Julia Barto was clutch in the second half for Warwick.
The Warriors shutout host Dallastown 2-0 Wednesday in the first round of District 3 Class 3A postseason play. Warwick plays Wilson at Wilson Saturday at 10 a.m.
After a scoreless, but highly competitive first half, Barto scored in the third quarter on a corner. The Warriors’ Lauren Leister sent a ball to Barto, who ripped a missile to the bottom right of the cage.
“I saw the open lane, so I hit it, and it just went in,” the senior center back said.
As easy as she made it sound, Warwick’s head coach said that was the result of lots of hard work.
“It’s really nice that we scored on a corner tonight because we’ve been working on those a lot this season,” AJ Misselhorn said.
The second goal happened in the fourth.
Senior center forward Faith Bollinger turned up the pace from the Warrior’s defensive 40-yard line carrying the ball up to their attacking circle.
“My thought process is wanting to pull my defenders because I know that they’re leaving my other forwards open,” Bollinger said. “So, I want to pull my defender toward me and dish it off to my other forwards.”
And that’s exactly what she did.
From the top of the circle, Bollinger sent a ball to her lefthand side where teammate Bree Zoccolo waited for the tip. The ball made it past Dallastown’s goalie and squeaked over the line to make the score 2-0.
“We knew they’d be a fast, aggressive team,” Misselhorn said of Dallastown.
Her goal was to “protect the middle” due to the Wildcat’s “really fast counters.”
Immediately following the goal, Dallastown took a timeout.
“It was just to make it so we’re more aggressive up top because we needed to score,” Dallastown head coach Emily Taylor said. “Like, losing two-nothing to three-nothing is not going to mean anything, so I’d rather you get a goal than just play defensively the last five, six minutes of the game.”
Dallastown had two green cards at the end of the first quarter and end of the fourth. The first warning provoked the Wildcats to play harder being one girl down.
There were only 38 seconds remaining when the first card was issued. Their attack, at the start of the second, was quick to pressure, and they were visibly energized to get the ball in scoring position.
“I think we did great in the first half,” Taylor said. “I think it was pretty-evenly matched. They just were more skilled than us overall, and the girls agree too. Game recognizes game.”
Most of the game was a back and forth between the 25s. The Warriors, though, stretched the field through passing and carrying the ball.
“Some games we don’t get as lucky,” Barto said. “We’ll score a goal and then they’ll score a goal and it’s just hard, but having a shutout is amazing, especially with a really good goalie.”
Dallastown, which plays in YAIAA, ends its season 11-8-2 overall.
“As long as they played their hardest, that’s all I care about,” Taylor said. “And I think they did. So, I’m always going to be happy with that outcome, regardless of what it is on the scoreboard.”
She continued: “they have always impressed me with their grit, and their talent, and their love of the game.”
It was personally sentimental for Taylor, whose first wave of players under her leadership for all four years played their final game.
“I’m losing four great players and a goalie, so we gotta think about who’s going to replace them next,” Taylor said.
Warwick, in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, squares off with Wilson. The last time the teams played, Wilson won 4-1.
“I thought we played really strong against them last game despite the scoreboard,” Misselhorn said. “So, I’m excited to get another chance to play them. They’re a real quality team and I think it’s going to be a great game of hockey.”
Her players are already thinking about the game, too.
“If we keep connecting on the field like how we did today, we have a good chance of going pretty far,” Barto said.
Bollinger added: “I think we can dominate them if we play how we did tonight.”
Warwick’s seniors played their roles as leaders in its game against Dallastown. It was a good opening round, Misselhorn said.
“I just told the team from start to finish, they did a great job to put pressure on the attack to get shots off,” she said. “Leister had one of her best games. Julia Barto scoring that goal was huge under pressure. Paige (Sheppard) played fantastic. Our whole back line are seniors, so I think they really stepped up tonight. So it really makes us proud to see our seniors play so hard.”
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*FAN is headquartered in District 3. We are also following district games statewide. Check back for October and November postseason coverage.
Warriors: 2
- Goals – Barto (1), Zoccolo (1)
- Assists – Leister (1), Bollinger (1)
- Shots – 9
- Penalty corners – 8
- Saves – Paige Sheppard (5)
Wildcats: 0
- Goals – 0
- Assists – 0
- Shots – 5
- Penalty corners – 2
- Saves – Mia Karlie (7)
