BY JEFF FALK

MYERSTOWN – Annville-Cleona is in the midst of the finest field hockey season in school history. The rest is merely specifics.

What makes those details important is that therein lies the memories.

On Wednesday evening at Elco High School, the Little Dutchmen added a prized jewel to their record-setting campaign, with a 3-0 road blanking of the Raiders. Annville-Cleona led 1-0 at the break on the strength of a late first-half goal, then added a pair of insurance tallies late in the second stanza.

With its regular-season-ending victory, Annville-Cleona secured its first Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three crown since 1972. Now 17-1 overall and 11-1 in the section, the Little Dutchmen will play in their first ever L-L league playoff game on Saturday against Warwick, at a site and time to be determined.

Annville-Cleona has now outscored its opponents by a combined margin of 75-5 this season. The Little Dutchmen, who whitewashed the Raiders 6-0 back on September 23rd in Annville, were situated fifth in the latest District Three Class A power rankings.

But the Little Dutchmen’s celebration of their historic achievement on Elco’s senior night seemed to overshadow one of the Raiders’ best seasons in recent memory. The Raiders, who slipped to 10-6-1 on the year and 8-3-1 in the circuit, are currently rated 13th in an ‘A’ classification that takes 14 for its postseason.

“I am not aware of any, but they (her players) said there’s a banner hanging in the gym that says there was one  in 1972,” said Annville-Cleona head coach Sue Felty of the section championship. “It’s been a long time. It’s very special. The girls have really come together. I told the girls I wasn’t going to cry, but I did. They worked really hard, and it paid off.

“(At the beginning of the season) I knew we could do well,” continued Felty. “But I didn’t expect to do this well. We had a little luck too.”

“It’s definitely a credit to Coach Felty,” said Elco head coach Lisa Kercher. “I’m familiar with their program. They sort of came from the same place we come from. The section has really changed. It gives Lebanon County teams an opportunity to be section champs. I think it’s great for hockey in Lebanon County.

“We’ve recognized their amazing season,” Kercher continued. “17-1, that’s outstanding. There’s not may teams in District Three who only have one loss. It’s great to see Lebanon County schools excelling.”

Not only did the Little Dutchmen shut out the Raiders, they also shut them down, surrendering zero shots on goal – while mustering 21 of their own. Annville-Cleona also posted a distinct 17-2 advantage in penalty corners.

Yet despite that domination, Annville-Cleona was still protecting a 1-0 edge well into the second half. That lead had come courtesy of Morgan Zimmerman and Lauren Schrader, who collaborated on a goal with 7:20 to go before halftime.

By controlling the ball into the right portion of the circle, Schrader drew Raider net minder Kendra Bicksler to her, before slipping the ball to an unattended M. Zimmerman on the left side of the Raider cage. M. Zimmerman had that whole open side to bang it home.

“We knew it would be tough,” said Felty. “We knew they (the Raiders) would come. We talked about not taking anyone for granted. It’s what everyone wants to do, beat the team in first place.

“We played well,” added Felty. “We had to do some adjusting. We were controlling a lot of the offense, but we just couldn’t find the cage today.”

“We played a lot better than we played against them the first time,” said Kercher. “We wanted to shut them down the first ten minutes of the game. My team executed what I asked them to do.

“We were on the defend a lot,” Kercher added. “Turning it (defense) into an offensive push was hard today. We didn’t have too may opportunities.”

Annville-Cleona’s persistent second-half pressure on the Raider cage finally paid off with 9:58 remaining, when Emily Brightbill made it 2-0. Off an extended corner, the ball squirted to E. Brightbill, who one-timed it into the right side of the goal.

“I felt better when we scored that second goal,” said Felty. “Actually, I felt really good after the third. I think it was persistence. We didn’t get a good shot and goal. It was just pounding away in there. They (her players) stuck with it.

“They’re (the Raiders) always a tough team,” Felty continued. “They’re very solid. They’re always going to go to the ball. They do a nice job. Their goalie is tough. They really played hard, and they weren’t giving up. They wanted it as much as we did.”

“We did play well defensively,” said Kercher. “They just had too many corners. But it’s a credit to their girls. They have a lot of scorers.

“I have a great group of seniors who are amazing leaders, on and off the field,” continued Kercher. “They’re academic all-stars and they’re great people in general. They push everyone else to be better. They’re stepping up all the time. They’ve done such an amazing job.”

The Little Dutchmen recorded their third and final goal with 53 seconds remaining. From a corner play, a ball was played into the pads of Bicksler, and Katelyn Brightbill was there to knock it in.

It was K. Brightbill’s 17th goal of the campaign.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Felty of Saturday’s match-up with Warwick. “We haven’t looked ahead at all. I’m very superstitious. I don’t look at power rankings until late in the season. It’ll be interesting to see. It’ll be fun.

“I’m a realist. I know what’s going on,” added Felty. “We’re hoping to come out of Saturday with a win. The teams in the (league) playoffs are top-notch, some of the best in the state. And with the new classification system, maybe we can get to states. We’ve had our peaks and valleys. But I don’t know that we’ve peaked yet. Today was not our best day, skill-wise. But it was our best game, grit-wise.”

“We are planning on districts, for the first time in my coaching career,” said Kercher. “I believe it’s going to be the first time since 2010. We were close to going to the league playoffs. For these girls, to be that close is awesome.

“Of course it extends the season, but the most important thing is just building the program at Elco,” Kercher added. “We’re still building. This possibility allows us to continue to build, because the younger girls see that. All of that is really great for Elco field hockey.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2016 Annville-Cleona Field Hockey Results