Field Hockey

District Three Crowns Connected Cougars Champions

by
Jeff Falk
November 5, 2022

BY JEFF FALK

Editor

HARRISBURG – Where the Palmyra field hockey team’s from there are no I’s, no me’s, no she’s. There are are no individual accomplishments.

Because the only things worth doing, worth having, are achieved through collaboration and support from teammates.

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon at Central Dauphin Middle School’s Landis Field, the Cougars’ team chemistry, team culture and leadership played huge roles in the 2-0 victory over rival Hershey that produced their latest District Three championship. Palmyra jumped on the Trojans early with a Hadley Hoffsmith goal, then used an Avery Russell tally late in the third period to pad its advantage.

With triumph, the Cougars improved to 12-2 in District Three championship games over the last 21 years. The District Three title was Palmyra’s 14th overall.

Now 17-2-2 on the fall, the top-seeded Cougars will open play in the PIAA Class AA postseason event on Tuesday, most likely at home, opposite the fifth-place finisher out of District One. Second-seeded Hershey dipped to 16-3-1 on the year.

During the regular season, Palmyra and Hershey had split their two Mid-Penn Keystone Division encounters, the Cougars winning 6-2 in Palmyra on September 12 and the Trojans prevailing 2-1 in Hershey on September 29.

“The leadership on this team, not only from the captains, but all the seniors, is as good as any team I’ve ever had,” said Palmyra head coach Kent Harshman. “I’m not going to say the best, because I really don’t like comparing teams. But they’re very mature. It’s been a huge part of our success.

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“We’re not going to go back and get into that (how 2021 concluded),” continued Harshman. “But I will tell you we select our captains each year, and everybody who’s coming back gets a vote. During the off-season, the leaders came up with a page-and-a-half on what they wanted to change and how to improve the team culture. That should tell you what kind of leadership we have on this team.”

That leadership also helped Palmyra to another hot start.

Generating eight early corners, the Cougars seemingly spent the entire first quarter in the Hershey circle. One of those corners, a mere 2:05 into the game, produced Hoffsmith’s goal.

After she had inserted the ball from the left, Bowers was able to slide the ball through the Trojan goal mouth. Hoffsmith was where she was supposed to be, stationed on the right post, and she rammed the pass into the cage.

“We were prepared to play,” said Harshman. “That starts with your leadership and how they prepare the team. The start was important and they (his players) were ready to go. One of the things we talk a lot about is ‘we’ve got 60 minutes to play a game at one o’clock’. There are no do-overs. There are no mulligans. In whatever is their way, they’re tuned into that.

“We got after them (the Trojans) in the first quarter, and that was huge,” Hershman continued. “And we stayed on them. Our corner defense was amazing today. I thought we played as well today as we have all year.”

With the Cougars possessing the ball, controlling play in the midfield and limiting the number of Hershey scoring opportunities, the score remained 1-0 for 42 minutes of action.

But with 1:59 left in the third period, Morgan Lantz set up Russell for a little Palmyra insurance. After the play originated from the left side of the field, the persistent Russell really stayed with it to guide the ball past Trojan goalie Kylie Mullen.

“I thought we had a great day,” said Harshman. “The best Class AA teams in District Three are from the Keystone Division of the Mid-Penn Conference. They (the Trojans) won the division, so you know it’s going to be a great game. You’ve got to be prepared to pound and pound on the goal, and make plays. I was incredibly proud of our kids.”

Palmyra out shot Hershey 15-2. The Cougars enjoyed a 12-7 advantage in penalty corners.

Palmyra senior goalie Haleigh Lambert was credited with two saves in the shutout.

“There’s no magic to it,” said Harshman of the Cougars’ record of success in District Three championship games. “When you line up to play great teams, it’s who’s the greatest that day. It’s a credit to all the kids we’ve had over the last 21 years. They know how to prepare and they know what they’re playing for.”

To purchase images in this article please email jeff@lebcosports.com.

2022 Palmyra Field Hockey Results

2022-09-01	A	vs	Central York(3)	W	8-0
2022-09-07	H	vs	Mechanicsburg(3)	W	1-0
2022-09-10	H	vs	Dallastown(3)	W	9-0
2022-09-10	H	vs	Central Dauphin(3)	W	8-0
2022-09-12	H	vs	Hershey(3)	W	6-2
2022-09-15	H	vs	East Pennsboro(3)	W	8-0
2022-09-19	A	vs	Lower Dauphin(3)	T	0-0
2022-09-21	A	vs	Red Land(3)	W	3-1
2022-09-22	H	vs	Manheim Township(3)	W	2-0
2022-09-24	A	vs	Garnet Valley(1)	W	5-0
2022-09-27	A	vs	Mechanicsburg(3)	T	1-1
2022-09-29	A	vs	Hershey(3)	L	1-2
2022-10-03	A	vs	East Pennsboro(3)	W	9-0
2022-10-05	H	vs	Lower Dauphin(3)	L	0-1
2022-10-10	H	vs	Red Land(3)	W	4-0
2022-10-12	H	vs	Warwick(3)	W	5-1
2022-10-14	H	vs	Penn Manor(3)	W	4-2

