Rehill
Crestwood falls to Mechanicsburg
LIME RIDGE – Wyoming Area’s unscored-upon streak came to an end.
By the time it did, however, the Warriors had also snapped out of their own sluggishness offensively.
Bianca Pizano scored a goal and assisted on two others and Lyla Rehill started a fourth-quarter outburst with a spectacular goal Saturday afternoon as Wyoming Area defeated West Perry, 4-1, in a PIAA Class A state quarterfinal field hockey game.
Wyoming Area had a streak of 271:22 without allowing a goal end when Autumn Albright ripped a drive inside the far post from the top of the circle with 4:44 remaining.
By then, however, the Warriors had already used penalty corners to score twice and open a 3-0 lead.
First-year Wyoming Area coach Bree Bednarski was happy to trade in the perfect defensive mark for more breathing room in a wide-open second half after Wyoming Area hit the break with a 1-0 lead. That had been the final score of all three district and state playoff games so far for the Warriors (21-2) and the score of each of the team’s last four wins.
“The girls know when it’s a 1-0 game that there need to be more goals made,” Bednarski said. “We talked to them at halftime and I was just happy that they were able to push the energy a little bit and put three more goals in.”
West Perry had its most effective quarter in the third, but cut could not erase the 1-0 deficit. Wyoming Area then broke away early in the fourth.
“I think our passing connected more in the second half than it did in the first and they just trusted each other out there,” Bednarski said. “They were in the spots that they needed to be and they finished.”
Rehill had the most impressive finish.
Wyoming Area’s lead was still 1-0 until 11:30 remained.
Pizano’s diagonal pass on the penalty corner hit Rehill open near the right post.
Rehill’s attempt to either stop or deflect the hard pass, however, popped the ball up into the air toward her left shoulder.
From there, Rehill took a reverse stick swing, picking the ball out of the air and launching it up high into the cage for a 2-0 lead.
“I was just trying to keep the ball in play, so I wound up stopping it and whacking it into the cage,” Rehill said. “I didn’t think I was going hit it at all. I thought I was going to whiff, but I ended up making pretty solid contact.”
Pizano, who on Wednesday signed her Letter of Intent to play on scholarship at Michigan State, again took on the role of playmaker from the top of the circle after receiving the penalty corner insert. She moved the ball left to right across to Nina Angeli, who scored on a hard, low shot through traffic from just inside the line for a 3-0 lead with 8:13 left.
The insurance goal made it easier for Wyoming Area to withstand West Perry’s goal.
Bednarski called timeout just in case, but the Warriors did not allow another chance the rest of the way, instead applying more offensive pressure until Juliana Gonzales added another goal on a penalty corner with 20 seconds left.
“The first half was just a little slow,” said Pizano, who sent a second-quarter penalty stroke up into the top left corner for the only score of the first three quarters. “We started off a little bit slow, but the second half we really picked it up. We knew it couldn’t be another 1-0 game like our past games. We had to keep going.
“The one goal was a little eye-opener, but it didn’t stop us.”
Wyoming Area advanced into Tuesday’s semifinal against Oley Valley, a 5-1 winner over Lewisburg. The 2019 and 2021 Warriors seasons ended in state semifinal losses to Oley Valley.
CLASS 2A
Mechanicsburg 3, Crestwood 2
The Comets battled back to force overtime, but eventually fell as Mechanicsburg’s Gracyn Catalano found the back of the net for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats (19-4-1) will face Villa Marie in the state semifinals on Saturday. Crestwood’s season ends.
Aubrey Macri got the Comets’ first goal to tie the game at 1-1 in the second period. Ava McConnell then sent the game into over time by scoring late in the fourth quarter.
PIAA CLASS A QUARTERFINAL
Wyoming Area 4, West Perry 1
West Perry`0`0`0`1—`1
Wyoming Area`0`1`0`3`—`4
First — None. Second – 1. WA, Bianca Pizano (penalty stroke) 13:47. Third – None. Fourth – 2. WA, Lyla Rehill (Pizano) 11:30; 3. WA, Nina Angeli (Pizano) 8:13; 4, WP, Autumn Albright. 4:44 (Jordan Byers); 5. WA. Juliana Gonzales (Ella McKernan) 0:20.
Shots at goal — WP 3, WA 10. Goalie saves — WP 3 (Alexsa Frederick), WA 0 (Rylee Muniz). Defensive save – WP 1 (Molly Zimmerman), WA 0. Penalty corners — WP 7, WA 11.
