WEST PITTSTON — A stubborn defense on a grass field started to become a growing concern for Crestwood’s high-powered offense.
In an instant, Lizzy Dessoye and the Comets found a way to cut through it.
Dessoye lifted the game’s second goal over everyone and into the net Monday, then Jordan Olenginski’s rapid-fire shooting produced a hat trick as Crestwood pulled away from scrappy Wyoming Area, 8-1 in a Wyoming Valley Conference field hockey game at Atlas Field.
“I just noticed that all the shots that were getting saved were on the ground,” Dessoye said. “Their goalie was good with ground ball saves. I thought about lifting it. The grass helped a lot, too. It went higher than I expected it to. I was hoping it would count.”
It did, and it lifted the unbeaten Comets to new heights.
After Dessoye’s laser-like liner into the side of the net was deemed by officials not dangerous enough to disallow late in the first half, the Comets really got cranking.
Just 94 seconds before halftime, Dessoye smoked another shot at the goal and Olenginski tipped it in for a 3-0 Crestwood lead.
Olenginski then opened the second half by scoring two goals within 4 1/2 minutes, both off feeds from Hunter Pitman to give Crestwood a comfortable 5-0 lead and essentially put the game out of reach for the Warriors.
“I don’t really get nervous,” said Olenginski, who helped the three-time defending Class 2A state finalist Comets improve to 3-0 in the WVC Division 2. “I know we’re going to score, get in our game. Right when we get that first goal, we’re just going to keep on coming.”
It took a little while for the Comets to start clicking Monday.
Facing a spirited Wyoming Area team that was spurred by 11 saves from goalie Katie Wolfgang, Crestwood was held scoreless midway through the first half while playing in unfamiliar territory.
“We don’t really practice on grass a lot,” said Olenginski, who is more accustomed to flying around with her teammates on Crestwood’s turf field. “Once we got the hang of it, we got ready and started scoring a lot. I just thought in my head to keep my eye on the ball. It was really bouncing on this kind of field.”
It turns out the Comets did do some training to try to prepare for playing on a natural surface, though.
“We do have a grass (practice) field at our high school,” Dessoye said. “We’ve been practicing on that – just special running skills and dribbling skills – knowing we had this game coming up. Our passing game had to be very strong.”
Through the final 45 minutes, the Comets showed their might.
Sarah Macko broke a scoreless tie by angling home a goal with 14:27 remaining in the first half.
“Once we get that first one, we feel a lot more comfortable out there,” Crestwood coach Patsy Moratori said. “It kind of breaks things open.”
Then Dessoye broke the backs of the Warriors. She lifted the Comets into a 2-0 lead with her high rocket into the net, and her smash to the point was tipped in by Olenginski for a three-goal lead that swiped some spirit from Wyoming Area.
“Lizzy’s always telling us about other shots we should do,” Crestwood coach Patsy Moratori said. “She’s definitely always looking ahead to see what we can do better.”
It seems like the Comets can hardly improve much.
Pitman finished with three assists and a goal, complementing Olenginski’s three-goal game and Dessoye’s two goals and one assist as Crestwood remains perfect by outscoring its league opponents by a combined 29-1.
Wyoming Area’s Bree Bednarski broke Crestwood’s season shutout streak when she pumped in the Warriors’ lone goal in the final two minutes, a small consolation for a Wyoming Area team that fell to .500 with its second straight defeat after opening the year with two straight victories.
“We go into every game with the same amount of intensity,” Dessoye said. “We can’t underestimate anyone. (But) we knew this team is one of the better (WVC) teams,” Dessoye said. “We sort of stepped it up.
Lake-Lehman 6, Tunkhannock 0
Maranda Martin, Kate Supey and Izzy Rabel netted two goals and an assist each as Lake-Lehman shut out Tunkhannock at home. Miranda Moosic and Lynea Gregory also collected assists and goaltender Alicia Galasso made three saves during the game.
Tunkhannock used two goalies during the game, Dana Kuffa (seven saves) and Mary Sickler (11 saves).
GAR 3, Berwick 2
Avery Harris completed a Grenadiers comeback with the game’s final goal in the second half as GAR rallied for victory.
Berwick held a 2-0 halftime lead off goals by Reganne Whitmore and Kiersten Bertollo.
But Rofiat Oseni’s goal in the second half started the three-goal spree over the game’s final 30 minutes that lifted GAR to victory. Lindsey Quinn took a feed from Avery Harris and scored to tie the game, then Quinn assisted on Harris’ winning goal.
