BY JEFF FALK
Editor
MYERSTOWN – It’s not that they haven’t grown.
It’s not that they haven’t improved.
It’s not that they haven’t come together as a unit.
It’s more like the Elco field hockey season has just happened, simply unfolded. In one sort of generic way, the Raiders are realizing their destiny.
On a nippy Saturday morning on the brand-new turf of Elco Stadium, the Raiders continued their apparent late-season surge with a 2-1 triumph over Solanco. Elco netted a goal in each of the first-half periods, then did enough good things in the second 30 minutes of action to make its 2-0 lead stand up.
The victory pushed Elco to 9-6-1 on the fall. Not bad for a Raider squad that opened the campaign with four straight losses.
A perennial contender for the postseason, the Raiders were positioned 13th in the latest District Three power rankings, for an A classification which takes 16 teams for its playoffs.
With the setback, Solanco slipped to 3-12-1 overall. Back on September 23rd in Quarryville, the Mules dropped a 1-0 decision to visiting Elco.
“We started 0-4, but we played some hard teams,” said Elco head coach Kelsey Thorley. “We’re playing a stronger schedule this year. We kind of found ourselves and found what we needed to do to win. I feel like the section (Three of the Lancaster-Lebanon League) is very competitive. But our losses weren’t bad losses.
“I’d say we’re growing and maturing,” said Thorley. “I honestly think it’s maturity and learning how to handle a game. I wouldn’t say that their (her players’) skills haven’t improved, they’ve just learned how to apply them better in games.”
The Raiders didn’t generate a bunch of scoring opportunities. But when they did, they were opportunistic.
Some 11:20 into the contest, forward Leah Bradnick converted Elco’s initial shot on goal. From the right side of the circle, Bradnick beat Solanco netminder Caitlin Bennethhum to a loose ball and banged it by her and into the cage.
“We talk about finishing,” said Thorley. “We talk about having chances to score, about making plays and making things happen. We put ourselves where we needed to be to get those loose balls.
“We’ve been holding our own offensively,” added Thorley. “Addie Weiler has been leading us in goals, and she’s a freshman. With our youth mixed in, we haven’t played the same lineup in any game. We have to have the mindset that our mids are shooters and that our forwards are finishers.”
With 3:41 left before halftime, the Raiders added what would prove to be some very important insurance. From a similar spot in the circle, forward Megan Hauck accepted an Ayla Zwally feed, before wristing a ball to the far corner of the net.
“I thought we played OK,” said Thorley. “We talked about how this was going to have to be a gritty win. We’re very young and we’re learning through experience. I think we’re growing each game.”
“I thought we played well,” said Solanco head coach Whitney Hawkins. “We were moving well. I thought from the middle of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter, we played more aggressive.”
Elco’s 2-0 lead held up for nearly 30 minutes, until Solanco’s Sadie Cook broke Aeryn Marks’ shutout bid, with 4:49 remaining. A long ball was played off of Marks’ pads, and Cook was there to deposit the rebound.
“We’ve been talking about not playing not to lose, and playing to win,” said Thorley. “We’ve also been talking about having the goals we give up being hard-earned. We try to make sure our goals aren’t mental breakdowns. When we have a lead, we want to continue to push offensively and not fall off on defense.”
In the final tally, Elco out shot Solanco 9-5.
“We could still get second in the section and make the league playoffs,” said Thorley. “Honestly, I think we’re game-to-game. I think when you look too far out you lose sight of what’s important, and that’s the game in front of you.”
To purchase images in this article please email jeff@lebcosports.com.
