CB South and CB West saw their seasons end in Wednesday’s opening round of the PIAA Class AAA Tournament. To view photos of the CB South/Lower Dauphin game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Mary Jane Souder
DOYLESTOWN – Less than five minutes showed on the scoreboard clock when Central Bucks South was awarded its third corner of the second half. The pressure to make it count was on for a Titan squad that trailed by one, and it looked as though Jessica Schmidt’s powerful shot from the top of the circle was on the money until – at the very last second - it ricocheted harmlessly off the left post.
“It hit the post, and it was a sigh of disappointment,” Schmidt said. “It just hit the post and bounced straight out. Why couldn’t it go in?
“I thought I had it, I really did. I believed I had it, and then you hear the sound of the post, and you’re like, ‘Oh man, why couldn’t it go in?’”
Why the ball couldn’t find the cage was a question everyone on the Titans’ sidelines was asking themselves after Wednesday’s 2-1 season-ending loss to Lower Dauphin in an opening round game of the PIAA Class AAA Tournament.
The most obvious answer was the weather and deteriorating playing conditions. With the entire game played in a combination of snow, rain and wind, the turf at War Memorial Field became increasingly icy, and while both teams were forced to endure the same conditions, the adverse conditions helped negate any advantage the Titans may have had in speed and skill.
“On the bus on the way down, I said, ‘Girls, you have to have the mindset that we’re going to play. Just do your best,’’” Lower Dauphin coach Linda Kreiser said. “Sometimes the elements can be in your favor because maybe they couldn’t do all the things they normally do.”
Weather conditions aside, the Titans knew they had a tough draw in a Falcon squad that was the fourth place team out of District 3. Lower Dauphin (21-3-1), under Kreiser, has won four state titles and boasts a tradition of excellence when the postseason rolls around.
The Titans, however, had an advantage over the Falcons in every category except the scoreboard. They held a 9-2 edge in corners and a 9-3 advantage in shots.
“It was ugly, and unfortunately, we came up short,” co-coach Marie Schmucker said. “We had opportunities. Do I think the better team won? Absolutely not.
“We just did not capitalize. We had the ball on the goal line, and we hit the post. We had opportunities. They played under the same conditions, but it slowed us down.
“After they scored their second goal and went ahead in the second half, the build-up of residue in our shoes – the ice and the tire rubber that they fill the field with – just kept building up and building up on our shoes. It’s one of those things where both teams played in the same conditions, and we came up short today.”
Things looked promising when senior Amber Steigerwalt stole a ball off a Falcons’ player stick on the defensive end and took it to the other end of the field for the score, beating one defender after another and making one last move to beat the goalie for a highlight reel goal that put the Titans on top 1-0 at the 10:07 mark of the first half.
“I saw a loose ball and I went for it,” said Steigerwalt, who was battling a nasty cold. “I knew there were a couple of girls on my back. There was a very fast girl following me, and I tried to cut her off as much as I could.
“I just tried to get around each defender with the pulls, everything we’ve worked on at practice, and just getting around the last defender, I tried to move the goalie a little bit and sent it in the corner.”
“It was an absolutely beautiful goal,” co-coach Jeff Harding said. “At that point, before the weather kind of kicked in, I was very happy with the team’s performance in terms of offense and defense.
“It wasn’t until it started to get ugly that the game started to change a little bit, but that’s no excuse because it’s the same for both teams.”
The Falcons capitalized on their first corner sequence of the game with 5:18 remaining in the opening half when Morgan Bitting’s shot from the top of the circle was deflected into the cage by Delani Higgins. It was the Falcons’ first and only shot of the half and it sent the two teams into halftime deadlocked 1-1.
“They made the most of their chances,” Harding said. “In the first half, we were really happy with how they were playing.”
The Falcons came out of halftime on the attack and stunned the Titans with a goal at the 21:24 mark when Hunter Bracale (Taylor Lister assist) found the cage. The Titans had their chances to get that goal back. Two minutes later, Mackenzie Harding’s rocket from the top of the circle was turned away, but the big play came when Bitting delivered a stop on the goal line of the follow-up shot. Luck was not on the Titans’ side.
