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<p>KINGSTON &#8212; As a play-making table setter, Brigid Wood didn&#8217;t see the need to shoot much during the regular season.</p><p>A wave of emotion from going back to the state playoffs engulfed her, though.</p><p>And it carried Wood and her Coughlin teammates back to the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals one last time.</p><p>Wood opened up with a hat trick Tuesday, and as it turned out, Coughlin needed every one of those scores to hold off hard-charging Central Bucks West 5-4 in a state playoff opener at Nesbitt Field.</p><p>&#8220;I feel like I <em>can </em>score in the regular season,&#8221; Wood said. &#8220;((But) I like to hang back. In a game like this, we weren&#8217;t scoring at first.&#8221;</p><p>She sure solved that problem.</p><p>Wood rifled the game&#8217;s first goal into the net just under four minutes after the start, slammed another score to open a two-goal lead for Coughlin later in the opening half, then began the second half with a goal that gave the Crusaders a 4-1 lead.</p><p>&#8220;When it comes to a game like this, the others look to her,&#8221; Coughlin coach Colleen Wood said. &#8220;She really wants to win.&#8221;</p><p>That win appeared pretty secure when Kyra Wozniak answered the Bucks&#8217; second goal with her second score of the game, building Coughlin&#8217;s lead to 5-2 with 12:54 to play.</p><p>With a lock-down defense that&#8217;s pitched eight shutouts this season, the Crusaders (20-1 overall) seemed to be cruising into Saturday&#8217;s state quarterfinals against the winner of Wednesday&#8217;s game between Emmaus and Methacton.</p><p>Then things started sliding fast for Coughlin in a light, game-long rain at Nesbitt Field.</p><p>Taylor Mason scored for Central Bucks West with more than 11 minutes to play. The Bucks used a goal by Cadara Smith to cut their deficit to a single goal with 2:38 to play. And in between, a Central Bucks West shot that was speeding toward an open area of Coughlin&#8217;s cage was inadvertently knocked away by another Bucks player who had her back turned at the goal mouth.</p><p>Disaster averted for Coughlin.</p><p>Barely.</p><p>&#8220;I felt like we got way too comfortable. We&#8217;re just lucky that it didn&#8217;t stop our win,&#8221; said Brigid Wood, the team&#8217;s standout senior who is slated to officially sign her national letter-of-intent to play field hockey for Boston College on Wednesday morning. &#8220;One more goal (by Manheim Central) and I don&#8217;t know how we would have come out of that. &#8220;</p><p>The Crusaders felt fortunate they never had to find out.</p><p>Wood, who was part of a Coughlin team that was kept from states last season with an agonizing, one-goal loss in the District 2 title game, kept the ball on her stick for most of the last 10 seconds - until it was too late for Manheim Central to make one last move toward the goal.</p><p>That finished a resilient late-game effort by Coughlin&#8217;s defense, which kept Manheim Central at bay while turning away a few desperate charges over the final minutes.</p><p>&#8220;We came out strong,&#8221; Colleen Wood said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know they (the Crusaders) just took it for granted, took it too easy, but they didn&#8217;t stay on their game like they could have. We got a little sloppy at the end.&#8221;</p><p>The Crusaders have plenty incentive to clean things up.</p><p>They&#8217;ll make their third appearance in the Class 3A state quarterfinals over the past four seasons, but haven&#8217;t advanced any further during that span.</p><p>&#8220;My freshman and sophomore years, we won our first game of states,&#8221; Brigid Wood said. &#8220;But we lost in the next game both times.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to get one more win, at least.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Coughlin&#8217;s Brigid Wood (right) sets up a shot against Central Bucks West&#8217;s Bryn Boylan during the first round of the PIAA Class 3A Field Hockey Championships on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111115Coughlin-FH1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Coughlin&#8217;s Brigid Wood (right) sets up a shot against Central Bucks West&#8217;s Bryn Boylan during the first round of the PIAA Class 3A Field Hockey Championships on Tuesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111115Coughlin-FH2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Coughlin&#8217;s Brigid Wood (left) and Kyra Wozniak (No. 9) celebrate a goal during the first round of the PIAA Class 3A Field Hockey Championships against Central Bucks West on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111115Coughlin-FH2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Coughlin&#8217;s Brigid Wood (left) and Kyra Wozniak (No. 9) celebrate a goal during the first round of the PIAA Class 3A Field Hockey Championships against Central Bucks West on Tuesday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111115Coughlin-FH3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Coughlin girls field hockey players including Mykala Slavish (No. 8), Savanna Robinson (No. 20) and Katie Anderson (No. 11) celebrate a win over CB West on Tuesday during the first round of the PIAA Class 3A Field Hockey Championships on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111115Coughlin-FH3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Coughlin girls field hockey players including Mykala Slavish (No. 8), Savanna Robinson (No. 20) and Katie Anderson (No. 11) celebrate a win over CB West on Tuesday during the first round of the PIAA Class 3A Field Hockey Championships on Tuesday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111115Coughlin-FH4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Coughlin&#8217;s Emily Anderson moves the ball to the goal against Anna Hall (No. 3) of Central Bucks West. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111115Coughlin-FH4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Coughlin&#8217;s Emily Anderson moves the ball to the goal against Anna Hall (No. 3) of Central Bucks West. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111115Coughlin-FH5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">11/10/2015 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111115Coughlin-FH5.jpg</photo4><caption4>11/10/2015 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Wood&#8217;s hat trick has Crusaders on their way to state quarterfinals</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PIAA Field Hockey Playoffs</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>First Round</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Class 3A</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">Unionville 4, Hershey 2</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Coughlin 5, Central Bucks West 4</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">Conestoga 3, Cardinal O&#8217;Hara 2</p><p style="text-align: left;">Downingtown East 1, Stroudsburg 0 (OT)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Palmyra 2, Owen J. Roberts 0</p><p style="text-align: left;">Lower Dauphin 3, Fox Chapel 0</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Today&#8217;s First-Round Games</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">Penn Manor vs. Mifflin County, 6:30 p.m. at Bald Eagle Area</p><p style="text-align: left;">Methacton vs. Emmaus, 6 p.m. at Whitehall</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Class 2A</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">Donegal 5, Merion Mercy 0</p><p style="text-align: left;">Archbishop Carroll 2, Southern Lehigh 0</p><p style="text-align: left;">Villa Maria 4, Boiling Springs 1</p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Crestwood 3, Manheim Central 2</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">Twin Valley 3, Bloomsburg 0</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Today&#8217;s First-Round Games</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Lake-Lehman vs. Moravian Academy, 4 p.m. at Whitehall</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">Greenwood vs. Selinsgrove, 5 p.m. at Central Columbia</p><p style="text-align: left;">Ellis School vs. Forbes Road, 4:30 p.m. at Bald Eagle Area</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

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Brigid Wood’s hat trick propels Coughlin into PIAA Class 3A field hockey quarterfinals