2022 Elco Field Hockey Results
2022-08-29 | A | vs | Northern York(3) | L | 0-8 |
2022-08-31 | H | vs | Manheim Central(3) | L | 0-4 |
2022-09-07 | A | vs | Conrad Weiser(3) | L | 2-3 |
2022-09-09 | A | vs | Annville-Cleona(3) | L | 1-4 |
2022-09-10 | N | vs | Daniel Boone(3) | W | 3-2 |
2022-09-10 | A | vs | Muhlenberg(3) | W | 1-0 |
2022-09-13 | A | vs | Northern Lebanon(3) | W | 3-1 |
2022-09-15 | A | vs | Lancaster Catholic(3) | W | 2-0 |
2022-09-19 | H | vs | Cocalico(3) | L | 0-3 |
2022-09-21 | H | vs | Octorara(3) | W | 6-0 |
2022-09-23 | A | vs | Solanco(3) | W | 1-0 |
2022-09-27 | A | vs | Lebanon(3) | W | 3-0 |
2022-09-29 | H | vs | Garden Spot(3) | L | 0-2 |
2022-10-03 | A | vs | Cocalico(3) | T | 0-0 |
2022-10-05 | A | vs | Octorara(3) | W | 4-3 |
2022-10-08 | H | vs | Solanco(3) | W | 2-1 |
2022-10-11 | H | vs | Lebanon(3) | 0-0 | |
2022-10-13 | A | vs | Garden Spot(3) | 0-0 |
PIAA District Three Class A Power Rankings
A | School | W | L | T | Rating | TWP | OWP | TWPW | OWPW | TWPL | OWPL |
1 | Oley Valley | 12- | 1- | 1 | 0.787343 | 0.916667 | 0.629281 | 13.20 | 147.00 | 1.20 | 86.60 |
2 | Boiling Springs | 13- | 0- | 0 | 0.761075 | 1.000000 | 0.469055 | 12.00 | 115.20 | 0.00 | 130.40 |
3 | Greenwood | 12- | 2- | 0 | 0.686206 | 0.806452 | 0.539239 | 10.00 | 133.30 | 2.40 | 113.90 |
4 | Berks Catholic | 15- | 2- | 0 | 0.685454 | 0.884615 | 0.442034 | 13.80 | 118.20 | 1.80 | 149.20 |
5 | West Perry | 12- | 3- | 0 | 0.672623 | 0.810127 | 0.504563 | 12.80 | 132.70 | 3.00 | 130.30 |
6 | Bishop McDevitt (3) | 11- | 2- | 0 | 0.638963 | 0.813559 | 0.425568 | 9.60 | 101.20 | 2.20 | 136.60 |
7 | Newport | 12- | 3- | 0 | 0.628806 | 0.768116 | 0.458539 | 10.60 | 111.70 | 3.20 | 131.90 |
8 | Annville-Cleona | 12- | 4- | 0 | 0.588849 | 0.708861 | 0.442167 | 11.20 | 120.80 | 4.60 | 152.40 |
9 | Lancaster Mennonite | 11- | 4- | 1 | 0.547756 | 0.666667 | 0.402421 | 10.40 | 109.70 | 5.20 | 162.90 |
10 | Littlestown | 9- | 4- | 0 | 0.533929 | 0.616667 | 0.432805 | 7.40 | 103.70 | 4.60 | 135.90 |
11 | Wyomissing | 12- | 4- | 0 | 0.529943 | 0.705128 | 0.315828 | 11.00 | 86.60 | 4.60 | 187.60 |
12 | Kennard Dale | 8- | 5- | 0 | 0.517797 | 0.603175 | 0.413447 | 7.60 | 107.00 | 5.00 | 151.80 |
13 | Eastern Lebanon County | 9- | 6- | 1 | 0.509356 | 0.570513 | 0.434610 | 8.90 | 120.30 | 6.70 | 156.50 |
14 | Susquenita | 9- | 6- | 0 | 0.505020 | 0.532468 | 0.471474 | 8.20 | 119.00 | 7.20 | 133.40 |
15 | Schuylkill Valley | 7- | 5- | 2 | 0.492610 | 0.523077 | 0.455372 | 6.80 | 110.20 | 6.20 | 131.80 |
