‘Being the one to score, it really means a lot more than that,’ Hershey’s Lexi Schultz on scoring the game-winner against Mechanicsburg field hockey
Hershey upset Mechanicsburg 2-1 Monday night at Mechanicsburg. Photos: Bob Benscoter
The saying that “defense wins games” couldn’t have been more true for the Hershey field hockey team Monday night.
The Trojans defeated Mechanicsburg 2-1 at Soldiers and Sailors Field. It was Hershey’s last game of the regular season. Mechanicsburg has one more regular season game scheduled Thursday against Lower Dauphin at the Falcons turf.
With the postseason starting in a few days, Hershey entered the Monday night contest with an attitude.
“I think we're doubted and there's really no reason to doubt us,” Hershey senior captain Lexi Schultz said.
Despite the rain, the competition was fierce and improved from quarter to quarter. The game showcased the two styles of play. Mechanicsburg utilizes its speed and blasts drives out of the backfield, which liken their accuracy and pace to a line drive in baseball.
The Wildcats embrace three dimensional skills, found in their forwards Libby Olivetti and Carly Valentino.
Hershey’s defense packed the top of the circle, and then each player on the back line would mark a player as their opponents inched closer to scoring position. Hershey’s organization prevented Mechanicsburg’s fast shooters from earning circle entries and helped them offensively when they transitioned out of the circle and turned toward their scoring 25.
Schultz, who had a game-changing defensive save, scored the game-winner in the third.
“I’m feeling great,” she said. “I’m very excited. I don’t score often. I play defense. So, being the one to score, it really means a lot more than that. This is our last regular season game ever.”
Her goal and defensive save helped the Trojans keep the one-point lead. Both the second and fourth quarters ended similarly with no time on the clock and attack penalty corners awarded.
Hershey earned three consecutive corners before they were able to the put the ball away and regroup at halftime.
Mechanicsburg was hoping for their turn to match that opportunity in the fourth. The Wildcats earned a corner as the last play with no time remaining in the game.
While scoring on the corner could have sent the game into overtime, Hershey’s defense was credited with getting the ball out of the circle.
When asked to recall how Schultz felt when she realized the ball didn’t break the goal line on her defensive save, she said she was “confused.”
“I was standing there and then the ball was on my stick…all of a sudden,” she said. “I was like, ‘well, I should probably get this out,’ as one would think. I was surprised at how calm I really was, honestly.”
Mechanicsburg were the first to score nine minutes into the game. The Wildcats had eight shots on goal total, and took a handful during the first goal.
Hershey’s goalie, Kylie Mullen, a senior leader who is hard to shake, saw several different shot options over the course of about 30 seconds. The Wildcats were doing everything right, but Mullen is not a pushover, even when she plays on the ground.
After a few sticks touched the ball, it was Mechanicsburg’s Emma Sandusky who was able to find the lane between Mullen and the cage for her unassisted goal.
The tying goal wasn’t scored until the end of the second quarter. The quarter began with Mechanicsburg piling up unsuccessful penalty corners, and ended with Hershey earning a trio of attack penalty corners.
The first one was awarded at 45 seconds, the next at 9 seconds, and the final with no time on the clock.
“I saw the goalie step in front of the ball,” Hershey senior Lexie Hahn said. “It came between her legs, and I just got my stick in there and did everything I could.”
Larkin Tweet assisted Hahn.
“I feel like tonight, we all came out here and we all really wanted to work together,” Hahn said. “We know Mechanicsburg's a great team. We know they're fast. We know they know what they're doing. They work really well together and we just came out here and this is our last regular season game. I know as seniors we had to talk about it. This is the last game we're guaranteed for the season, so we really just wanted to work together, work for each other, and I feel like that's kind of how our connecting works. We have games where it looks like we're all playing alone, but tonight, I felt like we really connected as a team all over the field.”
Hershey were able to match Mechanicsburg’s no-look passes, cleanly intercept their aerial balls, and back off when the Wildcats used 3-D skills, earning them either the advantage or avoiding committing a turnover foul.
“I think we outplayed them and we played really well tonight,” Mechanicsburg head coach Tonya Brown said. “We just didn’t produce on our corners and we have some minor problems with injuries right now. We have to clean it up before Thursday. The conversation is…when your feet hit the floor, you come here ready to play and we'll learn from it. I mean, they already know that. They're a great bunch of kids that have already listened to what I said. That last corner right there, that was a testament that they take what I say on the field and put it into practice. And it was apparent. It was a close, very close goal.”
Mechanicsburg (Class 3A) and Hershey (Class 2A) will continue their seasons in the 2025 District 3 tournament.
Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Follow us on our social media pages or reach us at femaleathletenews@gmail.com with a story idea.
