WVC field hockey: Crestwood’s stellar defense being overlooked

It is easy enough for people around the Wyoming Valley Conference to get giddy about Crestwood’s explosive offense, because the Comets sure have enough of it.

When Hannah Ackers isn’t hitting a hat trick, it is Jordan Olenginski ripping three goals in one game. Or three Comets going for two goals on the same day, which is what happened in an 11-0 victory over Tunkhannock last week.

All that firepower is a good enough reason to make Crestwood the early-season favorite to win a state title.

Here’s a better one.

The way the Comets play defense may be hard to beat around here, or anywhere else.

“We always say, defense wins games,” said Olenginski, who is second on the team with five goals in three league games so far. “We work on defense a lot.”

Maybe that gets lost in the avalanche of 40 points Crestwood has scored against its first four league opponents. You know how many goals the other teams scored against the Comets in that span?

One.

And that came when Wyoming Area’s Bree Bednarski, who scores on everyone, finally found the net with little more than two minutes to play Monday to prevent Crestwood from ringing up its third straight WVC shutout during an 8-1 victory.

“Unfortunately, when you have a great offensive game, your defenders usually don’t get the recognition they deserve,” Crestwood coach Patsy Moratori said.

While the Comets were cruising past their first two league opponents by scores of 10-0 and 11-0, they didn’t surrender a single shot on goal over those first two games.

Comets goalkeepers Marlee Dillon and Kaitlyn Roberts had to go out of the conference to look for work.

Abington Heights, the team that was threatening to challenge Crestwood for the Division 2 title, didn’t even get off a shot in Crestwood’s 11-0 victory Wednesday.

That’s because Creswood has top-flight players like Cara Jarmiolowski, Katie Karpinski, Paige Zaleppa and Nicole Paranich — back in the swing of things after suffering a torn ACL last season — on the back line to make sure the ball doesn’t get too close to the goal mouth.

Even aggressive midfielders Lizzy Dessoye and Olenginski, both known best for producing tons of points vfor Crestwood, take just as much pride in preventing opponents from scoring them.

“We do,” Dessoye said. “We try our best to limit the amount of shots on our goalies. And we know even if it (the ball) does get down there, we can rely on them. At practice, we go on reverse drills. With our coach, Patsy, you have to go back and help on defense.”

That attention to defensive detail may get lost in the plethora of points the Comets are putting up right now, but they are banking it will help them win a state championship that got away from them for two straight seasons.

“Our girls get a hard workout playing against our own offense. I think that’s the reason why our defense is successful,” Moratori said. “They have to get better. If they don’t, they’re going to get pummeled every day at practice. They’re playing against one of the best offenses at practice every day.”

Maybe that makes the job look a lot easier against offenses from other schools. But without a stand-up defense, winning might get a whole lot harder for Crestwood.

Here we go again

Just call it rematch week in the WVC.

Following Wednesday’s spirited showdown between Lake-Lehman and Wyoming Seminary, Coughlin will battle Wyoming Valley West at 4 p.m. today at Spartan Stadium.

Both games involved teams with a score to settle.

Wyoming Seminary came in seeking some payback after losing to Lake-Lehman in the semifinals of last year’s District 2 Class 2A playoffs. Spurred by that upset, Lehman went on to play in district finals and advanced to the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals while Sem went home earlier than it expected. Both teams entered Wednesday’s game as unbeaten division leaders, with Lehman at 4-0 in the WVC Division 3 and Sem at 3-0 atop Division 4. Lehman rallied back for a 2-1 victory in the second half.

A similar situation occurred with Coughlin and Valley West last season.

Both teams were tied at the top of the WVC Divsision 1 at the end of the 2014 regular season, and Coughlin wound up with the division title by winning a playoff between the teams. When they met again in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs, Valley West captured the district title with a 2-1 victory and went on to the state playoffs. Coughlin went home, with a great season for the Crusaders gone but not forgotten.

On opening day this year, a group of Crusaders players showed up in full force and in full uniform at Spartan Stadium after playing an afternoon game to watch Valley West drop a 3-2 decision against Hazleton Area later that evening.

Two weeks later, both teams are once again fighting for the top spot, with Coughlin at 4-0 in Division 1 and Valley West in second place at 3-1 while riding a three-game winning streak.

Nosing ahead

Not even a hard shot to the face can seemingly slow down Lake-Lehman’s Kate Supey.

After absorbing a bloody nose from a ball that bounded high off s stick and sent her sprawling in the season opener, Supey has been knocking down one shot after another.

Her 12 goals entering Wednesday’s battle with Wyoming Seminary put her into the league lead in Wyoming Valley Conference play, and she’s also the league’s top scorer with 15 points. Supey’s three assists also rank among the WVC’s top 10, and her leadership ability carried Lehman to a perfect 4-0 start at the top of Division 3.

She also wound up scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Wyoming Seminary in a battle of unbeaten division leaders.

