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EMMAUS – For more than 46 minutes, Mackenzie Switzer pulled a shadowy act on one of the best high school field hockey players in the country.
Then Sophia Gladieux stepped out of those shadows and straight into the state spotlight.
Gladieux scored twice in the game’s final 14 minutes Tuesday and that was just enough to push Oley Valley into the PIAA Class A championship game with a 2-0 victory over Wyoming Area in a state semifinal game at Emmaus High School.
“We just didn’t put the ball in the cage,” Wyoming Area coach Erin McGinley said. “We had opportunity after opportunity. Balls trickled over the end line, or we didn’t get a tip. It happens.
“It’s unfortunate.”
In the end, it was Gladieux who found her way into the cage
No surprise there, since she’s one of only five high school players to register more than 200 career goals.
What was a bit of a shock was that it took her so long.
But after being hounded by Switzer’s tight defense all game, Gladieux finally broke free a scoreless battle, making a move into the circle just in time to take a pass from best friend and fellow Division 1 college recruit Sarah Beers, who is headed to James Madison.
“She lost me,” Switzer said of Gladieux. “I was trying to run back. But we didn’t get her picked up to stop her. I lost her. I don’t know what happened from there.”
What happened was what usually does when Gladieux gets the ball on her stick near the cage.
She whipped home her 205th career goal with 13:25 to play to break a scoreless tie that began leaving both teams a bit frustrated.
“We had a breakdown,” McGinley said, “and our girl didn’t help out.”
That’s all it took for Switzer to crack the ice, and ignite 25-1 Oley Valley’s surge into the state title game against Wyoming Seminary at 10 a.m. Saturday at Whitehall’s Zephyr Sports Complex.
The Penn State commit then scored again with 2:59 to play to give the Lynx breathing room while setting the final score.
That it took so long for Gladieux to get going was a credit to Switzer – who marked one of the nation’s premier stick handlers as well as goal scorers.
“She did a fantastic job,” McGinley said of Switzer. “Props to her. She stopped what everybody considers to be the best player in the country. That’s pretty amazing.”
Especially since Switzer had limited experience marking a player – defending in a one-on-one situation – through most of the sophomore’s two-year high school career.
“I was definitely nervous at first,” Switzer said. “I knew she had 200-plus goals, I knew she was going to Penn State. She’s a good player. I just knew I had to do what I had to do.”
Whatever she was doing seemed to be making Gladieux a little snippy, as a whole half, then half of the second half, went by without the Lynx scoring star getting off a solid shot.
“I know she was getting frustrated,” Switzer said. “And I knew that was good for our team in the end.”
By the end, though, it was Gladieux who proved to be bad news for the Warriors, who finished at 20-3-1 – with all three losses coming against the two teams squaring off for the state title.
“Look, the kids had a great year,” McGinley said. “Truly fantastic. We came all that way and made it into the state semifinals. We did a really good job.”
PIAA CLASS A SEMIFINALS
Oley Valley 2, Wyoming Area 0
Wyoming Area`0`0 — 0
Oley Valley`0`2 — 2
Second half — 1. OV, Sophia Gladieux (Sarah Beers), 13:25; 2. OV, Gladieux (Beers), 2:59.
Shots — WA 5; OV 8. Saves — WA 6 (Ellie Glatz); OV 5 (Cassidy Drobek). Corners — WA 7; OV 5.