field in Kingston. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Wyoming Seminary’s Grace Parsons loses her balance while fighting for the ball with Wyoming Area’s Bianca Pizano in a field hockey battle for the WVC Division 1 crown at Klassner Field.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_sem_wa4_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Seminary’s Grace Parsons loses her balance while fighting for the ball with Wyoming Area’s Bianca Pizano in a field hockey battle for the WVC Division 1 crown at Klassner Field. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Wyoming Seminary players Alex Wesneski (4) and Hannah Maxwell embrace while celebrating the game-clinching goal by Wesneski as other players rush in to join them Tuesday at Klassner Field. With a 3-1 victory, Wyoming Seminary capped off its third consecutive unbeaten regular season and third straight WVC Division 1 title.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_sem_wa2_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Seminary players Alex Wesneski (4) and Hannah Maxwell embrace while celebrating the game-clinching goal by Wesneski as other players rush in to join them Tuesday at Klassner Field. With a 3-1 victory, Wyoming Seminary capped off its third consecutive unbeaten regular season and third straight WVC Division 1 title. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Wyoming Seminary’s Hannah Maxwell (13) reacts with Alex Wesneski (4) after scoring the first Blue Knights goal to tie the game with Wyoming Area in the first half of a showdown for the WVC Division 1 field hockey title Tuesday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_sem_wa1_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgWyoming Seminary’s Hannah Maxwell (13) reacts with Alex Wesneski (4) after scoring the first Blue Knights goal to tie the game with Wyoming Area in the first half of a showdown for the WVC Division 1 field hockey title Tuesday. Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wyoming Seminary proves a point, wins WVC Division 1 title

By Paul Sokoloski

[email protected]