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An extended and heart-pounding penalty kill.

A dramatic penalty stroke of victory.

And a first-year player just reinserted into the starting lineup getting the go-ahead goal. Twice.

Teams from the Wyoming Valley Conference rallied behind all of those things in the state field hockey quarterfinals to go 3-for-3.

And if you think those moments were electric, just wait until tonight — when they all try to make history.

The PIAA semifinals offer a journey into the unknown for Wyoming Area, Wyoming Valley West and Wyoming Seminary, which are all trying to break new ground in an attempt to add to the massive reputation the league already boasts around the state.

And a spot in the state championship game would raise some esteem for all of them.

“Gotta love it,” Wyoming Valley West coach Linda Fithian said. “Give credit to our whole league.”

At least her Spartans, along with Sem, have not only been to the PIAA title game, but won it before.

In fact, Sem is the defending PIAA Class A champion and enters its semifinal against a Greenwood team that beat the Blue Knights in the 2017 state championship game. The Blue Knights are looking to win back-to-back state titles for the second time in school history and seeking to become the first Wyoming Seminary team to play in three straight state title games.

They arrived there by coming back from a two-goal deficit when Alex Wesneski’s overtime penalty stroke lifted Sem to a 3-2 victory over Newport in the quarterfinals.

Valley West got a lift from freshman Marissa Mooney, who made her state debut in the quarterfinals and hit both goals — lifting the Spartans over Northern York for a 2-1 victory into the quarters that sent Valley West into a third straight semifinal for the first time.

It also gave the Spartans a shot at another first — to play for the state title for the second time in three years — if they can get by Villa Maria Academy tonight.

Wyoming Area would just like to get there once.

“It would be another historic event for the team and for the school,” Wyoming Area coach Erin McGinley said, “which would be something truly special.”

Yet, it was a special feeling for the Warriors when they fended off two yellow cards — one called on the Warriors bench — while playing two girls short for five minutes of action. Then came another five minutes playing one down while protecting a 1-0 victory over Boiling Springs. Those stretches accounted for 10 of the game’s final 13 minutes.

And that doesn’t include a five-minute yellow card penalty that sent the same girl off the pitch for five minutes earlier in the second half.

“We weren’t arguing, we weren’t yelling, we were asking for help,” a miffed McGinley said, explaining that the Warriors bench simply asked the officials to confer to ensure the initial yellow card was correct when the bench was hit with the second yellow.

“Playing one player down, let alone two players down — which doesn’t usually happen — these are kids who had to go into different positions when we were down numbers. And basically, possessing and maintaining the ball for those 10 minutes, it’s pretty impressive. This is a special team.”

It’s also one making its first run at a state title game.

Before last season, Wyoming Area had never been to a District 2 championship game, much less a PIAA playoff game. Now, the Warriors are in the state semifinals for the first time and seeking to become the school’s first-ever state finalist.

“To make it to the top two teams, wow, what an accomplishment it would be,” said McGinley, who is in her third season at Wyoming Area’s helm. “But I think it’s even more than that. For a program that no one even knew about until last year, to be in this special of a moment is not to be taken lightly.”

Neither are the opponents all three teams from the WVC will face in the state semifinals.

PIAA CLASS 2A SEMIFINALS

VALLEY WEST (14-3-1)

vs. VILLA MARIA (15-9)

3:30 p.m. at Emmaus HS

The Spartans run into an old nemesis, as District 1 No. 3 seed Villa Maria Academy beat them 2-1 for the 2017 state championship and before that, handed a strong Valley West team a 3-2 loss in the opening state round.

So Spartans sparkplug Rina Tsioles, an Old Dominion commit, high-scoring Paige Williams and spectacular goalie Sydney Rusnock will get one more crack in their senior year to get back at Villa Maria.

Don’t discount the importance of Ari Rupnik, a transfer student from Germany who has been a star of the Spartans’ postseason. And it’s not just her scoring ability, which is dynamic. She made a steal at the far end, single-handedly pushed the ball upfield under heavy pressure and helped set up Valley West’s winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Northern York in the quarterfinals.

Maura O’Hare and Annie Shaw scored goals as Villa Maria pulled a 2-1 upset of District 1 champ Merion Mercy in the state quarterfinals, but they’re not the only Hurricanes Valley West will have to watch. Senior Meg Dillon is an Indiana University commit and returns from the team that beat the Spartans for the state title two years ago, and brings goalie Victoria Kimmel and forward Kate Perretta along with her.

Sophomore Lindsay Roberts, who scored two goals in Villa’s first meeting with Merion Mercy, is a two-time AAU Junior Olympics selection. And coach Katie Evans, who took the reigns of the program last year, played on the USA women’s national team.

PIAA CLASS A SEMIFINALS

WYOMING AREA (20-2-1)

vs. OLEY VALLEY (24-1)

5:30 p.m. at Emmaus HS

As soon as states started, Toni Minichello caught fire for Wyoming Area. So nobody was surprised when Minichello scored the only goal of Wyoming Area’s first-ever PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal win over Boiling Springs to give the Warriors their first 20-win season. That came after Minichello scored twice and assisted on the other goal in a 3-0 win over Lewisburg to open state play.

