BY JEFF FALK

 FREDERICKSBURG – The last time the Northernon Lebanon field hockey team captured a Lancaster-Lebanon League section championship was the mid 1980s. That was a lot of years ago.

 But right now, it doesn’t seem all that far away.

 On a dreary Monday after-school at Northern Lebanon High School, the Vikings inched an important step closer to that elusive title with a 2-1 triumph over rival Elco. With senior Lindsay McFeaters leading the way, Northern Lebanon opened a two-goal lead at halftime, then held the hard-charging Raiders at bay during the second 30 minutes of action.

  The result was crucial on a number of levels. It pushed undefeated Northern Lebanon to 12-0-1 on the year, 9-0-1 in Section Three and maintained the Vikings’ slim first-place lead over Annville-Cleona.

 The loss dropped the defending Section Three champion Raiders to 7-3-1 on the fall and 7-2-1 in the circuit. Back on September 9th in Myerstown, Northern Lebanon had scored a 2-1 overtime triumph over Elco.

 In the latest District Three Class A power rankings, the Vikings were seated fourth and the Raiders tenth.

 “You want to win every game,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Ronda Sowers. “But there’s a reality about it. We’re certainly off to a good start. We’re undefeated in the section, but so is Annville-Cleona. We approach every game the same way. We just come out and play our hardest. They’ve (her troops) played some really good field hockey this season.

 “Elco and Annville-Ceona have been consistently at the top of our section,” continued Sowers. “You’re looking at one (Elco) of the top three teams in the section. It was a must-win game. Every game is a must-win game for us. Every game we have, we have to come out and play hard. Elco’s a rivalry and you always want to beat your rival.”

 “I think the section’s still up for everyone,” said Elco first-year head coach Kelsey Thorley. “It’s a competitive section. There’s a lot of competitive teams. It’s fun to play good teams.

 “Obviously it’s (the section championship) a goal,” added Thorley. “But it’s not the end-all-be-all. We’re focused on other things.”

  As a whole, the contest was fairly evenly played, with Northern Lebanon enjoying the better of the play in the first half and Elco owning the second half. The Vikings grabbed a 1-0 lead 17:41 into the game, on a corner play inserted from Summer Bohr.

 Bohr found McFeaters at the top of the circle, and McFeaters unleashed a hard shot to the right post. Charging to that post, teammate Baylee Madilia not only screened Elco goalie Sarah Shollenberger, but also tipped it past her.

 “Lindsay McFeaters was the commonality on the two goals,” said Sowers. “She’s probably not going to break the record as the leading scorer, but to understand her impact on the offense, you have to see her play. She draws players to her, and she’s able to get the ball away. But it was definitely a team effort.

 “Every time we step on the field, we want to battle,” Sowers continued. “We want to win every game we play. Whether that’s consistent with reality, it may or may not be. I want to emphasize the way these kids play together. Their style of play makes it tough for people to beat them.”

 “We played really strong,” said Thorley. “We had a slow first half, but we picked it up in the second half. We’ve been working on our in-game adjustments.”

  Just 1:54 before the break, the Vikings made it 2-0. 

 McFeaters came up with a takeway deep in the Raider zone, and going to her right, she got off a quick hard shot to the far post. Rachel Dunmire was there for Northern Lebanon, and she did a good job getting her stick on the ball to re-direct it into the cage.

 It was Dunmire’s ninth goal of the season, and McFeaters’ 11th assist.

  “The first half was total ball control,” said Sowers. “They (her players) possessed the ball. They passed the ball. We defended collectively.

 “We’ve got great team chemistry,” added Sowers. “They’re constantly trying to take care of each other, on and off the field. We’ve been working on our possession game, and I think our defense has been doing a great job all year.”

 “They’re good,” said Thorley of the Vikings. “They’re a strong team. They have good forwards and they’re quick. I think we’re equally competitive.

 “Every game is important,” Thorley added. “They’re (the Vikings) at the top of the section. Every game is an opportunity.”

  The Raiders registered their first shot of the game 1:30 into the second half. And it seemed to light a fire under them.

  Elco generated a number of subsequent corners, and that pressure eventually produced the Maddy Blakeslee goal that made it 2-1. Blakeslee’s tally was a study in persistence, as Myah Yesko drew an assist on the play.

  “They (the Raiders) came out like they weren’t done, like they had a game to win,” said Sowers. “They applied some pressure and eventually popped one in. I thought our kids got caught on their heels, but they responded to that. They regained control of the tempo and the ball.

