Lehighton field hockey advances to D-11 title game

WHITEHALL – Every team feels added pressure in the postseason.

The best welcome it.

Lehighton showed its mettle and embraced the opportunity in a 2-1 win over Saucon Valley Monday to reach the District 11 Class A championship game for the second straight year.

Senior Maura Phelan eased any early tension when she scored twice off corners to give No. 2 seed Lehighton a 2-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the game.

The quick scores gave the Indians (13-5) momentum, but head coach Corrine McConville knew her team couldn’t get conservative.

“That’s one of those things in sports, though – playing on your heels is never a good thing,” said McConville. “And that tends to … you’re too timid when you go up 2-0. And sometimes if it’s a 1-0 game, or a 1-1 game, it is an all-around better game because we’re both just going, going, going. And to get up 2-0 is a little scary sometimes.

“It’s very scary, but at the end of the day, I feel like that’s the type of pressure that brings out the best athletes. Although it’s scary, it’s really cool to watch the kids blossom under that type of pressure.”

After giving her team an early advantage, Phelan made a spectacular play on defense in the second half, diving in front of the cage to help prevent a goal and keep the score 2-0.

“The ball was actually on my stick a lot earlier, and then it got through somehow, and I just knew I had to get back and be there for my team,” said Phelan. “And (goalie) Michelle (Bozilesky) did a really god job putting pressure on, and I was just lucky enough to get back there, and get my stick on the ball before it went in.”

Phelan’s play loomed even larger after the third-seeded Panthers (10-9) finally broke through when Meghan Okken got free and scored with 4:55 remaining.

“It’s very big,” said McConville. “Maura’s one of our leading scorers, one of our leaders in assists. She’s part of the offensive circle, she’s part of the defensive powerhouse. At the end of the day, what the performance meant to us was really the difference between winning and losing tonight.”

Saucon Valley cranked up the intensity in the waning minutes, but was never able to produce a tying score.

“I felt like we just came out on our heels,” said Panthers head coach Sarah Hawk. “We had talked about how aggressive we need to be from the start. But I honestly think that they were a little nervous.”

Phelan and the Indians never wavered.

“When they made it 2-1, I was definitely nervous,” she said. “But I knew we had it in us to just keep the ball, make a smart play, be a possession team, and just keep the ball to ourselves for those last five minutes.”

Lehighton will play top seed Moravian Academy in Wednesday’s district final. The Lions defeated Bethlehem Catholic in the other semifinal to set up a rematch of last year’s championship game.

“A win like this really means a lot to our girls,” said Phelan. “We really want to prove it to our school that we’re not just a field hockey team – we’re here to win, and we’re here to take home our district championship.”

FAMILIAR FACE … Moravian Academy defeated Lehighton 8-0 in last year’s district championship game. The Lions also picked up a 3-1 victory in the teams’ regular season meeting on Sept. 16. “We really want to prove it to Moravian, but also to ourselves. We really want to bring home the title, and just play with everything we have, and get the win. I’m just really happy for my team, and our coach has been doing just such a great job. So I’m excited for us,” said Phelan.

BEEN THERE … Though it’s her first season as Lehighton’s head coach, McConville brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position. She helped lead Lehighton to a state title, and was the Times News Player of the Year during her playing career. Now, she’s ready to lead the Indians to similar success as a coach. “At the end of the day, we came out here and fought really hard, and I’m excited to see what we can do in the district championship game,” she said.

ANOTHER ONE … Lehighton also defeated Saucon Valley during the regular season, 3-1 on Oct. 3.