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New LCCC scholarship honors state Sen. Yudichak’s father

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Wyoming Valley West takes teamwork to PIAA Class 2A field hockey title game

Moments after her Wyoming Seminary team sewed up a ninth trip to the state finals, long-time Blue Knights coach Karen Klassner was breathless.&#8220;I need a moment to rest,&#8221; Klassner gasped. &#8220;I&#8217;m getting too old for this.&#8220;But it doesn&#8217;t get old.&#8221;Not hardly.A young and invigorating Sem squad will be looking for the school&#8217;s seventh state title &#8212; but first since 2013 &#8212; when the 22-2 Blue Knights face 21-5 Greenwood in the PIAA Class A championship game at 10 a.m. at Whitehall&#8217;s Zephyr Complex.And while a lot has been made about Greenwood&#8217;s inexperience as the school makes its first appearance in a PIAA field hockey title game, this current crop of Blue Knights is treading into uncharted waters as well.&#8220;I wasn&#8217;t ever there before,&#8221; said Sem junior forward Aubrey Mytych, the team&#8217;s leading scorer, who has nine goals and five assists in six postseason games. &#8220;I&#8217;m so happy I get to go with the girls on my team.&#8221;Those girls have out-gunned three state opponents by a combined score of 15-2 and have out-scored six playoff opponents, 42-4. Yet, none of them know what it&#8217;s like to play in a state final.Sem&#8217;s last appearance in a PIAA tournament came the last time the program polished off a state title in 2013 &#8212; before any of the current players reached high school.&#8220;They&#8217;re a very young team, they haven&#8217;t been there before,&#8221; Klassner said of Greenwood, a suprising state finalist that entered states as the District 3 No. 3 team. &#8220;But this group has not been there. It&#8217;s this group&#8217;s first time in a state championship.&#8221;The Blue Knights figure they may as well just keep doing what brought them there.That means playing lock-down defense, which resulted in 2-0 shutouts of Lake-Lehman in the District 2 Class A title game and against District 3 champion Oley Valley &#8212; Max Field Hockey&#8217;s No. 13 team in the nation and No. 8 in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey Region &#8212; during an emotional state semifinal win Tuesday.While the Blue Knights bring a slew of scorers, including Mytych, Alex Wesneski, Kelsey Reznick, Alicia Carr and Hannah Maxwell, their defensive unit has been every bit as impressive.Reznick shut down Oley Valley&#8217;s dangerous Sophia Gladeux in the PIAA semifinals, while seniors Emily Sims and Camryn Litjens &#8212; who returned from illness late in the regular season &#8212; have consistently clogged passing lanes and stripped away opportunities from opponents.That&#8217;s made things easier for freshman goalie Mia Magnotta, who has put up an outstanding rookie season in the cage.Sem hasn&#8217;t allowed more than one goal in any postseason game, and all of them came in the final five minutes after the outcome had long been decided.&#8220;Emily Sims has played very well,&#8221; Klassner said. &#8220;Camryn Litjens is finally healthy, that helps us. They&#8217;ve given Mia confidence. I really feel Mia has gained a lot of confidence in her playing abilities.&#8221;Those abilities will be tested by Greenwood junior Paityn Wirth, the Tri-Valley League&#8217;s MVP, who boasts a league-leading 58 points and 25 goals. She&#8217;s complemented by hard-nosed defenders Courtney Fleisher and Grace Lesh, who took the school&#8217;s field hockey and basketball coach, Kent Houser, to his first-ever state final.But the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 and District 2 Class A champion Blue Knights gained even more self-certainty by upending an Oley Valley team that was on a 24-game winning streak and downed Greenwood in the District 3 semifinals.That doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean an automatic victory for Sem in the state finals.&#8220;I&#8217;ve been there where we beat a team maybe we shouldn&#8217;t have at times,&#8221; Klassner said. &#8220;You&#8217;re talking about a coach who&#8217;s been the first win for people (opponents). I&#8217;ve seen both sides of the coin. We respect everyone we play.&#8220;The kids just played an all-around great game (against Oley Valley),&#8221; Klassner continued. &#8220;They played the game of their life.&#8220;I said to them, &#8216;You&#8217;ve got to have one more.&#8217; &#8221;<style>
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<div class="neCaption">With nine goals and five assists in six playoff games, Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Aubrey Mytych (right) has super-charged a scoring attack that has the Blue Knights on the verge of a seventh state title entering Saturday&#8217;s 10 a.m. PIAA Class A final against Greenwood. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_CMYKSem-Oley-FH-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>With nine goals and five assists in six playoff games, Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Aubrey Mytych (right) has super-charged a scoring attack that has the Blue Knights on the verge of a seventh state title entering Saturday&#8217;s 10 a.m. PIAA Class A final against Greenwood. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_CMYKSem-Oley-FH-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The return of defender Camryn Litjens (left) from an early-season illness has helped Wyoming Seminary hold six playoff opponents to a combined four goals as the Blue Knights charged into Saturday&#8217;s PIAA Class A field hockey championship game. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_CMYKSem-Oley-FH-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>The return of defender Camryn Litjens (left) from an early-season illness has helped Wyoming Seminary hold six playoff opponents to a combined four goals as the Blue Knights charged into Saturday&#8217;s PIAA Class A field hockey championship game. </caption1><photoCredit1>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Blue Knights 2017 SeasonDate`Opponent`Result`ScoreSept. 6`Dallas`W`6-1Sept. 8`Delaware Valley`W`8-1Sept. 9`Vestal (N.Y.)`W`5-1Sept. 11`Hazleton`W`5-1Sept. 18`Lackawanna Trail`W`7-0Sept. 20`Honesdale`W`7-2Sept. 21`Lake-Lehman`W`3-0Sept. 25`Pittston Area`W`12-1Sept. 26`Tunkhannock`W`7-0Sept. 29`Wallenpaupack`W`9-0Sept. 30`Selinsgrove`L`2-1Oct. 2`Wyoming Area`W`2-1Oct. 7`Eastern (Voorhees)`L`2-1Oct. 7`Sacred Heart (Ky.)`W`1-0Oct. 9`Valley West`W`2-1 (OT)Oct. 11`Abington Heights`W`5-0Oct. 16`Coughlin`W`7-0Oct. 18`Crestwood`W`1-0 (OT)a-Oct. 23`Nanticoke Area`W`14-1a-Oct. 25`Northwest`W`11-1a-Oct. 31`Lake-Lehman`W`2-0b-Nov. 7`Tulpehocken`W`10-1b-Nov. 11`New Hope-Solebury`W`3-1b-Nov. 14`Oley Valley`W`2-0a-District 2 Class A playoff gameb-PIAA Class A playoff game</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

Magnotta, defense have Wyoming Sem seeking 7th state field hockey title