After 60 minutes of intense competition, it was the Lower Dauphin field hockey team that left Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park on Saturday with the 2024 District 3 Class 3A title.
More warning cards were given in this game out of all three games played in Mechanicsburg during the District 3 championships, including 1A and 2A classifications. It was three total: two yellow and one green.
The cards were given to allow players to take a breath, and get their game play under control. The girls weren’t overly physical, they just played tough, strong, visionary hockey. And, if they close-lined another athlete, it wasn’t deliberate, it was just their desire to win translating into cranked up nervous energy.
“I think we were very nervous going into this game,” said Lily Rost, who scored the game-winner in overtime. Rost received a green card during the game. Regardless of the discipline, she couldn’t have been any happier at the end of it, which means the umpires also did their jobs.
“I think as the game went on, we figured out what we needed to do,” said Rost, who was hardly able to contain her excitement. “We controlled our game, and in 7aside, we played our game.”
She later added, “I’m just proud of how we powered through it.”
The win makes it 17 district titles for Lower Dauphin. They are now moving on to play as the No. 1 seed in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament from District 3 Class 3A. The Falcons host Central Bucks West, the seventh seed from District 1, tonight at 7 p.m.
“We put everything out there and it paid off,” Rost said.
The Game
The first half was directed by Manheim Township. The Blue Streaks anticipated passes, intercepted, cleanly block tackled, and kept Lower Dauphin out of its defensive circle.
Kai Killian, a Lower Dauphin senior and an Indiana University commit, was under pressure for at least three quarters of the game. She took on heavy hitters, who could release shots on the ground and in the air.
She challenged long balls without any defense nearby, coming all the way out of cage to the circle line, but not crossing it, only to clear the ball out of the Manheim Township’s attack 25.
And, while the game was mostly run by the Blue Streaks, the game was played in the middle of the field.
It wasn’t until the halftime that Lower Dauphin saw how to counter Manheim Township.
Falcons head coach Erin Catalfano admitted they were doing all that they could to try to win because it’s not easy to take down a team like Manheim Township.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, two Blue Streaks were sitting on the sidelines with yellow card warnings.
“We knew we were up two people,” Catalfano said. “So, we thought, what an opportunity…we’ll have one person up high for us. We didn’t get a goal off of it, but it was fun.”
Knowing this is most likely going to be a 1-0 game, LD has a player setup on post pic.twitter.com/Kopvq1vQFM
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Lizzie Day, a Sacred Heart University commit, was positioned at a post or near the goal cage for about two minutes. She was able to get a shot off, but then Manheim Township had its full compliment moments later.
“Our first few quarters, we couldn’t find a rhythm,” Day said. “Manheim Township had good pressure. They knew our game plan and we just couldn’t figure that out until the late quarters.”
The final play that ended the mystery was an aerial from Laney Johns to Day, who passed to Rost. It was essentially Rost and Day versus Township’s freshman goalie. Rost collected the ball, took a hard step to her left, brought the ball with her, and laid out with her shot for the win.
“Amazing,” Day said. “We came into this game knowing that we wanted to execute. We just wanted the gold so bad, because we got silver last year. We just wanted revenge. I love Lily to death. I think we have such a good pattern going on. No matter what, we always find each other and we always know where each other are and we always execute on goals.”
When the goal was scored, the announcer said the goal was scored by Day and assisted by Rost. The athletes are not related, but they could easily convince anyone otherwise. They are nearly the same height, have blonde hair, and wear numbers 11 and 12.
They loved that the announcer ended the District 3 Class 3A championship by mixing up their names.
“We get mixed up a lot, clearly as they announced, and I just think that makes it even better,” Rost said. “We play a lot alike, and we just work so well together.”
The Numbers
Manheim Township had a higher ranking going into the game. The latest MAX Field Hockey ranking published on Oct. 29 had them at No. 6 nationally. Lower Dauphin was ranked No. 16.
The Blue Streaks controlled the game both on paper, as well as in the field. They had 11 corners, Lower Dauphin had nine. Township had 14 shots on goal. And, the Falcons had five.
Killian notched 14 saves in the game. Azhie Rotz, who barely had any varsity field hockey experience on her resume prior to the championship game, had five saves.
Rotz, who stepped up for Township’s injured goalie, junior Emma Drolet, has filled big kickers in the Blue Streaks’ games against Mechanicsburg, State College, and Lower Dauphin, all of which are postseason competitions.
“Our defense is outstanding,” Manheim Township head coach Jessica Shellenberger said. “Obviously Lower Dauphin has a heck of a goalkeeper. It’s hard to put a freshman in that space. This is a huge game against a very good opponent. She made some really great saves today. We’re proud of her. With two on, that’s tough, it’s probably going to be a goal against any goalkeeper.”
She added: “(Rotz) is developing her skills. It was very apparent it was going to be a one goal game. It was just a matter of who scored the goal. I think Kai just had an outstanding game. We had plenty of opportunity. How many times did we all gasp as the ball rolled across the goal mouth. I’ll tell ya what, it’s some of the best field hockey I’ve seen my team play all year. I said I don’t want to see a tear out of anybody. Game could have gone either way.”
Legacy
Catalfano won her first District 3 Class 3A trophy as head coach. She, too, has had big shoes to fill with her predecessor being Linda Kreiser, who retired two seasons ago as the second most winningest high school field hockey coach in the nation.
Catalfano said while she’s now the head coach, the program will always be Kreiser’s brand of hockey.
“It’s always coach’s brand, always in my book,” she said. “Because I’m alumni, this is all I know. This is Lower Dauphin Field Hockey. Some people say it’s an expectation, and it’s not. To us it’s just goals that you set, and you take little steps to achieve them.”
The halftime talk is what changed the game, she said.
“We played the whole first half on defense,” Catalfano said. “I think at halftime, we discussed some different spaces that we could move the ball into, work some new spaces. The second half was, how do we get it out of our defensive end and get the game into overtime.”
For the Falcon seniors who endured the lost last year to Manheim Township, the victory was sweet.
“It was great hockey,” Day said. “Since it’s my senior year, and this is how we’re ending it. We’ve won three out of four District championships in my four years, and I just hope that Lily and the team can continue this.”
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