Abington Heights 2, Hanover Area 1
Olivia Kerrigan and Anna Baruffaldi scored less than two minutes apart in the first half and the Comets staved off Hanover Area.
Berenger Meyer scored for the Hawkeyes in the second half.
Dallas 1, Nanticoke Area 0
Jolee Tresslar scored unassisted off a corner with 3:22 remaining in the first half to lift Dallas to victory. The Dallas defense held the Trojans without a shot to pick up a tight victory.
Meyers 4, Elk Lake 0
Alexis Bruno triggered a three-goal spree in the first half by scoring unassisted 13 minutes in and the Mohawks used 10 saves from Cameron Daughtry to post a shutout.
Meghan Morris assisted on two goals for Meyers.
***Goes in Agate Type***
Crestwood 8, Wyoming Area 1
Crestwood`3`5`—`8
Wyoming Area`0`1`—`1
First half — 1. CRE, Sarah Macko (Ashleigh Thomas) 15:33; 2. CRE, Lizzy Dessoye 23:46; 3. CRE, Jordan Olenginski (Dessoye) 28:26. Second half — 4. CRE, Olenginski (Hunter Pitman) 1:17; 5. CRE, Olenginski (Pitman) 4:28; 6. CRE, Hannah Ackers 13:12; 7. CRE, Dessoye (Pitman) 22:05; 8. CRE, Pitman 25:27; 9. WA, Bree Bednarski (Jillian Spak) 28:04.
Shots — CRE 19; WA 6. Saves — CRE 5 (Marlee Dillon); WA 11 (Katie Wolfgang). Penalty corners — CRE 13; WA 2.
Lake-Lehman 6, Tunkhannock 0
Tunkhannock`0`0`—`0
Lake-Lehman`3`3`—`6
First half — 1. LL, Maranda Martin (Kate Supey), 13:06. 2. LL, Supey (Miranda Moosic), 2:20. 3. LL, Martin (Izzy Rabel), 1:17 Second half — 4. LL, Supey (Moosic), 20:09. 5. LL, Rabel (Martin), 5:50. 6. LL, Rabel (Lynea Gregory), :59.
Shots — TUNK 3; LL 25. Saves — TUNK 18 (Dana Kuffa 7, Mary Sickler 11); LL 3 (Alicia Galasso). Penalty corners — TUNK 2; LL 19.
GAR 3, Berwick 2
GAR`0`3`—`3
Berwick`2`0`—`2
First half — 1. BER, Reganne Whitmore; 2. BER, Kiersten Bertollo. Second half — 3. GAR, Rofiat Oseni; 4. GAR, Lindsey Quinn (Avery Harris); 5. GAR, Harris (Quinn).
Shots — GAR 13; BER 8. Saves — GAR 6 (Brittany Vital 4, Samara McDaniels 2); BER 10 (Xenia Demko); Penalty corners — GAR 6; BER 4.
Abington Heights 2 Hanover Area 1
Abington Heights`2`0`-`2
Hanover Area`0`1`-`1
First half – 1. AH, Olivia Kerrigan (Anna Baruffaldi) 20:25; 2. AH, Ashley Mercado 22:21. Second half – 3. HAN, Berengere Meyer (Michaela Halesey) 16:19.
Shots – AH 13; HAN 11. Saves – AH 10 (Olivia Mendo); HAN 10 (Christina Kratz). Penalty corners – AH 4; HAN 6.
Dallas 1, Nanticoke Area 0
Dallas`1`0`-`1
Nanticoke Area`0`0`-`0
First half – 1. DAL, Jolee Tresslar 16:38.
Shots – DAL 3; NAN 0. Saves – DAL 0 (Melinda Ratchford); NAN 2 (Janan Trotter). Penalty corners – DAL 8; NAN 1.
Meyers 4, Elk Lake 0
Meyers`3`1`-`4
Elk Lake`0`0`-`0
First half – 1. MEY, Alexis Bruno 2:59; 2. MEY, Marissa Prince (Meghan Morris) 12:48; 3., MEY, Kendra Krolick (Meghan Morris) 18:17. Second half – 4. MEY, Barbara Guirin (Mariam Darboe) 16:43.
Shots – MEY 22; EL – 10. Saves – MEY 10 (Cameron Daughtry); EL 18. Penalty corners – MEY 12; EL 2