Field Hockey: Lake-Lehman, Crestwood to meet in District 2 Class 2A final

LEHMAN TWP. – Lake-Lehman could be starting to make a habit out of this.

“That’s Lehman,” Jean Lipski said after her Black Knights made it back to the state tournament for the second straight year with a 1-0 victory over Wyoming Seminary. “I think we’re back.”

Lake-Lehman and Crestwood secured PIAA tournament berths and advanced to the District 2 Class 2A championship game with home-field semifinal wins Thursday night.

The two will play for the district title Tuesday at Wyoming Seminary at 7 p.m.

Crestwood, which has played in the last three state title games, rolled into its seventh straight state tournament by blasting Wyoming Area, 9-1.

Lake-Lehman has had to fight its way past six-time state champion Wyoming Seminary in tense, one-goal games between Wyoming Valley Conference divisional champions each of the past two seasons to start its own streak.

Before entering last season on an eight-year streak of missing state play, the Black Knights enjoyed an 11-year run where they made 10 PIAA appearances, won two state titles and played in three championship games.

Lipski said she enjoyed coming to practice every day in the state-level dry spell because she had great kids to work with, but she said she did not have the level of athlete that has made up the squad the last two seasons.

“Now, there’s so many kids who play travel, who play year-round, who do extra, who want extra help, who come and ask questions to improve themselves,” said Lipski, who leads a roster that features just two seniors. “It just blends to make a better team.

“And, these kids are blessed with some speed. They’re blessed with some quick-twitch. They’re strong. And, they play a nice game of hockey.”

Both defenses limited scoring chances throughout the night.

The one goal that was scored developed in a hurry.

Lake-Lehman had a penalty corner as it broke out of a timeout with 3:12 left in the half. Seven seconds later, it had the lead.

Katie Supey sent the insert into a pack of Black Knights huddled at the top of the circle. As the players dispersed, Sarah Sabaluski handled Supey’s pass and slid one of her own to the left. From high in the circle, Taylor Alba one-timed a quick, hard shot low and inside the near post.

“Corners are set up for the advantage of the offense, but it’s tough,” Lipski said. “It has to work perfectly.”

That time it did.

The Black Knights still faced some scares before it was over.

Lynea Gregory, one of the team’s steadiest defenders, rolled her ankle and went out early in the second half with Wyoming Seminary setting up a corner. Supey, the team scoring leader who chips in on corner defense, took a hard shot squarely off her knee cap and also had to be helped off the field.

“We put Miranda Martin in both times,” Lipski said. “She’s first off the bench and I thought she did a great job.

“It’s tough to go in cold in a hot game, but I thought did a real good job of doing that.”

Crestwood 9, Wyoming Area 1

WRIGHT TWP. – Crestwood coach Patsy Moratori said the best defense against an explosive Wyoming Area team was a good offense.

As it turned out, the best defender provided some offense, too.

Cara Jarmiolowski, who was largely responsible for limiting WVC scoring champion Bree Bednarski to a single goal and few chances, also scored her first goal of the season.

Jarmiolowski worked her way in front to score on a penalty corner, 1:04 into the second half as the unbeaten Comets broke away.

Crestwood already led, 4-1, before Jarmiolowski and Hunter Pitman converted the first two corners in the first 2:45 of the second half to put the game away.

The Comets allowed only one shot in the second half while padding their lead.

“I think they picked it up in the second half,” Moratori said. “I think our movement off the ball in the second half was much better, much crisper.”

Bednarski showed how dangerous she can be when she completed give-and-go with Jillian Spak with 18:58 left in the half for a 1-1 tie.

Jarmiolowski made sure there not many more chances.

“We knew we had to mark her at all times and know where she was at all times,” said Jarmiolowski, a senior defender and one of the team’s captains. “It just so happened that she was near me most of the time.”

Jarmiolowski was successful in stopping the ball before it got to Bednarski, but also took it off the speedster a few times.

“She’s very fast,” Jarmiolowski said. “I knew if I wanted to do well against her I had to get the ball before her or I had to be patient if it did get to her.”

Crestwood dominated possession, racking up leads of 29-3 in shots and 11-3 in penalty corners, limiting the times Wyoming Area could try to get the ball to its all-time leading scorer.

“If you play offense, it’s kind of the best defense,” Moratori said. “ … Basically keeping it on our end of the 50 is a big help.”

Crestwood responded well to the tying goal.

Lizzy Dessoye scored on a penalty corner with 15:33 left in the half to put the Comets ahead to stay.

They scored again 53 seconds later when Hannah Ackers controlled a long rebound of her own shot and sent a diagonal pass to Ashleigh Thomas at the far post. Thomas patiently waited for a recovering defender and moved to her reverse side to score the goal.

Ackers scored before halftime off an assist from Jarmiolowski on another corner play.

Ackers scored on a penalty stroke in the second half and Pitman also scored twice.

Both Pitman goals came on assists from Thomas.

Thomas and Dessoye each finished with a goal and two assists.