Lewisburg overwhelms Northwest

Oct. 31—SELINSGROVE — If there was any concern on the Lewisburg side as a two-goal lead stretched into the second quarter Tuesday night, Emma Trupp whisked it away in a matter of 21 seconds.

The senior forward finished twice at the right post in short order, and the Green Dragons opened the floodgates after halftime for a 9-0 victory over Northwest in a District 4 Class A field hockey semifinal at Bolig Stadium.

Avery Mast posted a hat trick, Whitney Berge had a pair of goals and assists, and Lilly Alabakoff matched Trupp with two goals as defending champion Lewisburg set up a title rematch with Central Columbia.

"I felt like after we got our fourth then the goals kept rolling in," said Green Dragons coach Tonya Berge. "Obviously our offense was working, and I'm happy to see that, for sure, going into the Central game."

Lewisburg (17-2) won its 10th consecutive game to reach Thursday's 7 p.m. final back at Selinsgrove. Central (17-2-1), which lost last year's district championship to the Green Dragons 1-0, beat Midd-West by the same score in Tuesday's other semi for its 12th straight victory. The Blue Jays are unbeaten in 16 games since losing on Sept. 9 at home to Lewisburg, 2-0.

That score — 2-0 — was significant for Lewisburg on Tuesday for a couple reasons.

First, that was the result when the Green Dragons traveled to Shickshinny for a nonleague game on the morning of Oct. 7. It was one of only seven times they were limited to fewer than five goals in a game.

"It was definitely a benefit (having played the Rangers) because it really boosted our confidence," said Whitney Berge, who scored Tuesday's first goal for the 40th of her career. "Tonight was different because I felt like we were passing more stick to stick. Last game we weren't passing as cohesive, and I think in this game we definitely did a better job of that."

The 2-0 score was also significant because that was the count by which Mifflinburg led Northwest in last week's quarterfinals before the fourth-seeded Rangers (11-8-1) mounted a fourth-quarter rally.

The Green Dragons went ahead 2-0 at the 4:31 mark of the first quarter on Mast's first goal. Despite constant pressure, they weren't able to tack on until the middle of the second quarter when Trupp gave right forward Maddy Moyers (two assists) a breather. Trupp followed up a reverse-stick shot by Mast to make it 3-0 at the 7:52 mark.

"At the end of the first quarter, our coach said that Mifflinburg had a 2-0 lead," Trupp said. "So we definitely went into the second quarter with a lot of intensity, and we made sure that they couldn't come back like they did (last week)."

Lewisburg was in the circle again almost immediately after the center tip, and Trupp returned to the right post to convert another tip in traffic and double her season goals total.

"It's honestly luck," she said. "As long as you're there, you see it and you can time it right, then you can get it in. You just have to be at the right place at the right time, but we've been working on that a lot this season.

"I just made sure to zero-in and pay attention to my teammates, and I was just making sure that I was where I was supposed to be and doing my job."

The 4-0 lead held at halftime, but the Green Dragons got third-period goals from Mast, Whitney Berge and Alabakoff in an eight-minute span of the period. The Rangers earned their third and final penalty corner late in the third, and Carley Wagner thwarted it with a strong fly. Lewisburg allowed only one shot on goal.

"I think we were just worried about ourselves and playing our game," said Whitney Berge. "They were definitely good with their passing and cutting super-well, and I think that says we were defending really well and reading their passes."

Mast capped her hat trick not a minute into the fourth, boosting her area-best totals to 28 goals and 69 points this year (54 goals, 141 points in her career). It was the all-state senior's third hat trick and ninth multi-goal game of the season.

"(The Rangers) played a really good game at their home field, so coming in we watched film and took some things from that game and made some adjustments," said Tonya Berge. "They're a good team, and I think this builds our confidence a little bit. I said to the girls I felt like we had improved over the season, so to see how much improvement we've made, I think, builds our confidence going into (the final)."

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DISTRICT 4 CLASS A FIELD HOCKEY

SEMIFINAL

At Selinsgrove H.S.

LEWISBURG 9, NORTHWEST 0

First quarter

L: Whitney Berge (Maddy Moyers), 8:55; L: Avery Mast (W. Berge), 4:31.

Second quarter

L: Emma Trupp (Mast), 7:52; L: Trupp, 7:31.

Third quarter

L: Mast, 10:08; L: W. Berge (Moyers), 6:51; L: Lily Alabakoff (W. Berge), 2:04.

Fourth quarter

L: Mast, 14:05; L: Alabakoff, 1:22.

Shots: L 26-1. Corners: L 11-3. Cards: None. Saves: Northwest 17 (Maliya Crispell); Lewisburg 1 (Addy Shedleski 1, Claire Castle 0).