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State field hockey playoffs may feature styles that are different than what WVC teams are accustomed to facing

The Wyoming Valley Conference boys soccer conference enjoyed its best season in 14 years, sweeping all three District 2 championships for the first time since 2001 as Wyoming Seminary (Class A), Crestwood (2A) and Wyoming Valley West (3A) all won golds.The competition in the conference was tougher this year with several more closer matches than in the past, and the only undefeated team, Coughlin, finished with a pair of ties and was defeated by Crestwood in the D2 finals.The three district champs are hoping that the stiffer competition translates into victory on Tuesday as they play in the first round of the PIAA Championships.That&#8217;s because the conference hasn&#8217;t picked up a win in the state tournament since Wyoming Valley West did so in 2006, when it defeated Wilson before falling to eventual state champ Council Rock North in overtime the next round. Since then, eight teams from the conference have fallen in the first round.Could this year be different?&#8220;That would be nice,&#8221; Wyoming Seminary coach Rev. Charles Carrick said. &#8220;I think the competition has been really good. Against the big boys, Crestwood and Coughlin, we lost 2-0 and that&#8217;s pretty respectable, I think, for us. I think all matches have been close. That&#8217;s just the area, and that more kids are playing year &#8216;round now. &#8230;Everybody&#8217;s working on their skill.&#8221;Kim on scoring streakWyoming Seminary won its second straight District 2 Class A title last week, but that wouldn&#8217;t have been possible without the play of Andrew Kim in the postseason.The senior has accounted for six goals and three assists in the four playoff games, including a hat trick in a 4-0 win over Holy Redeemer in the quarterfinals and the Blue Knights&#8217; only two goals in a shutout win over Mountain View in the semis.&#8220;I&#8217;m feeling pretty good about it. I guess I was just there at the right time,&#8221; Kim said. &#8220;Obviously I couldn&#8217;t have done it without my teammates, who gave me those balls so I could score. So it wasn&#8217;t all me, it was them too.&#8221;The Blue Knights are the only WVC boys team to play on the road on Tuesday when they travel to the Balls Mills Soccer Complex in Williamsport to face District 4 champion Millville.The teams met earlier in the season, the opener for both squads, with Sem winning 1-0. But things have changed drastically for the teams since then. The Quakers have rambled off 19 straight wins en route to the district title, including four in the district tournament when they outscored opponents 11-2.Seminary has also changed since then. In fact, the team didn&#8217;t really start clicking until recently and has now won via shutout 13 times this season, including the last seven games, and hasn&#8217;t allowed a goal in the last 515 minutes.&#8220;For us back then it was working on chemistry and all that, but it&#8217;s the same for them too,&#8221; Carrick said. &#8220;They have some good players and were just starting off as well. But obviously they&#8217;re doing pretty well.&#8221;The match versus the Quakers will be the fifth rematch for the Blue Knights this season; they have won the previous four rematches in the campaign.&#8220;You have to go in and don&#8217;t know what you&#8217;re expecting,&#8221; Kim added. &#8220;Just go in 100 percent and be confident that you&#8217;re going to win.&#8221;Maxwell&#8217;s switch is Spartans&#8217; keyA year ago, Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Hunnter Maxwell was fifth in the entire Wyoming Valley Conference with 17 goals while also playing time on defense.This season, Maxwell&#8217;s goal total was cut by more than half as he spent more time on defense at sweeper, while also playing forward. That could have affected the team&#8217;s offense negatively. But it proved to be a positive influence, with more players getting involved and the team scoring almost 30 more goals than last season. Maxwell still scored eight goals in limited time at forward.&#8220;We weren&#8217;t as deep defensively as we were last year and he was very receptive to it,&#8221; Spartans coach Charlie Whited said.The defense didn&#8217;t skip a beat either, allowing just 12 goals in the regular season for the second straight year.&#8220;I don&#8217;t care what anyone says, my Hunnter Maxwell is an all-state player,&#8221; Whited said. &#8220;He may not have gotten it this year, but boy oh boy, if anyone&#8217;s coming out and watching him they would say that straight up.Both offense and defense will be counted on Tuesday night when the Spartans play District 3 No. 3 seed Cumberland Valley at 8 p.m. at Lake-Lehman High School. Cumberland Valley (18-3-1) has allowed just 15 goals in those contests, which includes the D3 tournament. The team&#8217;s only postseason setback came in the semis to eventual champion Lower Dauphin on penalty kicks after the teams battled for 110 scoreless minutes. Meanwhile, the Eagles have scored 56 goals in 22 games.Two hot teams square offCrestwood begins the doubleheader at Lake-Lehman on Tuesday when it faces District 4 champ Lewisburg. The Comets, who have won 14 straight