Senior star nets winner for Moon
Tigers defend crown with brilliant goal from Snyder, stingy defense
HERSHEY, Pa. — Delaney Snyder couldn’t have picked a better way to finish her high school career.
Snyder, a Moon senior forward, went through almost the entire Villa Joseph Marie (22-2-1) defense for an unassisted goal at 31:50 of the first half that accounted for all the scoring as Moon (26-0) defeated the District 1 champion Jems, 1-0, and defended its PIAAClass 3A championship.
“Oh my God, that was insane,” Snyder said. “I thought I couldn’t do it, I had so many girls around me and I give them credit, they’re a great defense and a great team, but it just came from inside, the will to win, and I did it.”
That move through the Villa Joseph Marie defense didn’t begin on the pitch at Hersheypark Stadium but a year ago on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after the Tigers defeated the Jems, 2-1, in the championship.
“We started talking about this last year on the bus home,” Moon coach Bill Pfeifer said.
Moon is the fifth team to win back-to-back PIAA Class 3A championships. It is the third title for the Tigers, who alsowon one in 2012.
Villa Joseph Marie, which has more finals appearances (15) than any other school in the state, dropped to 7-8 all time in PIAA championships. But the Tigers playing the Jems in consecutive years certainly helped with their preparation.
“It made it a lot easier because we were able to see film, read articles, get stats and I reached out to a couple of coaches out here for information,” Pfeifer said. “To see them last year, we knew a lot of their players and their tendencies.”
It also meant that Villa Joseph Marie should have had a pretty good book on Moonand several chapters devoted to stopping Snyder. The problem is, most teams have had that book and haven’t beenable to decipher the text.
With the goal against the Jems, Snyder finished the season with 56. Capping her senior season with the winning goal in the PIAA championship was a fitting exit as she prepares to head to off to Miami University in Ohio.
“It’s a great ending of my chapter in high school,” Snyder said. “I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Snyder leaves a team with consecutive state championships and riding a 43-game winning streak. It depends on whom you ask as to which achievement is more impressive.
“I think it’s the 43 in a row, though it’s hard to say, but the 43 in a row, we didn’t skip anybody,” Pfeifer said. “That’s playoffs, WPIAL playoffs, state playoffs and includes six 4A teams that made the playoffs, so it’s not like we went and played a bunch of cream puffs.”