Those shutouts are a credit to goalie Ellie Glatz, but even moreso to a Wyoming Area defense led by sophomore Makenzie Switzer, who is in the USA Futures program. That defense helped fend off 15 minutes of penalty time during the second half of Saturday’s 1-0 win, which included five minutes of action where Boiling springs played with a two-player advantage.

The Warriors will need that type of intensity against a high-powered Oley Valley team many consider to be the favorite to win a state title.

The Lynx were upset by Greenwood in the District 3 championship game, but haven’t lost before or since.

Senior midfielder Sophia Gladieux is a Penn State commit and among the top 10 Max Field Hockey players nationally and will likely earn her third straight Berks County Player of the Year honor top 10. She’s also one of only five players in high school history to score over 200 career goals, getting another with a game-tying shot as Oley Valley downed previously unbeaten District 1 champ New Hope Solebury, 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

The Lynx feature two more standouts in midfielder and James Madison commit Sarah Beers and Iowa commit Sophia Mackrella, a defender. Those Division-1 college-bound seniors have led the Lynx to a 99-7 overall record through their four seasons and a No. 16 national ranking by Max Field Hockey before the start of district play, but there’s only one number they care about right now — being No. 1 in the state.

WYOMING SEMINARY (21-2)

vs. GREENWOOD (19-1-2)

4 p.m. at Danville HS

What a way to win a state game! A few minutes into overtime, Wyoming Seminary’s top scorer Hannah Maxwell was making a mad rush through the circle all alone when she was clobbered by Newport’s goalie, preventing her from getting off an almost-certain winning shot.

Instead, Alex Wesneski took it. And made it. Wesneski followed her game-tying goal in regulation with a penalty stroke that lifted Sem over Newport 3-2 in the quarterfinals — marking the first time in two years the Blue Knights battled back from a two-goal deficit to win a state playoff game.

They’d only gone two goals down in a game once during league play or against District 2 play in three years, but maybe that 2-0 deficit they faced against Wilkes-Barre Area earlier this season gave the Blue Knights enough practice at overcoming that type of deficit.

Practice makes perfect, as Sem kept its record perfect in 12 postseason games over the last two years and ran its playoff mark to 18-1 over the past three three seasons by beating a Newport team the Blue Knights also beat for the 2018 state title.

After fending off one team bent on revenge, they’ll see another.

It was Greenwood that gave Sem that one loss in the last three years, with a 2-1 win in the PIAA gold medal game. Sem returned the favor in last year’s state semifinals, beating Greenwood 4-0.

Greenwood senior forwards Kennedy Stroup, Grace Lesh and Cori Davis and goalie Kelsey Shaeffer remember both meetings well. They helped the Wildcats upset Oley Valley in the District 3 finals and beat District 1 runner-up Springfield 5-0 in the state quarterfinals. And they’re now backed by sophomore forward Emma Ralston, a two-time U.S. futures selection and freshman Ashlynn Taylor, also in the futures program at Spooky Nook.

Maxwell, Wesneski, fellow seniors Grace Parsons and Bari Lefkowitz and junior goalie Mia Magnotta were all on the field for Sem in both battles with Greenwood.

Is the score really settled? We’ll see.

Kayla Kiwak and Wyoming Area will make the school’s debut in the PIAA Class A field hockey semifinals against favored Oley Valley tonight and will try to take the Warriors to their first-ever state title game.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL102419LL-WyoAreaFH_3.jpg.optimal.jpgKayla Kiwak and Wyoming Area will make the school’s debut in the PIAA Class A field hockey semifinals against favored Oley Valley tonight and will try to take the Warriors to their first-ever state title game. Bill Tarutis, File Photo | For Times Leader

Hannah Maxwell and her defending state champion Wyoming Seminary teammates don’t plan to let anything stand in their way to a third straight PIAA Class A championship appearance, even going up against a Greenwood team that beat the Blue Knights for the 2017 state championship — Sem’s only postseason loss in 19 games over three years.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_sem_new2_faa-2.jpg.optimal.jpgHannah Maxwell and her defending state champion Wyoming Seminary teammates don’t plan to let anything stand in their way to a third straight PIAA Class A championship appearance, even going up against a Greenwood team that beat the Blue Knights for the 2017 state championship — Sem’s only postseason loss in 19 games over three years. Fred Adams, File Photo | For Times Leader

Valley West field hockey players, from left, Paige Williams, Cameryn Forgash, Ari Rupnik (front) and Rina Tsioles are making a charge to get the Spartans into the PIAA Class 2A championship game for the second time in three years when they meet old state nemesis Villa Maria tonight.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_wvw_cr1_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgValley West field hockey players, from left, Paige Williams, Cameryn Forgash, Ari Rupnik (front) and Rina Tsioles are making a charge to get the Spartans into the PIAA Class 2A championship game for the second time in three years when they meet old state nemesis Villa Maria tonight. Fred Adams, File Photo | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area, Valley West and Sem take shots at field hockey history

By Paul Sokoloski

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