COMETS KNOCK OFF MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH IN STATE SEMIFINALS; WILL TAKE ON EMMAUS FOR PIAA TRIPLE-A TITLE ON SATURDAY
Jason Guarente was in my neck of the woods on Tuesday (Exeter High School in Berks County) for Penn Manor’s state-playoff field hockey game. The Comets won (again), and charged into the state finals. Here is Jason’s story from Wednesday’s New Era:
READING — Everyone who had Mount Saint Joseph penciled into the title game better get out an eraser.
That’s because Penn Manor had other plans.
The Comets scored once in each half and grabbed a 2-0 victory in the PIAA Triple-A field hockey semifinals at Exeter High Tuesday.
“It feels so good that we won,” Penn Manor midfielder Jill Witmer said. “I can’t believe we made it this far.”
Penn Manor advanced to face District 11 power Emmaus for the championship. Emmaus ended Lower Dauphin’s 56-game winning streak with a 1-0 win in the other semifinal.
The championship game will be played at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown Saturday at noon.
“We get to play for it all,” PM coach Matt Soto said. “We’ve got a shot to win the whole thing.”
Most expected this to be Mount Saint Joseph’s shot. The Magic was the District 1 champion, the Triple-A runner-up from last season and had won 25 of its 26 games.
None of that mattered Tuesday.
The Comets scored early, posted a timely insurance goal and gradually showed they rank among the state’s best teams.
Kristi Shepps, the Comets’ go-to player in this postseason, netted the game’s first goal 6:48 into the first half. That not only gave Penn Manor the lead, it convinced the supposed underdogs they could prevail.
After Mount Saint Joseph spent nearly 35 minutes fruitlessly searching for the equalizer, the Comets struck again. This time it was Witmer with 9:10 remaining in regulation.
Although Mount Saint Joseph controlled play, Penn Manor controlled the scoreboard. The Magic held an 18-3 edge in corners and a 10-3 advantage in shots, but couldn’t finish.
Penn Manor made its few chances count.
“We cashed in,” Soto said. “That felt good. It was certainly in our game plan to put more pressure on them, but we’ll take what we had.”
Mount Saint Joseph entered the game with a reputation for explosive offense. Led by Jen Sabia, one of the state’s premier players, the Magic scored 11 goals in their first two PIAA games — including an 8-0 romp over Northampton in the quarterfinals.
That didn’t faze Penn Manor.
“They won the last game 8-0, but that’s not our team,” PM goalie Kathi Weidman said. “I knew there would be a lot of shots, but that wasn’t us. Every team is different.”
There were moments when it appeared that Mount Saint Joseph was poised to gain control. It spent most of the game in Penn Manor’s end and it peppered the net with scoring chances.
The Comets’ defense, anchored by Weidman and center back Kristen Schaefer, refused to budge.
“We were really good on corner defense,” Soto said. “I felt calm that we were going to stop them. They struggled with corners. There were times I thought, ‘Oh no, I hope they don’t knock one in here.’ But I was still encouraged by how well we were playing.”
While the Triple-A field was supposed to belong to the Big Three of defending state champ Lower Dauphin, 2004-05 titlist Emmaus and Mount Saint Joseph, Penn Manor was happy to crash the party.
The Comets improved to 26-3 and earned their first appearance in a state final since 1990.
“It’s not a shock that we’re here,” Soto said. “I’m tickled to death that we beat such a good team. Now I know we can play with everybody.”
Penn Manor still holds one unwanted distinction: It’s the best team without a title. It lost the Lancaster-Lebanon League championship to Lancaster Mennonite and the District 3 title to Lower Dauphin.
Those setbacks didn’t deter the Comets from making a state championship run and shaking up the Triple-A projections.
“It’s really exciting,” Weidman said. “You never know how many of these chances you’re going to get.”
Penn Manor knows it will get one more.
