Red & Black Field Hockey Season Comes to a Heartbreaking End

In a match that will be talked about around the proverbial campfire for many years to come, Honesdale dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 decision to Wyoming Valley West Mon-day night in Plymouth.

This District Two field hockey showdown pitted two of the reg-ion’s top teams against one another in a battle for a berth in the Class AAA final.

The Lady Hornets and Spartans played to a 1-1 tie after regulation, then fought their way through a pair of sudden death overtime periods.

By rule, the match then proceeded to a shootout...but, even one of those wasn’t enough to determine a winner as the two teams remained deadlocked.

Sadly for a band of local fans who made the 50-mile journey to Plymouth, Valley West prevailed in the second shootout.

Spartan keeper Kristi Rollman stopped all but one of five Honesdale shots to preserve a razor-thin win. With this 2-1 victory, Valley West now advances to the championship game.

“My girls are all crying... they’re heartbroken,” an emotionally-drained Coach Becca Maciejewski told TWI Sports. “I’m so proud of them. This has been an amazing season. I’m really sad to see it end.”

The Spartans will face Wilkes Barre Coughlin in tonight’s title tilt. The Crusaders downed Lackawanna Trail 1-0 in overtime in the other semifinal.

Honesdale closes out the ‘09 campaign with an 8-9 record.

“I thought at the beginning of the season that this might be the team to help us turn a corner,” said Coach Maciejewski. “I wanted this program to take the next step...and, I really think we have. We proved we can compete with the elite teams.”

On the Turf
Honesdale juggled its line-up and tweaked its strategy in preparation for this battle of WVC titans.

Coach Maciejewski decided to go with an aggressive man-to-man defense against the Spartans. She also reconfigured the offense to feature five midfielders in an effort at creating more scoring opportunities.

Both ploys worked.

Honesdale held Valley West superstar Dominique Pasqualichio in check throughout the marathon match. The only goal Pasqualichio would score in this game came via penalty stroke late in regulation.

“Our girls played outstanding defense,” said Coach Maciejewski. “We’ve worked very hard on conditioning and we pride ourselves on being able to run circles around the other team.”

Offensively, Honesdale peppered the Valley West cage with shots. Brittany Cardona, Holly Hessberger, Elly Skinner, Desi Mack and Mary Martin all had scoring opportunities in regulation and overtime.

Unfortunately for the Lady Hornets, Valley West’s Kristie Rollman refused to wilt under the pressure. The Spartans’ senior keeper repeatedly stood tall in the face of a Red & Black at-tack, allowing just one goal.

That tally came late in the second half off a corner.

Down to the Wire
Alicia Manzione put the ball in play, feeding Skinner at the top of the circle.

Elly’s blast ricocheted off Roll-man’s pads and Hessberger was there to pounce on the rebound.
Holly blasted the ball past a sprawling keeper and into the cage. Honesdale’s goal came with 11:54 remaining in regulation and gave the Maple City girls a 1-0 advantage.

The lead lasted until the waning moments of the game when Valley West was awarded a penalty stroke. Pasqualichio beat Katie Carton for the goal, tying the score at 1-1 and forcing the game into overtime.

Honesdale dominated both of the extra sessions, outshooting Valley West by a margin of 2-to-1. However, the Lady Hornets couldn’t solve Rollman.

Her counterpart, Honesdale’s Katie Carton, was every bit as brilliant between the pipes. The Lady Hornet senior turned in a sparkling performance, recording 14 saves.

Shootout Time
Mack & Manzione each tallied in the first shootout, but Valley West countered with goals from Sauni Davenport and Kelcie Hromisin.

Hessberger scored the Lady Hornets’ lone goal in the second shootout as Rollman made outstanding saves against Skinner, Mack, Manzione and Martin.

Valley West’s Maura Anis-transki banged home the game winner.

“It’s a shame either team had to lose tonight,” Coach Maciejewski said. “This was just an incredible game.”