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Shapiro, Casey laud FCC for heeding call to block illegal robocalls

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<p>WHITEHALL TWP. &#8212; Never mind that Karaline Stelma made Wyoming Valley West the first team to score a goal against Villa Maria Academy during the entire state field hockey tournament.</p><p>The Spartans weren&#8217;t about to settle for moral victories.</p><p>They wanted one last win on the scoreboard.</p><p>So Valley West made charge after charge in the final 10 minutes, looking for some hard-to-find open space and a second goal that would at least force a tie, when star scorer Foto Tsioles got the ball on her stick in the circle and &#8230;</p><p>She turned straight into the goaltender.</p><p>Try as they might, the Spartans couldn&#8217;t stop Villa Maria Academy from smothering their state championship hopes Saturday, as the Hurricanes rode two goals from Duke recruit Hannah Miller and a suffocating defense to a 2-1 victory in the PIAA Class 2A field hockey title game at Whitehall High School&#8217;s Zephyr Complex.</p><p>&#8220;I think this game represents what our team has done throughout the whole season,&#8221; said Spartans senior defender Madison Woods, who will play at Penn next season. &#8220;We never gave up and we kept fighting right to the very end. We&#8217;ve fought in a lot of hard games this season and that&#8217;s how we pulled through.</p><p>&#8220;But in this particular game, it wasn&#8217;t enough.&#8221;</p><p>Maybe not.</p><p>But the Spartans can take some solace from the fact that they gave a Villa Maria team that won its second state title in four years and had destroyed three previous state playoff opponents by a combined 24-0 all it could handle.</p><p>The Hurricanes (24-1) struck quickly, as Miller, a junior, slammed a shot into the back of the cage 84 seconds into the game to give Villa Maria a 1-0 lead.</p><p>Instead of being stunned, though, the Spartans steadied themselves.</p><p>And then, 87 seconds from halftime, Tsioles rifled a hard shot on goal off a penalty corner that was blocked. But Stelma pushed the dribbling rebound across the goal line, becoming the first &#8212; and only &#8212; player to crack Villa Maria&#8217;s air-tight defense with a goal.</p><p>&#8220;I mean, that was pretty cool to do that,&#8221; Stelma, a junior, said. &#8220;Just trying to get my team a win. That&#8217;s what I tried to do here.&#8221;</p><p>In the end, it wasn&#8217;t to be.</p><p>Miller made sure of that, as she connected on a reverse chip to break the tie and score what proved to be the winner just 5:04 into the second half.</p><p>&#8220;Well, she&#8217;s very fast,&#8221; Woods said, &#8220;she has fantastic footwork, and she&#8217;s able to get shots off in tough situations.&#8221;</p><p>The Spartans, who finished 22-3, didn&#8217;t go away without making it tough on Villa Maria.</p><p>Despite managing just three shots on the day, Valley West finally began finding some openings and created some space for themselves in the offensive zone during the game&#8217;s final 10 minutes.</p><p>&#8220;&#8221;I called a timeout with 10 minutes to go,&#8221; Valley West coach Linda Fithian said. &#8220;We went to a different plan. We were hammering away. It (the ball) just didn&#8217;t go in.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s because Villa Maria&#8217;s speedy defense, which allowed just one shot &#8212; the Spartans&#8217; score &#8212; in the first half, tightened up and thwarted plays before they entered the circle.</p><p>&#8220;They just had really tight marking in the circle,&#8221; Stelma said, &#8220;and they had a really good press against us. They played really well.&#8221;</p><p>Valley West&#8217;s best chance to tie the game came when the Spartans found Tsioles running free toward the cage with just over five minutes left, but she never had a chance to get a shot off.</p><p>Villa Maria senior goalie Danielle Acuna came out of the post and knocked the ball away just as Tsioles received the pass and began to turn into a shooting position.</p><p>&#8220;They have excellent stick work and and excellent passing,&#8221; Fithian said of the Hurricanes. &#8220;They go hard to the ball.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re a great team.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PIAA CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIP</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Villa Maria 2, Wyo. Valley West 1</strong></p><p><strong>Valley West`1`0`&#8212;`1</strong></p><p><strong>Villa Maria`1`1`&#8212;`2</strong></p><p><strong>First half &#8212;</strong> 1. VM, Hannah Miller (Erin Finley), 28:36; 2. WVW, Karaline Stelma (Foto Tsioles), 1:27. <strong>Second half &#8212;</strong> 3. VM, Miller, 24:56.</p><p><strong>Shots &#8212;</strong> WVW 3; VM 11. <strong>Saves &#8212;</strong> WVW 9 (Nikki Hartzel, Sydney Rusnock); VM 2 (Daniell Acuna). <strong>Penalty corners &#8212;</strong> WVW 2; VM 11.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West's Karaline Stelma, left, knocks the ball past Villa Maria Academy goalkeeper Danielle Acuna for a score in the PIAA Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township.  Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_wvw-villa-1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Valley West's Karaline Stelma, left, knocks the ball past Villa Maria Academy goalkeeper Danielle Acuna for a score in the PIAA Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township.  Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_wvw-villa-2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West goalkeeper Sydney Rusnock, center, deflects a Villa Maria Academy shot in the Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_wvw-villa-2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wyoming Valley West goalkeeper Sydney Rusnock, center, deflects a Villa Maria Academy shot in the Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_wvw-villa-3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Foto Tsioles, right, and Callie Edwards console each other after falling to Villa Maria Academy 2-1 in the PIAA Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_wvw-villa-3-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Foto Tsioles, right, and Callie Edwards console each other after falling to Villa Maria Academy 2-1 in the PIAA Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_wvw-villa-4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Karaline Stelma, left, knocks the ball past Villa Maria Academy goalkeeper Danielle Acuna for a score in the PIAA Class 2A field hockey championship Saturday at Whitehall High School&#8217;s Zephyr Complex. Wyoming Valley West co-captain Madison Woods carries the PIAA Class 2A runner-up trophy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_wvw-villa-4-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Karaline Stelma, left, knocks the ball past Villa Maria Academy goalkeeper Danielle Acuna for a score in the PIAA Class 2A field hockey championship Saturday at Whitehall High School&#8217;s Zephyr Complex. Wyoming Valley West co-captain Madison Woods carries the PIAA Class 2A runner-up trophy. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_wvw-villa-5-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The PIAA Class 2A runner-up Wyoming Valley West field hockey team poses for a photo with the second-place state trophy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_wvw-villa-5-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>The PIAA Class 2A runner-up Wyoming Valley West field hockey team poses for a photo with the second-place state trophy. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-1-CMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Karaline Stelma, left, knocks the ball past Villa Maria Academy goalkeeper Danielle Acuna for a score in the PIAA Class 2A field hockey championship Saturday at Whitehall High School&#8217;s Zephyr Complex. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-1-CMYK-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Karaline Stelma, left, knocks the ball past Villa Maria Academy goalkeeper Danielle Acuna for a score in the PIAA Class 2A field hockey championship Saturday at Whitehall High School&#8217;s Zephyr Complex. </caption5><photoCredit5>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-2-CMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West goalkeeper Sydney Rusnock, center, deflects a Villa Maria Academy shot in the Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-2-CMYK-1.jpg</photo6><caption6>Wyoming Valley West goalkeeper Sydney Rusnock, center, deflects a Villa Maria Academy shot in the Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township. </caption6><photoCredit6>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-3-CMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Foto Tsioles, right, and Callie Edwards console each other after falling to Villa Maria Academy 2-1 in the PIAA Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-3-CMYK-1.jpg</photo7><caption7>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Foto Tsioles, right, and Callie Edwards console each other after falling to Villa Maria Academy 2-1 in the PIAA Class 2A state field hockey championship Saturday in Whitehall Township. </caption7><photoCredit7>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-4-CMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West co-captain Madison Woods carries the PIAA Class 2A runner-up trophy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo8>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-4-CMYK-1.jpg</photo8><caption8>Wyoming Valley West co-captain Madison Woods carries the PIAA Class 2A runner-up trophy. </caption8><photoCredit8>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit8></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-5-CMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The PIAA Class 2A runner-up Wyoming Valley West field hockey team poses for a photo with the second-place state trophy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo9>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Spartans-5-CMYK-1.jpg</photo9><caption9>The PIAA Class 2A runner-up Wyoming Valley West field hockey team poses for a photo with the second-place state trophy. </caption9><photoCredit9>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit9></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Miller time ends Valley West&#8217;s bid to be the best</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Villa Maria edges Valley West in state field hockey 2A title game