Upper Perkiomen, winner of 16 straight, to face Boyertown for conference championship
Jamie Warren learned some important lessons about field hockey at the University of North Carolina. Her coach in her freshman season at UNC, first-year coach Karen Shelton, stressed a certain part of the game, leaving an impression on the then-18-year-old Warren.
“I was in [Shelton’s] first class,” Warren said. “She ran us to death. She said that defense wins championships. I’m sticking with that.”
Shelton has done OK for herself at North Carolina, winning nine national championships — the last three in a row — while becoming NCAA Division I’s all-time leader in wins. UNC has even named its field hockey venue Karen Shelton Stadium.
Warren has done some winning too. She has won 15 division titles and three overall Pioneer Athletic titles in her 15 seasons as coach at Upper Perkiomen. The Tribe defeated Perkiomen Valley 3-2 in the PAC-10 semifinals Tuesday night. Upper Perk will play Boyertown in Thursday’s championship.
Upper Perk has won 16 straight since an 0-1-1 start. In addition to going through its Frontier Division schedule unbeaten, the Tribe picked up a significant win Saturday when it beat Twin Valley, one of the top 2A schools in the state, 2-1. For context, Twin Valley defeated Parkland a week earlier 7-0.
Hence, Upper Perk is now No. 3 in the area’s rankings heading into league and conference championship week.
“I think that they’re unified,” Warren said of her players. “They want to play together, but that’s typically been a quality. This is the most club players that I’ve ever had. They have outside experience [club teams]. They just want to work together. They remind me of my 2013 [state tournament] team. They’re just coming together.”
Upper Perk has a group of seniors that has grown into leadership roles. Warren has played them all in the midfield and defensive areas, knowing that Shelton would approve of the emphasis on defense.
Warren has a top-notch goalkeeper in Lynnsi Joyce. Other seniors who anchor the team, both on and off the field, include center back Takoda Wells, center half Luci Carpenter and outside mid Kylene Gooch.
“We’ve developed this team over the last four years,” Warren said.
The win over Twin Valley, previously ranked No. 10 in Pennsylvania by max Field Hokey, opened some eyes around the state. Upper Perk had an honorable mention in the state rankings and is now seeded No. 2 in the District 1 Class 2A rankings behind Villa Maria.
The Tribe has a youthful offense with Jess Traynor and her twin freshman sisters Jade and Julia.
“We’ve developed this team for a number of seasons,” Warren said. “I would also say that versatility is another strength. I feel confident putting players at two positions. We have overcome injuries and other issues.”
EPC playoffs
Easton lost two of its first four games this season and three of its last seven in the regular season, so Red Rovers coach Casey Eck learned to expect the unexpected from her team over the course of the season.
She got what she expected Tuesday night in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference semifinals: a 2-0 win over Nazareth, a team that beat Easton at the end of the regular season last week.
Easton (13-5) will face top-seeded Emmaus (20-0) in the championship at 7 p.m. Thursday at Whitehall.
Jocelyn Morgan scored in the first half and Gia Ambrosino scored in the second half to help the Rovers gain revenge on their rivals from the previous week’s loss. Eck believed that Easton had the better of play last week and left the field with a feeling of emptiness.
“[Tuesday’s win] was important to use because we lost to them last week,” she said. “Nazareth’s defense was amazing. For my kids, we knew we were the better team, but it stinks when you walk away and don’t get the win.”
Sophie Emin set the school’s assist record In a quarterfinal win over Stroudsburg. Her assist Tuesday night gives her 59 for her career. As far as the team’s occasional losses, Eck said that she hopes that the team continues to improve regardless of the wins and losses as she approaches her team’s third game vs. Emmaus this season.
“I hope that we’re gaining momentum, but honestly we’re taking one game at a time,” she said. “But they’re teenage kids, and sometimes they’re feeling it and sometimes they’re not. I hope we can be consistent from one game to the next.”
Colonial League
Unbeaten Southern Lehigh and Moravian Academy earned the top seeds in the Colonial League tournament. Southern Lehigh will play upstart Palisades, which knocked off Wilson in the first round. Moravian Academy will play Palmerton, another upstart team in today’s semifinals at Catasauqua.
District 11 seeds
League championships may alter the order because league champs get top seeds, but entering this week, here are the top four seeds in the District 11 tournaments, which begin next week:
Class 3A: Emmaus, Nazareth, Parkland, Easton
Class 2A: Southern Lehigh, Pocono Mountain East, Bangor, Lehighton
Class A: Moravian Academy, Palmerton, Wilson, Palisades
Milestones
Emmaus’ Sue Butz-Stavin, who earned her 1,000th career win Oct. 5 vs. East Stroudsburg North, is not the only person to reach a milestone this season. Easton coach Casey Eck and Liberty coach Jill Dorn both reached 200 career wins and Emmaus junior Rachel Herbine, who committed to the University of Iowa in August, reached 100 career goals.