matches, are playing perhaps the only team in the state that is hotter.The Green Dragons are unbeaten in 21 games this season after cruising to their fifth district championship in the last six seasons. They are equally impressive on offense as they are on defense, outscoring opponents 114-8 in the tough Heartland Athletic Conference Division II.When teams do get a shot off against the Lewisburg defense, which only allowed an average of 2.5 shots per game, they have to deal with one of the best keepers in state history.Senior Logan Cho has 14 shutouts on the year and 57 for his career, which is just two shy of the PIAA record for shutouts.If the Comets are going to continue rolling, they will have to rely on their speed up top. R.J. Kresge, one of the fastest players in the WVC, and Kyle Gegaris, have wrecked havoc on opponents all season, combining for 26 goals in the regular season.&#8220;He has some positional responsibilities, but apart from that, when you have a player that can do that, you want to just set them free,&#8221; Crestwood coach Michael Stephensson said about Kresge. &#8220;And let them do what they do best, which is to use his speed, use his skill and try to challenge the defenders as much as he can.&#8221;District 2 Boys Soccer ChampionsClass 3A2015 &#8211; Wyoming Valley West2014 &#8211; Abington Heights2013 &#8211; Abington Heights2012 &#8211; Delaware Valley2011 &#8211; Abington Heights2010 &#8211; Coughlin2009 &#8211; Wyoming Valley West2008 &#8211; Wyoming Valley West2007 &#8211; Abington Heights2006 &#8211; Wyoming Valley West2005 &#8211; Delaware Valley2004 &#8211; Abington Heights2003 &#8211; Abington Heights2002 &#8211; Wyoming Valley West2001 &#8211; Coughlin2000 &#8211; Wyoming Valley West1999 &#8211; Wallenpaupack1998 &#8211; Wyoming Valley West1997 &#8211; Coughlin*1996- Wyoming Valley West1995- Wyoming Valley West1994- Abington Heights1993- Wyoming Valley West1992- Abington Heights1991- North Pocono1990- Coughlin1989- Abington Heights1988- Abington Heights1987- Abington Heights1986- Abington Heights1985- Abington Heights1984 &#8211; Abington HeightsClass 2A2015 &#8211; Crestwood2014 &#8211; Coughlin2013 &#8211; Tunkhannock2012 &#8211; Coughlin2011 &#8211; Scranton Prep2010 &#8211; Scranton Prep2009 &#8211; Abington Heights2008 &#8211; Abington Heights2007 &#8211; Dallas2006 &#8211; Valley View2005 &#8211; North Pocono2004 &#8211; Coughlin2003 &#8211; Scranton Prep2002 &#8211; North Pocono2001 &#8211; Dallas2000 &#8211; Dallas1999 &#8211; Dallas1998 &#8211; Lake-Lehman1997- Lake-Lehman1996- Bishop O&#8217;Reilly1995- Lake-Lehman1994- Lake-Lehman1993- Crestwood1992- Lake-Lehman1991- Lake-Lehman1990- Wyo. Seminary1989-Dallas1988- Bishop Hoban1987-Dallas1986-Dallas1985- Wyoming SeminaryClass A2015 &#8211; Wyoming Seminary2014 &#8211; Wyoming Seminary2013 &#8211; Mountain View*2012 &#8211; Mountain View2011 &#8211; Mountain View2010 &#8211; Mountain View2009 &#8211; Holy Cross2008 &#8211; Mountain View2007 &#8211; St. Gregory&#8217;s2006 &#8211; Mountain View2005 &#8211; Mountain View2004 &#8211; Mountain View2003 &#8211; Bishop O&#8217;Reilly2002 &#8211; Wyoming Seminary2001 &#8211; Wyoming Seminary2000 &#8211; Mountain View*&#8212; Won State Championship<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Lucas Barnak and Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Andrew Kim tangle on the control of the ball during a game in the regular season. Kim enters the first round of the PIAA Class A Championships as the hottest Blue Knight with six goals in his last three postseason games. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_sem_hr3_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Lucas Barnak and Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Andrew Kim tangle on the control of the ball during a game in the regular season. Kim enters the first round of the PIAA Class A Championships as the hottest Blue Knight with six goals in his last three postseason games. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams| For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL102814WVW-soccer4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Hunnter Maxwell moves the ball during a game last year. Maxwell has been a big piece of the Spartans defense, which has allowed just 12 goals all season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL102814WVW-soccer4.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Hunnter Maxwell moves the ball during a game last year. Maxwell has been a big piece of the Spartans defense, which has allowed just 12 goals all season. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader file photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Three WVC boys soccer teams trying to break streak</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Dave Rosengrantdrosengrant@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Up NextFirst round matchups for WVC teams in PIAA Championships on TuesdayBoys Class AWyoming Seminary vs. Millville, Balls Mills Complex, Williamsport, 7 p.m.Boys Class 2ACrestwood vs. Lewisburg, Lake-Lehman H.S., 6 p.m.Boys Class 3AWyoming Valley West vs. Cumberland Valley, Lake-Lehman H.S., 8 p.m.</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</shirttailMeta></div>

H.S. BOYS SOCCERTrio of WVC teams hoping to break streak