The Knights’ Gianna DeCesaris (5) scores the first goal of the game against Wyoming Area at Wyoming Valley West Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Lake-Lehman’s Gracie James (21) slides in a goal with 1:30 left in the 2nd period on Wednesday night against Wyoming Area for the District title.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
With the Lake-Lehman goal keeper out of position, Wyoming Area’s Nina Belza (2) gets a goal to cut the Lake-Lehman score in half with 5:01 left in the fourth period.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Lake-Lehman coach Jean Lipski prepares to placea gold medal over senior Gianna DeCesaris, who scored one of the Knights goals in defeating Wyoming Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Lake-Lehman Field Hockey team captured the D2 1A championship game against Wyoming Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
KINGSTON — Wyoming Area may still have one of the best Class A field hockey teams in the state, but the Lady Warriors will not get a chance to prove it.
Lake-Lehman opened a two-goal halftime lead in the District 2 final at Wyoming Valley West’s Spartan Stadium and, although Wyoming Area again mounted a comeback, this time the Lady Knights held on for a 2-1 victory.
Wednesday night’s result ends Wyoming Area’s season at 15-4, including a loss to District 2-4 Class 2A Subregional champion Crestwood in a playoff to determine the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 title.
“I’ve been saying that since I started coaching, since the first time we played (Wyoming) Sem here, both teams should be going from this district,” Lady Warriors coach Bree Bednarski said. “It’s really sad to see a team stay home from this district game because really the last four years this district game could be the state final.”
Wyoming Area took an unbeaten record into the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state semifinals last season. In each of the previous seven years, including a 2022 runner-up finish by the Lady Warriors, the District 2 champion went to the state final where it won four times.
Spots in the state bracket, however, are not determined by a district’s previous success but rather by the number of schools it has in the classification.
“It’s tough to see and I feel bad for my girls because I really do wish we were going to states to show what we could do,” said Bednarski, whose team beat Lake-Lehman 2-0 on the grass at Atlas Field early in the season.
Wednesday’s game was beginning to look familiar with Lake-Lehman clinging to a 2-0 lead, but the Lady Knights did not let things get out of hand as they had last year when Wyoming Area won 3-2 in overtime.
Lake-Lehman stopped a penalty corner and turned away a threat with Wyoming Area dribbling just yards from the left post in the closing seconds.
A year ago in the same matchup on the same field, with the same stakes, Bella DeCesaris opened the scoring in the first quarter and Lake-Lehman was efficient in converting its limited opportunities for a 2-0 halftime lead.
“Last year, they got 17 corners in the second half and ended up tying in and winning in overtime,” Lake-Lehman coach Jean Lipski said. “A two-goal cushion is pretty comfortable and a one-goal cushion is not and it can happen so quickly.”
Nina Belza scored with 5:01 left and the Warriors kept coming with the game’s final three shots.
Though Wyoming Area had some late chances at pulling off a repeat, they were not as plentiful as a year ago.
“We definitely were hoping for that, but you have to put the ball in the cage and we needed to do that more than we did,” Bednarski said. “We left a couple balls out on the field that could have been goals.”
Wyoming Area had to hurry into the circle in the closing seconds, but got close before Lake-Lehman knocked the ball out of bounds, leaving the Lady Warriors with a 25-yard free hit. By the time they could get the ball back in play, time had expired.
“Our defense really held up,” Lipski said.
DeCesaris opened the scoring in the last minute of the first quarter on a rebound.
Olivia Oliver’s long pass split the middle of the defense and found Gracie James, who had snuck behind them from the left wing. James converted the chance with 1:30 left in the half.
“Whenever she winds up, I always run,” James said.
Wyoming Area eventually cut the deficit in half.
Lucia Campenni dribbled along the end line on the right side and got the ball in front where Shannon Kearns poked it away from a crowd to Belza, who converted with a reverse stick from close range on the left side into an open half of the cage.
That was the only time the Warriors beat goalie Gigi Kirkutis, who had five saves.
Lake-Lehman heads into state play for the first time since 2017 and the first time as a district champion since a year earlier.
Wyoming Area finished with an 11-6 lead in shots and a 9-6 advantage in penalty corners.
“I think we played well the whole game, but we just didn’t finish in the first half,” Bednarski said. “We need to be better at that.”
