After traveling two and a half hours from Pittsburgh to Penn State on Saturday to take on State College, Pine-Richland proved that high school field hockey in Western Pennsylvania is improving.
Bringing the two programs together this weekend is a special moment for the athletes. The game was hosted at Char Morett-Curtiss field, a newly renovated complex that is being dedicated to the Nittany Lion’s longtime college field hockey leader. Morett-Curtiss retired two seasons ago.
“It’s so good for our sport and we are so fortunate that we live in a community where we have Penn State supporting us and they want to do everything they can to grow field hockey,” State College Head Coach Sharon Herlocker said.
Pine-Richland is in District 7, where there are fewer high school field hockey programs available for student athletes compared to teams that participate in District 3. The Rams have won the title of Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League champions for five straight seasons (WPIAL).
State College is more known for playing games in the Mid-Penn Conference in District 3. State is part of the Commonwealth Division, one of the most competitive in Pennsylvania high school field hockey. The Little Lions also take part in District 6 competitions.
Nearby thunderstorms delayed the weekend’s start time almost an hour, but that didn’t stop the athletes from being eager to play on water-based turf.
Jumping into the first quarter, as soon as the game began, Pine-Richland’s Georgia Rottinghaus, senior captain, literally from the start, was right at the cage. At the beginning, it was super even, but State College’s back line quickly had to stand defensively stronger or else the Rams were going to score.
Five minutes into the game, the Rams really took off. They got their first corner at the 10:46 mark. They were able to capitalize on it as Anna Merlack sent the ball to Rottinghaus, who snapped the ball right past goalie Sam Bundro. The ball zipped into the bottom corner.
The next scoring chance came off of a corner for Pine-Richland, again, as Kaylee Bang passed it to Kendyll Jerry. It would then go to Rottinghaus and back to Bang, whose shot wasn’t on target.
State College’s Ella Tambroni, captain, was very good at keeping possession, as well as picking up any loose balls in front of her goalie Bundro. Pine-Richland’s Alyssa Baculik and Madeline Mill tried their luck against Bundro, but they’re luck rolled wide and they missed placing shots on goal.
The first quarter was domination by the Rams and it didn’t stop going into the second. Within the first two minutes, Rottinghaus was all over the field. She was spinning around defenders 25 to 50 yards forward to the cage, but she couldn’t quite capitalize.
The Little Lions were starting to build up some momentum but every time they got close to the Ram’s Kaelin Koehler, a Pine-Richland defender was there with a flat stick to send it away.
With 1:30 left before half time, Addie Gagnon tried to give State College some life but Koehler made a huge save to keep it 1-0.
State College got its first corner of the day later in the game. Tambroni took a shot, which looked like it could have made it a tied game, but Koehler was not going to let that happen. The Little Lions followed up with a second corner opportunity, but Lanie Herlocker couldn’t get past the Rams’ defense.
The Little Lion’s came to life in the third keeping it away from their goal. Most of the third was also played in the middle of the field. Pine-Richland snuck in the circle a few times, where Bundro would have to make a handful of key saves.
The fourth quarter was very back and forth until the Pine-Richland’s Maggie Campbell collected the ball off an initial shot that Bundro cleared, which went right into the cage behind her. The score was 2-0. State College called for a timeout.
With eight minutes remaining in the game, State fought to get back into the game. But, they were unable to convert a corner into a goal.
“This is a big win for us to win in this area,” Pine-Richland head coach Donna Stephenson said. “We’re really pleased with the performance, the intensity. I think it’s going to show district seven that we’re looking to return as the district champions.”
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By FAN – US
