Strong defense key as Wyoming Area field hockey wins state opener

Home High School High School Field Hockey Strong defense key as Wyoming Area field hockey wins state opener Facebook Twitter Pinterest Linkedin ReddIt Email Print By Kevin Carroll [email protected] Wyoming Area swarms Talia Pizano (middle) after she scored to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead over West Perry. Mark Moran | For Times Leader Wyoming Area’s Claudia Rehill battles with West Perry’s Blake Dyer. Mark Moran | For Times Leader The Warriors celebrate after Ella Campenni scored to give them a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. Mark Moran | For Times Leader Wyoming Area’s Claudia Rehill fights for a goal attempt in the second quarter. Mark Moran | For Times Leader ❮ ❯ 🔊 Listen to this PLAINS TWP. — Tuesday night’s state opener was a bit of a different style of game than Wyoming Area encountered in the team’s district semifinal and district final victories. The Warriors scored early, conceded a lot of penalty corners and faced a difficult test defensively from West Perry. What remained the same was the result: a win, sending the Warriors forward to the state quarterfinals. Ella Campenni scored twice, Claudia Rehill and Talia Pizano added a goal each and Wyoming Area passed the test with a 4-2 win over District 3 sixth seed West Perry in the opening round of the PIAA Class A field hockey tournament. The Warriors allowed 14 penalty corners to West Perry — more than double the amount they faced in all three District 2 playoff games combined — but the defense swallowed up the majority of those opportunities to keep West Perry from capitalizing. “I was unhappy with how many corners we allowed, that’s on us, we need to be better about that,” Wyoming Area coach Bree Bednarski said. “I’m happy that the girls were able to stop a lot of them.” The Warriors compensated by coming up with two goals in the game’s first five minutes, with Campenni and Pizano scoring within a minute of one another. This was another difference from the last two district games, albeit a welcome one for the Warriors, who were scoreless in the first half against Lackawanna Trail in the semis and Lake-Lehman in the finals. Wyoming Area needed just one penalty corner to break through on Tuesday night, a fine example of a finely tuned offense at work. Rehill inserted the ball, firing it to Jules Siani who slipped it over to Campenni. The junior fired one home through the legs of the West Perry goalie for the score. “Claudia and Talia have great inserts, we work on them a lot,” Campenni said. “I think when we convert on them, we could be a really dangerous team.” Pizano followed it up a minute later, using her speed to snake through the Mustangs’ defense to double Wyoming Area’s lead. It wasn’t as simple as just keeping the ball up with the offense the whole night for the Warriors, however, and eventually West Perry was able to turn one of those corners into its first goal of the night. Zoe Steppe, who would end up with both West Perry goals, took the pass from Miya Crane and fired a no-doubter to trim Wyoming Area’s lead down early in the second quarter. The teams traded from there: Rehill stretched Wyoming Area’s lead to 3-1 with 4:23 left in the second quarter, only for Steppe to cut it to a one-goal lead again at the halftime whistle. Campenni added an insurance goal early in the third quarter for Wyoming Area, but ultimately the Warriors wouldn’t need it. West Perry’s scoring chances were dramatically reduced by a strong effort from the Warriors both in the midfield and on defense, and the Mustangs went empty in the second half to ultimately end their season. Adriana Fanti made six saves for the Warriors to anchor that strong defensive effort. Wyoming Area will head to the state quarterfinals on Saturday, where the Warriors will take on District 11 champion Northwestern Lehigh at a time and site to be announced. Northwestern Lehigh was a 2-1 winner over Littlestown on Tuesday night in the opening round. PIAA Class A First Round Wyoming Area 4, West Perry 2 West Perry`0`2 `0 `0 — 2 Mid Valley`2`1 `1 `0 — 4 First Quarter — 1. WYO, Ella Campenni (Jules Siani) 12:35; 2. WYO, Talia Pizano 11:37. Second — 1. WP Zoe Steppe (Miya Crane) 11:46; 2. WA, Claudia Rehill 4:23; 3. WP, Steppe 0:00. Third — 1. WA, Campenni 9:25. Shots — WP 8, WYO 8. Saves — WP 4 (Briley Comp), WYO 6 (Adriana Fanti). Corners — WP 14, WYO 4. Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more. Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism. Click for subscription offers.