Wissahickon senior Jackie Hibbs and Central Bucks South junior Mackenzie Harding were named to the NFHCA All-Region Team.
By Mary Jane Souder
A pair of SOL players were named to the prestigious National Field Hockey Coaches Association 2012 Harrow Sports/NFHCA High School All-Region Team. Wissahickon senior Jackie Hibbs earned a spot on the Pennsylvania Region’s First Team while Central Bucks South junior Mackenzie Harding was named to the Pennsylvania Region’s Second Team.
Jackie Hibbs, Senior, Wissahickon High School
The Trojans’ senior captain shattered Katie O’Donnell’s single season assist record of 26 set in 2004 with 35 assists to go along with 15 goals this year. Hibbs helped lead the Trojans’ to another SOL American Conference title and a berth in the state tournament. The senior midfielder’s first team recognition came on the heels of earning honorable mention all-region last year.
Wissahickon coach Lucy Gil says: “I was pleasantly surprised when I heard because a lot of the selectors were from District 3, and I wasn’t sure if they knew Jackie that well, but I truly think she belongs there. I think she is one of the top 11 players in Pennsylvania, for sure.
“Jackie’s very deceptive when she’s playing. She will make you believe she’s going in one direction and then she’ll go in another direction, and she’ll go with such quickness that you won’t even know she’s beaten you until you’re behind her. That’s a great strength of hers.
“Another strength is that she sees the field very well and can get back really quickly when she needs to get back. She played a lot of defense for us as a center midfielder, and she’s probably the first center midfielder I’ve had that played that much defense. She’s just really good at it. On her club team, she plays a defensive position, so she knows how to play it, and she’s there for a reason.
“I needed her this year as an offensive threat because she’s that kind of kid. She’s our ball handler because she can do it. She crushed Katie O’Donnell’s assist record, and that shows how unselfish she was, and it also shows that the ball was on her stick as she was coming into the circle, and that’s where I wanted it. It needed to be there, and it was. I’m going to miss her.”
Mackenzie Harding, Junior, Central Bucks South High School
The junior midfielder was second only to Hibbs in the SOL when it came to handing out assists. Harding finished with 29 assists to go along with 12 goals for a Titan squad that captured its sixth consecutive Continental Conference title and went on to win the District One AAA crown while also advancing to states.
Central Bucks South co-coach Marie Schmucker says: “Mackenzie is the total package. She has such a presence about her. She plays with a lot of poise, a lot of finesse, and she truly is a leader both on and off the field. Her attitude is unbelievable. She is calm, cool and collected, and her presence says it all.
“Her outletting skills are impeccable. She’s such a smart player, she works hard off the ball and with the ball, she sees the field well, and she distributes the ball beautifully. Mackenzie has great game sense. She’s a very tenacious player, and she is the type of player who makes other players around her get better. She makes things happen. She knows exactly what she’s doing with the ball when she gets it. She’s a great communicator on the field, and her teammates looked up her, and she led by example. She’s intelligent, she’s coachable, and she’s up there with the top players I’ve coached over the last 20 years.”
Wissahickon coach Lucy Gil says: “I saw her twice this year, and I think she’s a fantastic player. She has what a lot of people don’t have – which is a real good sense of the field. She reminds me a little bit of (Princeton star) Katie Reinprecht when she plays, and that’s an amazing compliment seeing as she won Honda Player of the Year. She’s like a general out there on the field, and all the puzzle pieces are moving in response to what she’s doing. I think that’s amazing, especially for an 11th grader. I think she’s going to have a great senior year. She’s outstanding, and I can’t imagine any Division One school not wanting her. She’s pretty special.”
Pennsylvania Region (NFHCA All-Region)
First Team
Chandler Ackers - Crestwood
Morgan Bitting - Lower Dauphin
Alyssa Chillano - Spring-Ford
Kassidy Green - Emmaus
Jackie Hibbs - Wissahickon
Ashley Hoffman - Twin Valley
Sarah Kazmierski - Emmaus
Nina Klein - Brandywine Heights
Gabrielle Major - Spring-Ford
Morgan Malone - Wyoming Seminary
Jessica McCarthy - Haverford
Emily McCoy - Penn Manor
Eryn McCoy - Penn Manor
Kelsey Nolan - Hempfield
Moira Putsch - Academy of Notre Dame
Shannon Sloss - Penn Manor
Second Team
Olivia Bolles - Villa Maria Academy
Katie Dembrowski - Palmyra Area
Annabeth Donovan - Unionville
Emilee Ehret - Mount St. Joseph Academy
Emily Faught - Academy of Notre Dame
Mackenzie Harding - Central Bucks South
Lauren Moyer - Central York
Meghan Murphy - Villa Maria Academy
Katie Osborne - Greenwood
Maggie Reddecliff - Susquehanna Township
Taylor Tompkins - Greenwood
Casey Umstead - Upper Perkiomen
Jessica Unger - Emmaus
Simone Vagnoni - Spring-Ford
Maura Zarkoski - Villa Maria Academy
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