Lower Dauphin field hockey take Game 2 against Cumberland Valley: Falcons 5, Eagles 3
Lower Dauphin defeated Cumberland Valley 5-3 in a come from behind win. Photos: Bob Benscoter
Despite a temporary delay of game due to a bat dropping from the sky onto Cumberland Valley’s Eagle View Stadium turf Tuesday evening, Lower Dauphin field hockey emerged victorious with a 5-3 win.
Lower Dauphin's duo of Chase Strohm and Lily Rost were instrumental in securing the win, particularly with two attack penalty corner goals in the final minutes of the game. The Falcons, now 7-1-1, came from behind after Cumberland Valley, 8-3-1, started with the lead.
“This game was very uplifting,” Strohm said. “Everybody was very happy to be here, excited to have a second chance after we tied the first time. Yeah, this was a great win. Great team win. Our energy on the sideline was amazing. It was boosting us up on the field. The energy on the field was really good. We didn't hang our heads when we got scored on. We went right back down and we scored again.”
Both teams are strong contenders in Pennsylvania’s District 3 Class 3A and the Mid-Penn Conference. The first time they met, the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
The first half saw an early goal from the Eagles’ Gigi Ott scoring on a corner play, assisted by Lexi Hunter. Lower Dauphin's Nova Mayer, assisted by Strohm, helped the Falcons catch up with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter to tie the game 1-1.
The Falcons started to find their speed after the first quarter, which gave them an edge over the Eagles. A “do not enter” sign was not visible, but it was easy to assess when dealing with Lauren Savage.
Cumberland Valley's center back displayed incredible composure under pressure. Multiple times, when Rost's speed was a factor, it became a direct contest between Savage and Rost or Strohm. Rost took several shots from just inside the corner off near post, but they consistently went wide left.
In one-on-one situations, Savage truly lived up to her name. She excelled at stopping, receiving, scanning the field, positioning the ball, and executing outlet passes, frequently to the right side.
The field was filled with immense talent on both sides. But, the second half saw Rost and Strohm take over. Their connection on the field was undeniable.
Lower Dauphin scored the third goal of the game in the third quarter. Rost and Strohm broke the stalemate, increasing the Falcons' lead to 2-1 with a play that involved passing, running, moving, quick decision-making, and a score.
The Falcons' game flow and ball speed significantly increased after the third goal. The goal was quickly followed by another one from Ella Pollock, assisted by Ella Rogers.
“We are blessed with speed,” Lower Dauphin head coach Erin Catalfano said. “And we did have a good core group of our athletes come in in preseason in August in shape, ready to go. So speed and endurance and stamina is all there for a solid four of them. Now our backs are finding those gaps that they can utilize that to our advantage. Took us half the season, but they're finding it now. On corners, Chase hammered them in, too. It’s something we work on in practice is finding the corners, finding the sideboards and making sure, you know, we're not building up a goalkeeper's stats by shooting straight at them. Make them work for it if they're going to get the stats.”
At the start of the fourth quarter, Cumberland Valley clearly used their two-minute break to motivate themselves. The Eagles quickly established their attack within the 25, earning three corners within the first 8 minutes, calling a timeout, and executing a creative play with a pass, lift, and shot on goal to bring them within tying distance.
The score was 3-2, with Marissa Muza scoring the goal and Savage providing the assist.
A bat briefly interrupted the game, but it didn't dampen the competitive spirit. Both teams intensified their play after the field was cleared.
The Eagles were 43 percent on attack penalty corners — even though Lower Dauphin had doubled their attack penalty corner stat throughout the 60 minutes. CV scored one more with 90 seconds remaining in the game.
Savage finished the play and was assisted by Muza.
Strohm and Rost ended the game in the final two minutes, connecting from the top of the circle with two direct shots on attack penalty corners, making the final score 5-3 in favor of Lower Dauphin.
“They switched us up this game,” Strohm said. “I was playing a forward with Lily, which was super fun because we always have like great plays off of each other. Like, if I'm running through, Lily will send it. She'll stay in the play. She'll go into the center, and I'll send it into her. Like, we always just have really good, like, give-and-go plays with each other.”
Having Strohm on the same line allows Rost to enjoy the ride, too, she said.
“Yes, and having her on the same line as me allows her to get up from me easier because, obviously, if she's on the midfield line, she's normally the one giving it to me,” Rost said. “But, having her be able to do both of those is really helpful.”
The goals were scored within a minute of each other. The final goal was scored with less than a minute remaining.
“They played a full game, and I don’t know that we put together a full, consistent game,” Cumberland Valley head coach Ashley Hooper said. “We didn't give up or anything like that. It was a matter of, they played intense the entire way through, and I think we had lack in our intensity, especially in the second and third quarter there.”
She added, “I think every team, everyone gets better throughout the season. So, as we go through the second half of the schedule, we anticipate them getting better, and hopefully we have gotten better, too.”
Cumberland Valley is at Carlisle High School today. Lower Dauphin plays at Cedar Cliff on Sept. 30.
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