Pine-Richland looking for third title in a row
Pine-Richland learned a lot about where the program is and where it needs to be when it lost to District 3 champion Central Dauphin in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals.
“We were 0-0 at halftime, the girls played great and I wish I had changed it up going into the second have and gone offensive and maybe we could have gotten a quick goal,” Pine-Richland coach Donna Stephenson said. “It’s hard because we don’t have that competitive level here, we don’t see it on a regular basis, so I have to wait to that point to do that kind of strategy.”
Despite that disappointment, Pine-Richland still won its second consecutive WPIAL Class 3A field hockey title and its third in the past four seasons. The Rams will also bring back a solid contingent of seven starters from 2020, including senior forward and Louisville commit Rylie Wollerton.
Last season, her first at Pine-Richland after transferring from Virginia, she finished with 33 goals and 10 assists.
“Rylie has been really working on her athleticism in addition to her skills and I think she’s gotten faster,” Stephenson said. “She’s trying to put on muscle and just try to get herself to be more of a collegiate athlete in her last year of high school. Her skills are just so good.”
She’s not the only top player returning for the Rams this season. Senior goalkeeper Sadie Baratka was an honorable mention all- WPIAL selection last year and has a host of returning defenders in front of her.
“She’s very vocal in helping out the players so they know where to be and directing the defensive circle,” Stephenson said. “She’s a huge key for us.”
While Pine-Richland may be the two-time defending champion, there are quite a few teams out there looking to knock the Rams off the top of the mountain.
Peters Township won the title in 2018 and lost in the finals each of the past three years. In addition, Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny both made the playoffs last season, have strong returning contingents and could easily challenge the Rams.
Class 1A
Over the years, there have
been several schools that have challenged for supremacy in the lowest classification, but at the end of the day, the last two standing for a decade have been Shady Side Academy and Ellis School.
And for the past three years, the Bulldogs have won the Class 1A title battle, each time by one goal over the Tigers.
This season, though, Shady Side Academy has a host of players returning, including first- team all -WPIAL goalkeeper junior Thea Conomikes and junior forwards Marnie McCormick and Cecelia Messner and Jenny Woodings.
“We have a strong group pretty much right down the middle that will help build that enthusiasm and build our strength,” Shady Side coach Betsy Gorse said. “That’s a nice place to start, from goalie, to center-back all the way up we’ve got four main, strong players and we’ve got some strong players off to the side.” Shady Side Academy has been able to rotate and intermix its veteran players with youth for years, which is what has made the program a master’s class in stability and consistency and helped the Bulldogs to 11 consecutive finals appearances. . “We’re happy with what we’ve got and we have an unusual divide where we have more freshmen and sophomores than we do upperclassmen,” Gorse said. “There’s a lot of excitement and a lot of energy, I love the excitement we’re getting at practices. We’ll get a few more kids coming out, but the numbers are strong.”
Ellis School will have to deal with a couple of severe losses this season as all-time leading scorer Tegan Poerio is off to Boston University and coach Amanda Rose has stepped down to spend more time with her family. To that end, the Tigers return a smattering of all-WPIAL performers in juniors Ilona Bender, Grayson Honig and Zoe Woon.
That’s a pretty nice cupboard for new coach Abbe Dirling, who moves over from Allderdice to take over one of the top programs in the WPIAL.
Class 2A
Penn-Trafford won the past five consecutive WPIAL Class 2A titles and has to be considered the team to beat despite the fact the team lost three all-WPIAL players to graduation.
Then again, the Warriors know how to rebuild and still have considerable talent on the team with junior midfielder Delaney Lenz and sophomore midfielder Ava Hershberger.
If there is a team that could challenge Penn-Trafford it’s 2020 runner-up Fox Chapel, which will be in its second year in Class 2A after dropping down in 2020. The Foxes have a solid returning group led by all-WPIAL junior forward Anna Drum, senior goalkeeper Mira Tramontina and a pair of topnotch defenders in junior Caroline Bonidy and senior Meghan DeLuca.