KINGSTON – Officially, Crestwood and Dallas decided the District 2/4 Class 2A subregional field hockey title Monday night.
The unofficial Wyoming Valley Conference title was also on the line between the teams that won the two division titles in playoffs.
Crestwood put on a show worthy of a Division 1 champion, holding Dallas without a shot or penalty corner on the way to a 2-0 victory at Spartan Stadium.
The district title was the sixth straight for Crestwood, but it also continued a special season for the Comets (17-2-2). Crestwood bounced back from a late-season loss, then erased an early deficit to Wyoming Area in the playoff for the division title.
“We haven’t won the Wyoming Valley Conference title since 2014,” Comets coach Amanda Tredinnick said. “That was a goal we set out for from Day One. We wanted to win that Wyoming Valley Conference title.
“Lackawanna Trail put a little bump in the road for us so we had to play that championship game, but I think that did us very well for heading on into the state playoffs.”
Both teams went into Monday night already knowing they were heading into PIAA state play.
Dallas (18-3) followed up a division championship game victory over Wallenpaupack by winning two subregional games to clinch its state shot.
The Mountaineers, however, were not able to extend their eight-game winning streak.
Crestwood goalie Madi Geiger was called on just once. With 3:10 left in the first quarter she stopped a Dallas shot that came from outside the circle, effectively clearing the ball and eliminating any chance of a deflection.
The play of Crestwood’s midfield, with Alex Geiger in the center, kept the workload light on the defense as well.
“Our midfielders played a great game tonight,” Tredinnick said. “We knew we needed them to show up in order to get the job done. They kind of manned the fort and kept our offensive momentum going when we needed it the most.
“Everything kind of went through the midfielders offensively and defensively so I think we did a real good job of playing as a unit.”
Stella Janosczyk worked along Alex Geiger to the left side and Allie Myers was right midfielder until being replaced by Erin Cavanaugh following a second-half injury.
The Mountaineers barely approached the circle from late in the first quarter until the final 8:10.
Alex Geiger took the ball off a Dallas player’s stick on the Mountaineers deepest run into the circle with possession while Mackenzie Kovalski and Janosczyk also broke up the limited late-game threats.
“I really try to control the field and be a leader on the field,” said Alex Geiger, the Hofstra commit who also had the game-winning goal. “I try to communicate with my girls on everything that’s going on in front of them and behind them. I just try to be somebody who is a good strong center of the field and is very reliable.”
She provided that on a night when Crestwood had 13 penalty corners and 10 shots on goal while giving up none of either.
The Comets scored both goals on penalty corners.
“That’s something that we practice at least 30 to 45 minutes daily,” Tredinnick said. “When we execute those well, great things happen and we were able to put the ball in the back of the cage twice tonight.”
That was the case with 4:24 left in the first quarter when Kasey Obes inserted to Alex Geiger, who got off a quick, clean shot from the top of the circle to open the scoring.
“I was looking to get that shot off as fast as I can, get in on cage and hopefully score,” she said.
The Comets added another goal with time expired on an extended penalty corner.
Dallas goalie Alyssa Traver made one of her four saves, but Ally George got a reverse stick on a loose rebound and put it in for the 2-0 lead.
Lacey Youngblood added a defensive save for Dallas.
The two goals, however, were too much to overcome against a defense that posted its 15th shutout and has allowed just six goals all year.
“Our goalkeeper and our defensive unit have been lights out all year,” Tredinnick said. “We’re very thankful for that.”
