This area staked its claim years ago as a hotbed of scholastic field hockey and the brackets for this yearÂ’s PIAA Class AAA tournament definitely provide more support for the claim.
District One is allocated six berths for the Class AAA playoffs and local teams have captured four of them. Additionally, Archbishop Carroll has the top seed from District 12 and Gwynedd-Mercy Academy is District OneÂ’s third seed for the Class AA playoffs. North Penn is District OneÂ’s third seed for the state tournament and Mount Saint Joseph Academy is seeded fourth. Spring-Ford has the districtÂ’s fifth seed and Wissahickon has the sixth. If thatÂ’s not enough, there is also Germantown AcademyÂ’s appearance in todayÂ’s semifinals of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools field hockey tournament. The Patriots will face Notre Dame with a berth in the title game on the line.
Germantown Academy enters the game with a 14-8-1 — and the opportunity to gain a measure of revenge. “We played (Notre Dame) two times,” said Germantown Academy’s veteran coach Ginny Hoffman. “At Notre Dame on grass, we lost 6-0. At GA on turf, we lost 4-3. They scored the winning goal with five minutes left in regulation. I expect it to be a real battle. Our girls know they can win if they stay focused and play well.” A victory today will allow the Patriots to avenge another loss — if Episcopal Academy defeats Shipley School in the other semifinal. The Pats lost twice this season to Episcopal — 3-0 away and 3-2 at home. They also pinned a 3-2 loss on Shipley very early in the season. The PIAA state tournament gets underway today and at least one local squad will be eliminated. In the only game that is being played locally, Archbishop Carroll “hosts” Mount St. Joe’s in a 5 p.m. game at Germantown’s Benjamin L. Johnston Memorial Stadium. Carroll cruised through the Philadelphia Catholic League undefeated in regular season play and then easily handled Archbishop Prendergast in the playoff semifinals and Cardinal O’Hara in the title game. On Saturday, the Patriots overpowered Philadelphia Public League champion Northeast High 4-1 in the District 12 championship game. The Patriots have an explosive offense, a stingy defense and a lineup filled with proven veterans like Maddy Lesher and the Kelly Twins — Megan and Katie. The Pats also have an impressive 17-2 overall record with non-league losses to Notre Dame and Episcopal Academy. The Mount finished the regular season as AACA (Athletic Association of Catholic Academies) co-champions along with Villa Maria Academy, the 2011 District One Class AA champion. In the District One playoffs, the Magic beat Norristown, West Chester Rustin and Spring-Ford and then got derailed by Unionville in an overtime shootout in the semifinal and by North Penn in overtime in the third-place consolation match. The Mount has an explosive offense which is fueled by the Sabia Twins — Brooke and Allie — along with Emilie Ehret, Anne Burgoyne and Chrissy Pascali. The MSJ squad also has a strong defense anchored by goalkeeper Christina Black and veteran defender Laura Pacheco. North Penn will travel to Landisville for a 6 p.m. game at Hempfield against District Three runner-up Penn Manor. The Maidens earned District 1’s third seed when Emilie Ikeda came through with a hat trick in her team’s 5-4 overtime win over the Mount in the top consolation game. In the district tournament, North Penn opened with victories over three Suburban One League squads — Council Rock South, Central Bucks South and Central Bucks East — and then lost to Owen J. Roberts in the semifinals. Penn Manor arrives for tonight’s game a 21-4 record — and the proven ability to win pressure-packed games. After stomping Cedar Cliff in their Districts Three opener, the Comets had to go to overtime to defeat Central Dauphin and Warwick. In the District Three final, Lower Dauphin held the Comets without a shot until just 7:30 remained in the contest and took the title with a 1-0 win. The Falcons are Wissahickon’s opponents in a 4 p.m. game today at Hershey High. The Trojans play very well offensively and have scored nine goals in four post-season games. On the other side, Lower Dauphin is as tough defensively as any team in the state. The Falcons’ four District 3 games were all shutouts and they emerged as district champs with a 22-1 record. Spring-Ford has the toughest challenge. The Rams must travel to the Lehigh Valley where they will face Emmaus in a 5 p.m. game at the Zephyr Sports Complex in Whitehall. The Hornets, who are always one of the best teams in the state, streaked to the District 11 title with easy wins over East Stroudsburg North, Parkland and Whitehall. Emmaus is now 23-0. Spring-Ford squeaked by Plymouth Whitemarsh to start the District One tourney and then upset undefeated West Chester Henderson 5-1. The Rams followed with a loss to the Mount and consolation wins over Perkiomen Valley and Wissahickon. Gwynedd-Mercy Academy is in a position to get some paybacks — as long as it can get by District Three champion Palmyra in today’s game at 6 p.m. at Hershey High. In the District One playoffs, the second-seeded Monarchs beat Phoenixville and then were upset by Upper Perkiomen in the semifinals. They came back to secure a state berth with a win over Springfield-Montco in the winner-take-all consolation game. The GMA girls finished third in their league (AACA) this season behind Mount St. Joe’s and Villa Maria. In the state tournament, the Monarchs could face Upper Perk in the semifinals and Villa in the finals. But, they must clear the first obstacle before they can look ahead and that might not be so easy. Palmyra has a 16-6 record with most of its losses to Class AAA opposition. The Cougars rolled to the District 3 Class AA title with wins over Milton Hershey, Biglersville, Donegal and Greenwood.
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