The outcome of the Dallastown versus Central York field hockey game Wednesday could easily have gone either way.
The Wildcats scored first, but it was the Panthers who ended the game in overtime. The final score was 3-2 Central York.
“So, proud,” Panthers head coach Alexa Taylor said. “I can’t even talk. We’re so proud; all of my coaches. We’re so excited. We needed this win. We had a stretch of games, where, ya know, we saw Mechanicsburg. They’re an amazing team. We lost to Red Lion in overtime; my sister coaches there. So, we had a stretch of games where it was tough. We just tied South Western last night. We are just so proud of them. They did an amazing job today.”
Both teams play in the YAIAA and District 3. Dallastown is 13-4-1. Central is 10-6-2. The teams are both classified as part of PIAA Class 3A schools.
During the game, Central had a performance goal to better execute its two-touch passing, which is something they’ve been struggling with. With their focus on using numbers, they were able to control a lot of the first, second, and fourth quarters.
However, Dallastown was faster to the ball and used split-second decision making when taking its free hits. Whether a teammate was ready or not, they moved the ball when Central was off balance.
The ‘Cats scored their first goal off the first corner within the first 90 seconds of the game.
The ball was inserted to the top of the circle. Reagan Bailey received it and did a small dump pass to her left, where Anaiyah Azad perfected a low, powerful sweep to send the ball into the cage.
Four out of the five goals scored in the game continued to be off penalty corners.
The third was a dicey quarter. Central tied the game 2-2.
Azad broke the ice in the first, and then it was Central’s Taryn Mariano who scored in the third to tie it 1-1. Dallastown scored, shortly after Mariano, with a smashing hit from the top of the circle and a deflection again from Azad. The score was 2-1 Dallastown.
Central earned a corner with 2:26 remaining in the third. Ryan Engleman received the ball at the top of the circle and hammered it into the lower left of the cage.
While the third saw the most goals, it also saw the most emotion. Players became more physical. They were causing stick obstruction by tackling from behind, using their body to position themselves instead of moving their feet, and had a difficult time resuming the energic focused play that they used in the other quarters.
“I just like that the girls pushed through,” Dallastown head coach Katie Drudy said. “We had a huge game last night against our other rival – Central York and Red Lion are our huge rivals. So, it’s really tough going back-to-back; they’re emotionally taxing games for the girls and trying to find ways to motivate them and encourage them to push through the tiredness…I definitely think emotions get high here. It can be hard to control those types of games. It happens. I really like how our girls bounced back after adversity, when Central scored. They didn’t let up.”
Dallastown beat its other rival Red Lion Tuesday and were crowned the 2024 Division I conference winners. Despite their busy schedules, both teams had one more period to play to determine the sudden victor.
“It is very tiresome,” Central York’s Lily Barnes said. Barnes scored the winning goal in overtime.
“But, it wasn’t just me,” she said. “Our whole team, we all helped each other out, did a great two-touch passing; ‘cause we’ve been struggling with that for a little while now. But, ever since today, we connected, reconnected with each other and did great.”
Barnes said she thought “both teams were scared,” when talking about the third quarter.
“Because for us, I felt like our team was saying, we have nothing to lose, guys, you know we might get into counties, we might not,” Barnes said. “I think for them it was just all or nothing. Just playing their hearts out. This is our last game, but I think we’re going to make it into counties.”
The junior field hockey athlete said she’s proud of being part of this year’s team. The last time Central took part in counties was two year ago.
“I love being part of this team,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity. Everyone is so supportive of each other, no matter what.”
Central had nine corners on the day, and Dallastown eight.
Behind the Game
The game was the last one on the schedule for both teams. The theme of it was to raise awareness for mental health.
“Knowing a lot of our youth post-Covid times, [they’re] experiencing a lot more mental health issues,” Drudy said. “So, we’re trying to just bring awareness to that and making sure that everybody on our team knows that there’s options and that we’re here for them. And we want them to feel supported both on and off the field; and, know that they’re human outside of the jersey and that that’s the most important thing because field hockey doesn’t last forever. So unfortunately, ya know, kind of a tough loss today, which is actually kind of perfect, for that kind of event. It really works on the girls, ya know, resilience and making sure we’re there and adjusting to the needs that they have and talking through those things with them.
But, they had a great season. I think that’s another tribute to mental health for them is last year they had a 2-16 season. Coming back and being able to go 13-3 so far, um, that just shows resilience. It shows that they have an open mind to progress and growth. And, working with each other. And that all comes from a culture of them relying on each other and being positive. They know it’s not always perfect and it’s not always pretty. It’s not always fun, but they work through it together as a team, and they know that they can come to this place and have it be a safe space. Just a good lesson for us today too, and, we’re just going to work through that.”
If you or anyone you know is seeking help for mental health reasons, Dallastown partnered with ‘Building Bridges for Brianna.’ Please visit their site for additional resources.
Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Follow us on our social media pages or reach us at [email protected] with a story idea.
Photo: Central York at Dallastown, Bob Benscoter, 2024
By FAN – US
