Palmyra field hockey rallies in 5-3 win against Northern York

Palmyra’s Leigha Kane carries the ball out of the backfield while under pressure from Northern’s MJ Simpson. Photo: Bob Benscoter

Maddie Stahl and Lauryn Hose may not formally spend time together, but they did at Northern York Tuesday evening, where Stahl and Hose had conflicting missions.

Stahl, and her Palmyra teammates, were applying as much pressure as possible to Hose for 60 minutes. The Northern senior goalie, however, wasn’t feeling like giving the Cougars what they wanted.

She gave up five goals, but also blocked 17. And, the Palmyra sophomore, Stahl, who scored a goal and had two assists, said her team is sending the message that they are only getting warmed up.

Palmyra is 2-0 to start the 2025 Pennsylvania high school season. And, Northern York is 3-1.

Even though Hose’s shutout streak effectively ended Tuesday, she said she thinks it’s better to get in a few hard tests now before the Polar Bears are deep, into the season and unprepared.

The Polar Bears recently put away 32 goals in two games prior to Tuesday’s home contest.

“I mean, it felt good to be under that pressure because I feel like the last couple games we haven't had that,” Hose said. “But then our team really pulled together and it felt like we did good today. And, I don't know, I just feel like we got to prepare for the next one.”

Northern scored first with a penalty corner goal from Courtney Heltzel in the first quarter.

However, Stahl quickly responded, tying the game at 1-1 with a skillful shot on Palmyra's fifth corner.

In the second quarter, Palmyra earned six corners, scoring on one where Stahl assisted Leigha Kane's tip-in.

Stahl said the team's improved "pre-scanning" and "cutting through pockets" compared to their 2-1 win against Mechanicsburg, showed their ability to avoid forcing ball movement.

Palmyra is "having a lot of fun" and using "a lot of grit," Stahl said.

Northern remained competitive throughout the game until the final seconds.

Addie Barger and Jovie Weaver scored in the third quarter for Palmyra, bringing the score to 4-1.

Hose welcomed the challenge from Weaver's 1v1 shot, adding that such competition prepares Northern for facing tough teams in the postseason.

Later in the third quarter, Heltzel scored again for Northern, narrowing the deficit to 4-2. Palmyra immediately countered, nearly scoring as a shot ricocheted off the far post.

In the fourth quarter, Keairah Dykes executed speed down the right side for a circle entry and pass to Maria Puccino, whose goal brought Northern to needing only an equalizer, as the score stood at 4-3.

Palmyra fired back again with 4:25 on the clock. Stahl ran to baseline and passed to Ella Detweiler who was able to find the cage giving the Cougars back their edge.

The final score was 5-3.

Both coaches - Amelia Martire (Northern) and Kent Harshman (Palmyra) - said that their respective team has work to do but that the game gave them insights into how they can improve going forward.

“I think we’re playing with a lot of grit, like, never giving up, even if we're going down one goal, like we did in the beginning of this game, we’re always working hard at it,” Stahl said.

Northern

Goals: Heltzel, 2; Puccino

Assists: MJ Simpson, Dykes

Palmyra

Goals: Stahl, Kane, Barger, Weaver, Detweiler

Assists: Barger, Stahl, 2; AJ Walker, Allie Fink

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