It didn’t take long for Manheim Twp. field hockey to finish the game Wednesday night once it went into overtime.
But, it did take that long for the game to be settled against a powerful Penn Manor team. That’s because the talent was superb, and watching the game felt like a stomach-dropping rollercoaster.
The Blue Streaks, in the end, won 2-1. It’s the second time the program has made it to the district’s championship round. The last time was 51 years ago in 1972.
Manheim Township, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, will face-off with No. 2 Lower Dauphin Saturday at Landis Field. Penn Manor moves forward to take on Warwick, a nearby Lancaster-Lebanon Conference foe.
The game was an excellent example of why small drills matter. There were a lot of hard-hitting long balls that were intercepted at pivotal moments. And, then suddenly the game would burst into 1 vs 1s, or 2 vs 1s.
The pace was set on high up until the fourth quarter, when township’s head coach called a timeout. Prior to the timeout, the teams were a swirling vortex of quick thinking, aggressive tackles, and what appeared to be, ladder sprints carrying the ball from the 25 to the 50 and then flipped to the other side with one slamming 30 yard hit, where the receiver from the opposite team would then carry the ball at top speed from the 25 to 50.
After a couple of deep breaths along the sideline, township tempered its approach accepting that the game was destined to go into overtime. Manheim Twp.’s Sarah Ebersole scored unassisted in the second, which was quickly answered by a fired up Penn Manor squad on the next play.
The Comets’ Isabella Thatcher landed an air ball that was deflected in front of the cage punctuating the goal’s finish. The 1-1 scored stayed the same throughout the second half.
Once the extra 10-minute period began, township pressed forward toward goal and quickly earned a corner. On the play, the ball was moved around throughout the Blue Streak’s circle. About three passes after it was moved around, the ball wound up crossing the keeper’s kickers, where it landed on Ebersole’s stick. She quickly collected the ball on her stick and tapped it into the cage standing at post.
Penn Manor withstood a pressured attack within its defensive circle, and held on throughout the game exhibiting just as much skill and energy as the Blue Streaks. But, the final goal ended that rush.
No. 4 Penn Manor plays at No. 3 Warwick Saturday at 5 p.m.
Manheim Township 0-1-0-0-1: 2
Goals: Ebersole, 2
Assists: 0
Shots: 9
Penalty Corner: 16
Saves: Zoe Caloviras, 4
Penn Manor 0-1-0-0-0: 1
Goals: Thatcher, 1
Assists: 0
Shots: 5
Penalty Corner: 6
Saves: Adeline Arkhurst, 7