16 | Biglerville | 10- | 6- | 1 | 0.491188 | 0.556962 | 0.410798 | 8.80 | 105.00 | 7.00 | 150.60 |
17 | Forbes Road | 3- | 1- | 0 | 0.486369 | 0.666667 | 0.266004 | 2.40 | 24.10 | 1.20 | 66.50 |
18 | Fleetwood | 5- | 8- | 1 | 0.457869 | 0.397059 | 0.532192 | 5.40 | 130.60 | 8.20 | 114.80 |
19 | Bermudian Springs | 8- | 7- | 1 | 0.457314 | 0.459459 | 0.454691 | 6.80 | 113.40 | 8.00 | 136.00 |
20 | Lancaster Country Day School | 9- | 7- | 0 | 0.456068 | 0.512821 | 0.386705 | 8.00 | 108.20 | 7.60 | 171.60 |
21 | Camp Hill | 5- | 6- | 0 | 0.422967 | 0.418182 | 0.428815 | 4.60 | 100.60 | 6.40 | 134.00 |
22 | East Pennsboro | 3- | 13- | 0 | 0.409949 | 0.177215 | 0.694401 | 2.80 | 176.10 | 13.00 | 77.50 |
23 | Eastern York | 4- | 8- | 1 | 0.391566 | 0.355072 | 0.436170 | 4.90 | 110.70 | 8.90 | 143.10 |
24 | Octorara | 5- | 9- | 1 | 0.391019 | 0.350000 | 0.441153 | 5.60 | 110.20 | 10.40 | 139.60 |
25 | Big Spring | 2- | 9- | 1 | 0.367248 | 0.204918 | 0.565652 | 2.50 | 130.10 | 9.70 | 99.90 |
26 | Hanover (3) | 6- | 9- | 0 | 0.356470 | 0.320513 | 0.400417 | 5.00 | 96.10 | 10.60 | 143.90 |
27 | Delone Catholic | 5- | 8- | 0 | 0.346481 | 0.328571 | 0.368370 | 4.60 | 76.40 | 9.40 | 131.00 |
28 | Brandywine Heights | 6- | 10- | 0 | 0.337179 | 0.309524 | 0.370980 | 5.20 | 101.50 | 11.60 | 172.10 |
29 | Hamburg | 4- | 10- | 0 | 0.319640 | 0.253521 | 0.400452 | 3.60 | 106.20 | 10.60 | 159.00 |
30 | Northern Lebanon | 2- | 9- | 1 | 0.307799 | 0.161290 | 0.486866 | 2.00 | 107.50 | 10.40 | 113.30 |
31 | Tulpehocken | 3- | 12- | 1 | 0.286309 | 0.183908 | 0.411466 | 3.20 | 113.40 | 14.20 | 162.20 |
32 | Kutztown | 2- | 12- | 1 | 0.254716 | 0.142857 | 0.391433 | 2.40 | 106.00 | 14.40 | 164.80 |
33 | Fairfield | 1- | 10- | 1 | 0.244585 | 0.130435 | 0.384103 | 1.80 | 74.90 | 12.00 | 120.10 |
34 | Lancaster Catholic | 0- | 15- | 0 | 0.236547 | 0.000000 | 0.525660 | 0.00 | 139.30 | 16.60 | 125.70 |
35 | Southern Huntingdon County Senior | 1- | 5- | 0 | 0.194787 | 0.117647 | 0.289070 | 0.80 | 32.00 | 6.00 | 78.70 |
Buzgon Davis
Kind Hearted Pet Resort
TJT Sports
ProSeal
Penn Realty
Ask4Noah.com
Recent Posts
- All-Lebanon County Football Team Selections: 2024 Season
- LebCo Female Athlete of the Week: Mallory Hudson (Week Ending November 10, 2024)
- Youth Football Weekly Round-Up: November 15, 2024
- Field Hockey: Goal Called off in Palmyra’s Loss; Opportunity for Warwick to Honor Late Coach
- LebCo Male Athlete of the Week: Jack Waranavage (Week Ending November 3, 2024)
Archives
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- July 2021
- October 2020