Silver isn’t the 2024 Warwick field hockey team’s color, according to their head coach Ron Stief.
The Warriors won it in the Lebanon-Lancaster League finals a few days before District 3 Class 2A playoffs began. Their home league rival, Manheim Township, Class 3A, swooped in for the gold.
And, while silver sparkles, it’s still not the same as glittering gold, Stief said.
“This feels great,” he told Female Athlete News. “Our kids are a little bit spoiled in the fact that silver is not what they want. Silver in the LL League is a great accomplishment. They wanted the gold. But this, this, feels awesome that they can now wear that around their necks.”
The Warriors claimed the title following a decisive 4-1 victory against Northern York. The last time Warwick won the district championship was in 2005, when they were classified in 3A.
And, the last time they were at the district finale was in 2013.
They are now moving on to play in the 2024 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s high school field hockey tournament, which starts tomorrow. Warwick is the No. 1 seed from District 3 Class 2A. They are scheduled to play against Radnor, which is the No. 5 seed in District 1 Class 2A.
Warwick, on Saturday at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park in Mechanicsburg, shined in the second half.
The Warriors have been ranked nationally for a large part of the 2024 Fall season. The latest MAX Field Hockey national high school field hockey ranking was published on Oct. 29. The stats-based website had Warwick ranked No. 7 nationally. Both teams were ranked regionally in Pennsylvania, with Warwick coming in at No. 5 and Northern York at 16.
For the past few seasons, the team has been led by Stief, who has repeatedly said that he’s trying to bring back the high school’s reputation for producing high-quality field hockey. He wants to renew the legacy program of the 1990s and the 30 years following, as a way to pay homage to his predecessor Bob Derr.
The athletes take Stief’s points, work hard, focus on teamwork, and enjoy being creative on the field. They understand his cues both verbally and non.
About two minutes into the third quarter, Stief yelled to Karys Craver, “Let me see you, Karys.”
“I’m a little spoiled because I’ve got a player that I can say, get the ball and get one,” he said.
Craver was trapped along the right sideline by three Polar Bears, who were containing her. But, Craver was able to break free, finding the narrowest of space. She used quick stick pulls to get through them.
13:12 Warwick goal.
3-1 Warriors pic.twitter.com/lOaAbtY8lY
— FemaleAthleteNews (@Female_FANews) November 2, 2024
Then she dropped the hammer and ran toward the circle, where she drew a corner. During corner play, she scored, making it 3-1. Despite the lead, it was the turning point in the game, Stief said.
“That corner is designed for her to attack that way,” he said. “That’s what I was asking when I said that. I was asking if she was comfortable with it, and she was. They were flying pretty aggressively. And, chances are, she’s going to then have a target to shoot at. I mean, that was huge, the stroke that Kayla (Gockley) put away was huge, but it didn’t end the game. Karys goal did, but we knew, we had them on the run. We knew from here on out, they’re in trouble.”
Craver is a junior and a commit to Ohio State University. She was one of MAX Field Hockey’s Class of 2026 Top 50 Players to watch.
“She’s our best player,” Stief said. “And, everyone else around her is good, but she helps to spread the field. And, she stirs the pot for us.”
For the first half, Warwick had the troubled feelings that Northern later encountered. The score was only 1-1 at halftime.
Liv Anderson, a senior and University of North Carolina commit, was able to fire off a shot in the second quarter on a penalty corner from the top of the circle, find the gap at post, and put it away.
“We weren’t doing a few things that we should have done,” Stief said. “We talked at halftime that we needed to clean it up. There’s a trust there. They didn’t bail on me when I was hard on one or two. 1-1 with a really good team…first half was ok, and the second half was the best.”
Warwick’s penalty stroke was awarded for a defensive foul inside the circle that broke down the play and prevented a fair chance of scoring. Gockley landed her shot just before Craver scored her insurance goal.
“It started off a little bit slow, but then we started to bring energy in the second half, which really spread the field out and allowed us to use our quick passing and our speed,” Craver said. “Yah, it was a good game. At first, we were a little tense because obviously when it was at first 1-1, it was a little scary, but I think we trusted each other and worked hard for each other the full 60 minutes… We all love each other…It’s a well-oiled machine here.”
The Game:
Bree Zoccolo, a Kutztown commit, was the first to score in the game. She scored four minutes in, and was assisted by Kenzie Ellis. Next was the duo of Ava Barrick, who assisted Anderson for Northern.
Game was tied 1-1 at halftime.
Gockley scored her penalty stroke and helped her team gain the slight edge of 2-1.
Craver answered the call a few minutes later, adding one more to the tally. And, then Ellis finished the goals with a fourth one in the fourth with under two minutes remaining in the game.
The Numbers:
Warwick took 10 shots, Northern 4. The Warriors had 16 corners, and the Polar Bears had two. Warwick’s goalkeeper Taryn Toburen had three saves, and Northern’s Lauryn Hose had six.
“They had a string of corners, and when they got the stroke, the girls got mentally defeated,” Northern head coach Amelia Martire said. “We’ve got speed in our offense because our forwards are able to get there. We need to work on our in and out passes going into states. I think we’ve been trying to work on getting to post and finishing. We need to talk about getting those rebounds and hitting those posts harder.”
She added: “Obviously, we’re a little disappointed, but there’s nothing to be ashamed about when we were seeded No. 7 and we ended up No. 2. And, this was our second year in a row that we made it. They’re proud of themselves and I’m proud of this team.”
As far as the state tourney goes, Craver, a gentle giant, said, she think’s her whole team is ready.
“It’s awesome for us to win,” she said. “We want the bigger trophy, right, and we want the bigger medal. But, we have to put this win in the past, right, so that we can stay focused on states.”
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