Palmyra field hockey’s Bree Aughenbaugh on 5-0 win against Warwick: “We didn’t expect a shutout”
The Palmyra Cougars earned another gold in their high school field hockey program’s history.
The Palmyra Cougars knew they could win, knew they wanted to win, but they didn’t know they were going to win and shutout Warwick field hockey.
That’s according to seniors Bree Aughenbaugh, AJ Walker, and Jovie Weaver.
“We knew we were ready to win,” said Weaver, who scored the fifth goal. “We knew we were gonna just play our best and whoop them if we could.”
Palmyra and Warwick were the second of three 2025 District 3 high school field hockey championship games being played in Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park in Mechanicsburg on Saturday. The Cougars and Warriors, respectively, play in Class 2A.
The final score was 5-0 Palmyra. Warwick were the reigning champions.
The Warriors have had a target placed on them all season. They are sharp team, but paired against the Cougars — 2025 edition — they were shut down all throughout the field.
“I don't think we were expecting a shutout, but we had a lot of good communication throughout the field and just trusted each other the whole time,” Aughenbaugh said. “So I think that brought us a long way in this game.”
Walker was the first to put Palmyra on the board. The Cougars earned two goals on corners in the first quarter, with Walker’s coming first. The second goal was a tip high enough up and over Warwick’s keeper by Allie Fink and assisted by Leigha Kane.
From there, the Cougars scored one goal in every subsequent quarter.
The Warriors are going to “bounce back” and “reset,” Warwick head coach Ron Stief said. He said from Walker’s first goal and heading into halftime, the Warriors struggled to find their game.
“We knew that throughout this game there was going to be some things that would not go our way,” he said.
He added they didn’t expect for the game to go that much in favor of Palmyra.
“We didn't enjoy it, but I don't know that we were, like, knocked back on our feet because we knew we'd have to play through some adversity at some time,” Stief said. “I was hoping it wouldn't be the entire first half, but, you know, that's what it is.”
The “strong first half” helped Palmyra’s already galvanized team enjoy playing with each other even more, Walker said.
“Putting up those first two goals definitely helped us with our momentum throughout the game,” she said.
The third goal was scored by Madi Gingrich assisted by Madelynn Witt; the fourth goal scored by Witt and assisted by Fink; and, then Weaver alone turned off her back foot for the fifth and final goal.
The game flow was there from the start, Palmyra head coach Kent Harshman said.
“There was no panic all day,” he said. “Our kids played really, really well. And, I have nothing but praise for them. It’s just a monster effort in the most important game to date of the year.”
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