“It’s almost like there was a moment where you could see the slush on the field,” coach Harding said. “Unfortunately, at that time, they got a goal.
“I’ve known Linda for years, and I have the utmost respect for her. Her kids are always going to play hockey the right way, but I definitely think the timing of their goal and how that weather kicked in – we didn’t have any choice but to try and stretch the game out and play longer. We still got opportunities, but the post, the goal line – we couldn’t buy one. I think the better of the two teams isn’t moving on, but that’s how it goes.”
The Titans’ drew three corners in the final five minutes of the game. Schmidt’s shot off the post came on the first. A Titan shot sailed wide of the cage on the next. That turned out to be their last hurrah, and a magical postseason run had come to an end.
“It is hard,” Steigerwalt said. “It’s tough – senior year and not being able to play with these girls. It’s emotional, but it was a great year.”
The Titans (21-2) closed out the year with Continental and District One AAA titles to their credit. Despite the disappointing ending, it had been quite a season.
“We’ve had so much great cooperation at practice,” Steigerwalt said. “I think it really reflects in our play.
“Our main goal was to come further than we did last year in districts, and we ended up winning. That was basically the biggest goal we could get this year.”
(3-2) Central Dauphin 5, (1-3) Central Bucks West 1
The Bucks’ magical postseason run came to an end on Wednesday night at Milton Hershey High School’s Henry Hershey Stadium. The Bucks battled the Rams to a 1-1 halftime tie, but the Rams had the better of play from the outset.
“Perhaps we were suffering from jitters and nerves, but regardless, Central Dauphin was the better team, and their state championship experience showed in tonight’s game,” said coach Casey Hughes, whose roster did not include one player with any field hockey playoff experience.
The Rams got on the scoreboard just 1:40 into the opening half. The Bucks capitalized on their third trip inside Central Dauphin’s 25-yard line when junior Erick Fiorelli turned a Virginia Moore assist into a goal with 4:08 remaining in the half, sending the two teams into halftime deadlocked 1-1.
“We were able to hold off an insane amount of offensive pressure,” Hughes said. “(Goalie) Brianna DeAngelis was making great saves for us, and the entire team was on the defensive.”
The Rams took a lead they would not lose 53 seconds into the second half. The Rams held a 13-2 advantage in shots on goal and an even more lopsided 25-2 advantage in corners.
“Going into halftime, I was hoping that a 1-1 tie would help bring new energy to the second half of the game,” Hughes said. “We didn’t come out strong, and Central Dauphin took advantage of that.
“We were under constant offensive pressure for most of the second half. This is a game of capitalizing on opportunities and controlling the ball. We gave up too many corners, turned over the ball and could not get anything going offensively as a team. Central Dauphin kept continual pressure on in our circle, and the playoff experience of their senior-laden team showed.”
The Bucks closed out their season with a 17-7 record, representing a remarkable turnaround from last year’s 7-11 season.
“Despite this loss, I am extremely proud of my field hockey team,” Hughes said. “This was a team that – back in August – nobody thought much of in terms of postseason play. In the last days of summer, they were happy to have a coach, and state dreams were far from their expectations or my own.”
The Bucks finished second in the tough SOL Continental Conference and third in District One in the program’s first appearance in districts since 2008. They were one of 16 teams to earn a berth in the state tournament, the first West squad to accomplish that feat since 1997.
“This was truly an incredible feat for my team that was considered the underdogs,” Hughes said. “They really did have a magical experience through the postseason, and they have nothing to hang their heads about.
“They did nothing but exceed expectation upon expectation. Expect big things from the Bucks next year because this 2012 squad has set the bar for what this program is capable of and has given my younger players a taste of post-season magic.”
(1-4) Wissahickon vs. (12-1) Cardinal O’Hara (Ppd. 11-8-12 at Germantown High School
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