Mechanicsburg field hockey sets single-season wins record in PIAA 2A 1st-round win over Archbishop Carroll

Every once in a while, the opportunity to showcase her craft in live game action presents itself. With three minutes left in the first quarter during the Wildcats’ PIAA Class 2A first-round matchup against Archbishop Carroll Tuesday, Sydney Aylward stopped an Alana Shimp insert on a corner and teed Manning up with a good look at the cage. Manning obliged and rainbowed her shot over a host of players to bump an early Mechanicsburg lead to two goals.

The high-arching goal was one of two scores from the Wildcat senior forward, as Mechanicsburg bounced the host Patriots 5-1 at Cardinal O’Hara High School, setting a program single-season wins record (18).

“I really like high shots,” Manning said. “I practice them a lot, but it works because there’s a bunch of other people on this team that are really good at low shots. So, we each have our own specialties.”

Lauren Mark set the stone for the Wildcats (18-4-1) three minutes after the opening touch. Aylward, on the left side of the shooting circle, sent a cross to Mark, who buried her shot from the right post.

“We were super excited to come here, and we decided we were going to start off strong, and that’s what we did,” Mark said.

The momentum from the two early goals snowballed, as the Wildcats kept the pace in the second quarter. Shimp widened the Mechanicsburg lead at the 7:17 mark after receiving a feed from Cam Standish down in the low post.

Meanwhile, the Mechanicsburg back line had the Patriot attack under wraps. Archbishop Carroll (14-8) drew two corners in the first half and mustered a lone shot on goal. The Patriots pushed the Wildcats with physical play but failed to match the speed and stickwork of the visitors.

“It’s an expectation of ours, and we talk about it a lot,” Mechanicsburg head coach Tonya Brown said of the early lead. “It just makes you play within your comfort zone and then there isn’t as much stress on your back. That goal by Lauren was perfect.”

Manning dilated the Mechanicsburg advantage to four just 47 seconds into the third quarter. Dribbling the ball down the field on the second-half pass back, Gracyn Catalano dumped a pass to Manning, who pocketed her shot from point-blank range. Catalano reciprocated at the seven-minute mark, punching in an assist from Standish.

“We are definitely, as the season goes on, we get much, much better,” Manning said. “And we saw it again this year. We’ve been playing for like three months now, so we’re all really in tune, and just as we get further and further into the postseason, we just continue to click and have fun with each other.”

Archbishop Carroll scored its goal with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Mechanicsburg goalkeeper Lexi Brady absorbed an initial Patriot shot, and Cate McConaghy collected the rebounded save to end the Wildcat shutout bid.

Brady made six stops in goal for the ‘Cats while Arianna Hall stopped three of Mechanicsburg’s eight shot attempts.

“I think the past few games, we started to connect and we started to play better than ever before,” Mark said. “I think we’re ready for the rest of the season.”

The Wildcats advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals opposite Crestwood, a 3-1 winner over West Chester East, at a time and site to be determined.

“There really isn’t anything that surprises me about this group,” Brown said. “I truly do believe that they’re one of the best in the state and that they can play anybody in the state. And we just need to take the next game … and just prepare and get ready for that game and just keep playing for the next game, because they’re seniors. So, when you tell them they have three games left, they have something to play for.”

Elsewhere in 2A

Northern 1, Pocono Mt. East 0: Maura Simpson’s goal lifted the Polar Bears to a 1-0 road victory Tuesday over Pocono Mt. East. Gwen Baublitz netted three saves in goal and Hanna Thomas added a defensive save.