Jason Guarente was in Chocolatetown on Tuesday (that’s Hershey, by the way) for Penn Manor’s District 3 Triple-A semifinal match, won the Comets in thrilling fashion: in overtime. Here’s Jason’s story from Wednesday’s New Era:

HERSHEY — Kristi Shepps’ personality changes as soon as she steps on the field.

That’s when her smile fades and the competition takes hold of her.

“I get a little bit meaner,” she said with a laugh.

Penn Manor doesn’t mind. The fiery, intense version of Shepps scores an awful lot of goals.

The senior tallied two of them against No. 5 Wilson on Tuesday. The second came 9:15 into overtime and lifted top-seeded Penn Manor to a 3-2 win in the District 3 Class Triple-A semifinals in Hersheypark Stadium.

The game-winning score was a testament to Shepps’ will to win. Not many players would have put this ball into the net.

Alyssa Melzer, Wilson’s keeper, appeared to have control of it, but Shepps kept fighting until the ball popped free. Once it did, she slammed it home.

“Everybody was telling me later, ‘You could have just pushed it in,’ ” Shepps said.

That’s just not her style.

Penn Manor coach Matt Soto has often marveled at Shepps‘ relentless energy. She stands at 4-10, but is capable of dominating a game.

Or, in this case, winning one.

“It was the perfect example of Shepps’ guts,” Soto said.

Penn Manor advanced to face No. 2 Lower Dauphin in the final at Milton Hershey Stadium Saturday at 3 p.m.

It took all of the Comets’ effort to advance.

Twice they grabbed one-goal leads and twice Wilson immediately answered. It was a frustrating scenario that was reminiscent of Penn Manor’s loss to Lancaster Mennonite in the Lancaster-Lebanon League final.

Cathryn Altdoerffer opened the scoring just 2:58 into the first half and Penn Manor appeared to be on its way.

Kelsey Lillis responded for Wilson just three minutes later.

Shepps registered her first goal 2:57 into the second half on a pass from Kristen Schaefer, who had two assists.

This time it was Vanessa Rivera who had the answer for Wilson. She scored 1:44 after Shepps.

“That’s how good Wilson is,” Soto said. “They came right back and smacked a couple in on us.”

When the game shifted to overtime, Penn Manor took control.

The 7-on-7 format emphasized the Comets’ advantage in speed and athleticism. They had three terrific scoring chances in the first eight minutes before Shepps finally broke through.

“We love the open field,” Soto said. “I’ve got to give our kids credit. They know when to hold. They know when to pass. They know when to attack.”

Overtime wasn’t initially a welcomed turn of events for Penn Manor, which saw its league title hopes dashed when LMH scored a sudden-death goal on Oct. 18.

Shepps rallied her team and made sure this result was different.

“Some of them were a little bit out of it, thinking we had to score again,” Shepps said. “I said, ‘Come on, guys, we can’t let that bother us.’ Some of them picked their heads up then.”

Although Penn Manor is 23-2 and the top seed, it’s not the favorite heading into the final.

That label belongs to Lower Dauphin (24-0), which defeated No. 14 Hershey 2-1 in overtime in the other semifinal Tuesday. The Falcons captured the District 3 and Triple-A state titles last season and are riding a 53-game winning streak.

“We’ll see if we can come up with a game plan that will stifle their offense and break their defense,” Soto said.

In Triple-A consolation-round action on Tuesday:

Conestoga Valley 2,
New Oxford 1

At Hempfield, Morgan Gerz assisted on Holland Beiler’s goal, then scored the go-ahead goal with 27:11 to go in the second half for the Buckskins, who will square off against L-L League foe Warwick in the fifth-place game.

New Oxford, which was eliminated from the bracket, outshot CV 6-5, but Caitlin Landis made five saves for the Bucks, who will meet Warwick on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Milton Hershey.

The winner advances to the PIAA Tournament. The loser goes home.

Warwick 2, Hempfield 1

At Hempfield, Brynn Adams scored the go-ahead goal with 24:13 to go in the second half for the Warriors, who will take on CV for the final state playoff berth from District 3.

Carley Buckwalter opened the scoring for Warwick at the 9:43 mark of the first half. But Hempfield answered, with Amanda Hart knotting the game at with a goal early in the second half.

Corey Brautigam assisted on Hart’s goal.

Warwick outshot Hempfield 13-8, and eliminated the Knights from the district bracket in the process.