PIAA District Three Class AA Power Rankings

AA	School	W	L	T	Rating	TWP	OWP	TWPW	OWPW	TWPL	OWPL
1	Palmyra	13-	2-	2	0.770016	0.848315	0.674318	15.10	202.70	2.70	97.90
2	Hershey	13-	2-	1	0.728521	0.849398	0.580783	14.10	163.20	2.50	117.80
3	Susquehannock	16-	0-	0	0.720145	1.000000	0.378101	15.20	106.70	0.00	175.50
4	Mechanicsburg	13-	3-	1	0.701364	0.808140	0.570861	13.90	172.40	3.30	129.60
5	Northern York	15-	2-	1	0.683804	0.847826	0.483333	15.60	159.50	2.80	170.50
6	Twin Valley	11-	7-	0	0.654292	0.641304	0.670165	11.80	210.70	6.60	103.70
7	Manheim Central	13-	4-	1	0.650237	0.774725	0.498086	14.10	156.10	4.10	157.30
8	Ephrata	11-	5-	1	0.614106	0.701087	0.507797	12.90	149.80	5.50	145.20
9	Garden Spot	14-	3-	0	0.612840	0.802326	0.381246	13.80	117.50	3.40	190.70
10	Elizabethtown	11-	6-	1	0.604943	0.654255	0.544671	12.30	170.70	6.50	142.70
11	Conestoga Valley	10-	8-	0	0.598461	0.620690	0.571292	10.80	179.50	6.60	134.70
12	Red Land	10-	7-	1	0.592274	0.591954	0.592664	10.30	184.20	7.10	126.60
13	Lampeter Strasburg	9-	7-	1	0.590601	0.579268	0.604453	9.50	184.60	6.90	120.80
14	New Oxford	8-	5-	3	0.577173	0.629870	0.512764	9.70	140.60	5.70	133.60
15	York Suburban	11-	5-	1	0.573305	0.681250	0.441372	10.90	132.50	5.10	167.70
16	Spring Grove Area	9-	6-	2	0.568558	0.619048	0.506849	10.40	148.00	6.40	144.00
17	Daniel Boone	9-	7-	0	0.566646	0.542169	0.596562	9.00	163.10	7.60	110.30
18	Susquehanna Township	12-	5-	1	0.555926	0.662921	0.425153	11.80	138.60	6.00	187.40
19	Cocalico	10-	7-	1	0.507158	0.563218	0.438639	9.80	144.40	7.60	184.80
20	Shippensburg	10-	8-	0	0.506031	0.557895	0.442643	10.60	147.40	8.40	185.60
21	Conrad Weiser	10-	8-	0	0.500288	0.500000	0.500640	8.40	156.40	8.40	156.00
22	Donegal	7-	11-	0	0.476776	0.397727	0.573392	7.00	183.60	10.60	136.60
23	Greencastle Antrim	8-	10-	0	0.467823	0.428571	0.515796	8.40	160.00	11.20	150.20
24	Middletown	6-	11-	1	0.379196	0.323232	0.447596	6.40	145.20	13.40	179.20
25	Muhlenberg	6-	11-	0	0.369864	0.297619	0.458163	5.00	134.70	11.80	159.30
26	South Western	4-	14-	0	0.368478	0.219512	0.550547	3.60	171.00	12.80	139.60
27	Solanco	4-	13-	1	0.347293	0.242424	0.475466	4.80	153.10	15.00	168.90
28	Gettysburg	3-	14-	0	0.340422	0.193548	0.519935	3.60	159.10	15.00	146.90
29	West York	4-	14-	0	0.328498	0.224490	0.455619	4.40	142.70	15.20	170.50
30	Milton Hershey	2-	14-	1	0.291347	0.122222	0.498054	2.20	153.60	15.80	154.80
31	Dover	1-	16-	0	0.259324	0.067416	0.493878	1.20	145.20	16.60	148.80

History of District Three Class AA Champions

2021: Twin Valley
2020: Palmyra
2019: Palmyra
2018: Donegal
2017: Donegal
2016: Donegal
2015: Donegal
2014: Donegal
2013: Palmyra
2012: Oley Valley
2011: Palmyra
2010: Conrad Weiser
2009: Donegal
2008: Oley Valley
2007: Palmyra
2006: Conrad Weiser
2005: Palmyra
2004: Palmyra
2003: Oley Valley
2002: Palmyra
2001: Palmyra
2000: Oley Valley
1999: Lancaster Mennonite
1998: Oley Valley
1997: Oley Valley
1996: Lancaster Mennonite
1995: Oley Valley
1994: ELCO
1993: Lancaster Mennonite
1992: ELCO
1991: Palmyra
1990: Donegal
1989: Newport
1988: Lancaster Mennonite