Selinsgrove has plenty of motivation

Aug. 31—It became a running chuckle with Selinsgrove field hockey seniors.

As the Seals' district championship streak reached the teens, the seniors celebrated with mock relief when they were able to pass on the burden of maintaining it to the next class.

Whew! Not on our watch!

Well, the streak is no more — despite the Class of 2023 holding up its end of the deal.

Despite being the last District 4 Class 2A team standing, Selinsgrove was not recognized as the district's champion, ending a 17-year reign.

For the last two seasons, the Seals played in the District 2 tournament as part of a PIAA subregional. They were beaten by Crestwood in the championship game both years.

In 2021, however, Selinsgrove opened the subregional at home against Shikellamy, and District 4 medals and a plaque were awarded following the Seals' 3-0 win. Last year, the teams didn't meet — the Braves suffered a first-round loss — and no District 4 champion was crowned.

Selinsgrove's string of 20 consecutive state tournament appearances was also snapped, providing plenty of motivation for the current senior class headed by Carly Aument, Alli Bucher and Lexi Freed. That trio has combined to produce more than 200 points and each of the girls is coming off a career-best year of goals and points.

Roz Erb's Seals went 4-6 in regular-season, nonleague games, and in Heartland Athletic Conference-Division I play they split with Lewisburg and shared the division crown.

The Green Dragons made a triumphant return to HAC-I after ending Bloomsburg's stranglehold on HAC-II. Lewisburg won nine of its last 11 games, losing a 1-0 nonleague road game at Mifflin County and a state quarterfinal in that span. Along the way, the program won its first district title since 2019.

The Green Dragons have three of the Valley's top five returning scorers, including senior midfielder Avery Mast. Among returning players, the all-state honoree had the most points (54) and assists (18), while tying for the goals lead (18) from a season ago. Lewisburg senior forward Whitney Berge (43 points in 2022) and sophomore forward Maddy Moyers (34) bolster a potent attack.

"We are super-excited about this upcoming season. We return a strong, talented, cohesive group, who play exceptionally well together," said Lewisburg second-year coach Tonya Berge. "During preseason, like everyone else, we worked on filling spots left by our graduating seniors and finding that perfect combination of players that will give us the ability to play at an optimal level. We have so many on our team who have been working hard in the offseason and preparing themselves to step up, so it should be a pretty seamless transition."

Shikellamy played better last season than its 6-11 record would suggest. The Braves went 2-5 in one-goal games, and they beat state-qualifier Bloomsburg. They gave up more than four goals in a game only four times, thanks in large part to HAC-I all-star goalie Reagan Wiest, now playing at Bloomsburg University.

Shikellamy's third coach in as many years, former Mifflinburg standout Delanie Noll, can lead on division all-stars Lauryn Michaels, a senior forward coming off a 15-goal season, and junior defender Sydney Sinko.

"We are very excited about our season," said Noll. "Yes, we lost a big senior class, but our seniors and juniors this year were a lot of the starting team last season. So we have girls that had a good amount of time on the field and are strong. We are working on our formation, and our goalie this year is new and Reagan's Wiest's youngest sister (Skyler).

"Overall, our team is growing together with our big class of freshmen and focused on a good season and ready to compete."

Danville, like Shikellamy, has a new coach and a new goalie in place of a division all-star.

The Ironmen coach is Heather Nichols, who played at Albright after graduating from Millville, where she played for her mother and current Danville volunteer assistant Salvatrice Nichols. Her first order of business is filling the void left by HAC-I first-team goalie Kaitlyn Gabel and finding support for second-team forward Saige Sarviss.

"These ladies already have a positive mindset and are pushing themselves to do everything we are teaching them," Heather Nichols said. "The players are still getting to know us and each other, but they have a positive outlook towards the new coaches and our ability to teach them the skills necessary to be successful on and off the field."

Last season, Danville had a pair of crippling, four-game losing streaks that included a one-goal loss to Shikellamy..

Milton averted a winless 2022 season by beating Southern Columbia at home after 10 losses. Brandee Krall's Black Panthers lost by one goal three times, and by two goals three times. They scored eight goals in 18 games, but never more than one.

They have a good, young core, led by sophomore mid Alyvia Russell, a HAC-I second-team all-star. Fellow sophomores Regan Klinefelter (mid) and Elleana McConnell (forward), also earned all-division recognition.