Boiling Springs field hockey edges Susquenita 3-2 in OT semifinal thriller, continuing ‘comeback’ season
The Boiling Springs Bubblers beat Susquenita in the District 3 Class 1A field hockey semifinal Wednesday night.
The first quarter of the 2025 District 3 Class 1A semifinal between host Susquenita field hockey and guest Boiling Springs foreshadowed how the rest of the game was going to go.
And, it went…into double overtime and one round of shootouts.
The final score Wednesday was 3-2 Boiling Springs. The Bubblers, the No. 4 seed, came from behind in the fourth quarter to upset the Black Hawks, the No. 1 seed in the bracket.
“Very exciting,” said senior Lexi Boyle, who scored the final goal of the 90-minute night. “We were down and we came back as a whole and as a team. And it's comeback season, so let's go. Woo.”
Not only did the two teams force each other to continually level up throughout the contest, but they also went down to the very last Bubbler shooter to determine the winner.
Once the second 10-minute overtime period had ended, both teams huddled to pick their five athletes each that would face-off with the other team’s goalie. Along the Bubbler’s sideline was freshman goalie Olivia Wickard, who was pacing and talking to herself.
That self talk and belief in her team helped her while she was defending the Bubblers cage, she said.
“I thought we did really well and we really worked hard for it,” Wickard said. “And we worked together as a team. I had great confidence in us that we could do it. We had a great attitude the entire time and we didn’t let the score get to us.”
Wickard faced 12 shots on cage overall, nine attack penalty corners, and recorded six saves on the game. And, then, allowed one goal during shootouts.
“I think it was very exciting,” Boiling Springs sophomore Kendall Longenberger said. “Going into the fourth quarter down 2-0, it was very exciting. This is our comeback season. Come on, let’s go.”
From the start, the Black Hawks set the tone. They were quick on transitions and forced Boiling Springs to make mistakes that led to their possession advantage. Susquenita’s transitions and outlet passes had purpose, and defensively, the back line was organized and talented under pressure.
The very polished Black Hawks were the first team to have a circle entry in the first quarter.
It took them over half the quarter before they could blast a ball into the circle and earn an attack penalty corner.
Longenberger, the Bubblers’ defensive fly, was able to thwart offensive corners all night long. Her speed out of the cage and stick position were accurate to stop several Hawk shots from the top, including the very first one of the game, which is often the test shot to see how the goalie and defense respond to powerful rips.
Nearly three minutes later, Boiling Springs were able to finally get around Susquenita’s unbreakable back line to earn their first attack penalty corner.
Sarah Clouser, a sophomore, was fierce in cage for the Hawks. It took a minute for Boiling Springs to up their offense, and once they did, they pressured Clouser multiple times.
She faced 17 attack penalty corners, nine shots on goal, and recorded seven saves.
Susquenita were able to break the silence with their first goal in the second quarter. It was a passing sequence that moved the ball around Wickard. The final pass was Izabella Bitting to Sydney Hetrick, who found the cage nearing the end of the second.
Under three minutes into the third quarter, Susquenita again powered up their attack and scored on another field goal. This time it was the duo of Leah Conroy (assist) to Brinleigh Richards.
With a 2-0 score at the end of the third, Boiling Springs earned back-to-back corners that burned the clock down to zeros. The Bubblers couldn’t convert.
As frustration turned into improved performance, Boiling Springs was one player down for two minutes after a green card for tripping a Hawk. That happened within the first 90 seconds of the fourth.
Despite that set back, the Bubblers ran into the circle for a field goal with 12:47 remaining in the game. Avery Doyle got Boiling Springs on the board to cut the deficit to 2-1 Susquenita.
Susquenita responded offensively earning three corners spread out over three minutes.
Defensively, Richards had a smashing performance, crushing balls out of the back field and executing clean, low block tackles that kept the Bubblers from finding the equalizer.
In the final minutes — at 3:08 left — Makayla LaBuda slipped by the Hawks’ backs and was able to tie the game at 2-2.
Neither team backed down in the two overtime periods. Both earned yellow cards and had to play one athlete down for five minutes, but neither team could score.
Five shooters were selected for shootouts and each team took their turn. The Bubblers scored in the 1vs1 situation three times, with Boyle being the last goal scored in the fifth round.
The Hawks scored in the fourth round. The overall shootout counts as one score, and it ended the District 3 battle with a 3-2 upset favoring Boiling Springs.
The No. 4 seed with face the No. 3 seed Oley Valley at Mechanicsburg Saturday in the 2025 District 3 Class 1A championship game.
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