 “I think they (the Raiders) came out in high gear,” continued Sowers. “Perhaps we didn’t respond the way I would’ve liked to. They had scoring chances and knocked one in. They’re a talented team. In the second half, we had a difficult time dealing with that.”

  “It was just tenacity on a corner,” said Thorley of Blakeslee’s goal, “which is something we’ve been working on. We didn’t give up.

 “Yes, we played better in the second half,” added Thorley. “There were definitely positives progressing forward.”

 In the final count, Northern Lebanon out shot Elco 9-6. The Raiders inserted eight corners, compared to four for the Vikings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2019 Elco Field Hockey Results

 Lancaster-Lebanon League

 Section Three Standings

 PIAA District Three

 Class A Power Rankings

 

A	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	TWPW	OWPW	TWPL	OWPL
1	Greenwood	10-	0-	2	0.757537	0.910714	0.570320	10.2	117.6	1.0	88.6
2	Oley Valley	11-	0-	0	0.737985	1.000000	0.417745	10.4	90.4	0.0	126.0
3	Bermudian Springs	12-	1-	0	0.724165	0.918033	0.487215	11.2	106.7	1.0	112.3
4	Northern Lebanon	11-	0-	1	0.705840	0.942308	0.416824	9.8	88.2	0.6	123.4
5	Newport	9-	1-	1	0.692800	0.830189	0.524880	8.8	109.7	1.8	99.3
6	Boiling Springs	10-	1-	1	0.680970	0.867188	0.453370	11.1	98.2	1.7	118.4
7	Annville Cleona	7-	0-	2	0.645811	0.850000	0.396246	6.8	76.0	1.2	115.8
8	Camp Hill	10-	3-	0	0.635156	0.750000	0.494792	9.0	114.0	3.0	116.4
9	Eastern York	9-	2-	0	0.619174	0.792453	0.407389	8.4	82.7	2.2	120.3
10	Eastern Lebanon County	7-	2-	1	0.587245	0.723404	0.420829	6.8	79.2	2.6	109.0
11	Schuylkill Valley	9-	4-	0	0.551400	0.639344	0.443912	7.8	92.6	4.4	116.0
12	Fleetwood	9-	4-	0	0.547001	0.633333	0.441484	7.6	92.8	4.4	117.4
13	Littlestown	8-	4-	0	0.515725	0.625000	0.382166	7.0	84.0	4.2	135.8
14	Bishop McDevitt	7-	6-	0	0.483153	0.515152	0.444043	6.8	98.4	6.4	123.2
15	Lancaster Mennonite	5-	6-	0	0.444747	0.406780	0.491150	4.8	88.8	7.0	92.0
16	Biglerville	6-	6-	0	0.418405	0.426230	0.408842	5.2	89.7	7.0	129.7
17	Hanover	6-	7-	0	0.413728	0.397059	0.434101	5.4	94.2	8.2	122.8
18	Susquenita	5-	8-	0	0.409082	0.328571	0.507484	4.6	108.5	9.4	105.3
19	Tulpehocken	6-	8-	0	0.387778	0.352941	0.430357	4.8	96.4	8.8	127.6
20	Susquehanna Township	3-	8-	0	0.387219	0.264151	0.537634	2.8	120.0	7.8	103.2
21	Octorara Area	4-	8-	0	0.383345	0.323529	0.456453	4.4	87.0	9.2	103.6
22	Lancaster Country Day School	4-	6-	1	0.374840	0.355932	0.397949	4.2	77.6	7.6	117.4
23	Hamburg Area	4-	9-	0	0.354156	0.298507	0.422172	4.0	93.3	9.4	127.7
24	Big Spring	2-	9-	1	0.350828	0.217742	0.513489	2.7	114.2	9.7	108.2
25	Lancaster Catholic	3-	9-	0	0.334820	0.212121	0.484785	2.8	92.4	10.4	98.2
26	Kutztown Area	3-	8-	2	0.320838	0.264706	0.389445	3.6	85.6	10.0	134.2
27	Delone Catholic	2-	10-	0	0.276620	0.159420	0.419865	2.2	74.4	11.6	102.8
28	Fairfield	2-	9-	0	0.272996	0.137931	0.438076	1.6	85.6	10.0	109.8
29	Brandywine Heights Area	1-	10-	1	0.244036	0.089552	0.432850	1.2	89.6	12.2	117.4
30	Wyomissing	1-	12-	0	0.205090	0.055556	0.387855	0.8	87.5	13.6	138.1
31	Pequea Valley	0-	0-	0	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0