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<p>LEHMAN TWP. &#8212; Smack in the middle of a serious mission, Wyoming Valley West goalie Sydney Rusnock came to a sudden realization during another foray into the Keystone State Games.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really fun,&#8221; Rusnock said.</p><p>That&#8217;s the charm of the Games for Northeastern Pennsylvania&#8217;s field hockey players.</p><p>While they vow to play with passion and pride during a quest to show the rest of Pennsylvania where the top talent in the sport really lies, there&#8217;s also an underlying reality.</p><p>The chase for a long-sought gold medal in the Keystone Games sometimes gives way to golden smiles.</p><p>&#8220;I like all of them,&#8221; Lake-Lehman junior Madeline Newman said of her teammates on the Pocono 1 team, which will represent the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area when field hockey play opens Friday. &#8220;I&#8217;ve known most of them from playing against them. This gives you a chance to meet with them and be more of a team.</p><p>&#8220;Everyone on the team gets along well.&#8221;</p><p>That may seem somewhat of a surprise, since players from the Pocono 1 and Pocono 2 high school division teams will go back to battling against each other tooth and nail in little more than a month.</p><p>But for now, players from Wyoming Valley Conference powers like Wyoming Seminary, Wyoming Valley West, Crestwood and Lake-Lehman are bonded together by a big quest.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to try to get gold this year,&#8221; said Karaline Stelma, a dangerous scorer from Valley West. &#8220;We&#8217;ve done well, got second a few times. We&#8217;re sick of getting second.</p><p>&#8220;Sick and tired of second place.&#8221;</p><p>That seems to be a sore spot for some Pocono Region players.</p><p>Wyoming Seminary standout Aubrey Mytych figures to be a main cog for a Pocono 1 team chasing gold, and when the 2018-19 school year starts, plans to help the Blue Knights avenge last year&#8217;s PIAA Class A championship loss that left her with another silver medal. She&#8217;ll be right at home &#8212; quite literally &#8212; playing at Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s Klassner Field and the school&#8217;s stadium, where all the Keystone Games field hockey competition will be held.</p><p>Likewise, Stelma scored Valley West&#8217;s only goal of the team&#8217;s Class 2A state championship loss and Rusnock shared goaltending duties each game of a fabulous 2017 field hockey season that ended with a PIAA silver medal for the Spartans. They&#8217;ll be looking to help the Pocono 1 team walk out of the Keystone Games on top.</p><p>&#8220;Especially for us, from Valley West, we were just there,&#8221; Rusnock said of the high-stakes tournament. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been playing against these girls in the state playoffs. Now we&#8217;ll see them again.&#8221;</p><p>They&#8217;ll also see some familiar faces from earlier Keystone Games days.</p><p>Since field hockey is a tryout sport, some players who were in camp and didn&#8217;t make the cut for the Pocono 1 team will end up representing the region&#8217;s other team, called Pocono 2. Both Pocono teams will square off against each other on opening day, at 4:15 p.m. Friday on Sem&#8217;s stadium turf after playing earlier games against other opponents that day.</p><p>Pocono 1 coach and the region&#8217;s field hockey director, Jean Lipski of Lake-Lehman, believes her driven group is ready to turn things up a notch when the three-day Keystone Games tourney runs through Sunday&#8217;s gold medal game at 4:15 p.m. at Klassner Field and bronze medal game at 3:30 p.m. at the same site.</p><p>&#8220;I think they take great pride in representing the Pocono Region and want to win for that reason,&#8221; said Lipski, who has taken Lehman to four consecutive District 2 championship games and four straight PIAA appearances &#8212; including a spot in the state semifinals in 2016.</p><p>Sounds as if they also want to win for each other.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just a good way to get together and meet new people when you&#8217;re playing,&#8221; Rusnock said. &#8220;A lot of us actually played together during indoor season.&#8221;</p><p>Call it one last laugh before the intensity turns up on the high school season.</p><p>&#8220;Just a fun thing to do,&#8221; Stelma said. &#8220;It&#8217;s something to keep us going, right before the (league) season starts. It&#8217;s kind of more relaxed, but still serious, to a point.&#8221;</p><p>After all, there are big games to be played against teams from other regions of the state and a big goal waiting at the end of the games.</p><p>&#8220;We get second every year,&#8221; Rusnock said. &#8220;Everyone wants to change that.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s standout Aubrey Mytych, center, will feel right at home playing for the Pocono 1 team, as the Keystone State Games will hold its competitions at Sem&#8217;s Klassner Field and football stadium from Friday through Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_TTL111917FH-Sem-Greenwood_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s standout Aubrey Mytych, center, will feel right at home playing for the Pocono 1 team, as the Keystone State Games will hold its competitions at Sem&#8217;s Klassner Field and football stadium from Friday through Sunday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_wvw-villa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West goalkeeper Sydney Rusnock, center, finds the Keystone State Games gives WVC players a chance to build friendships while teaming up on the Pocono 1 team, before they go back to squaring off in the league&#8217;s high school season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_wvw-villa-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wyoming Valley West goalkeeper Sydney Rusnock, center, finds the Keystone State Games gives WVC players a chance to build friendships while teaming up on the Pocono 1 team, before they go back to squaring off in the league&#8217;s high school season. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_WVW-3-CMYK-2-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West standout Karaline Stelma scored the only goal of the team&#8217;s PIAA Class 2A state championship loss last year and has her eyes on another goal: a gold medal for the Pocono 1 field hockey team in the Keystone State Games. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_WVW-3-CMYK-2-.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wyoming Valley West standout Karaline Stelma scored the only goal of the team&#8217;s PIAA Class 2A state championship loss last year and has her eyes on another goal: a gold medal for the Pocono 1 field hockey team in the Keystone State Games. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Area field hockey players say Keystone Games is about making friends with the enemy</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>

Field hockey players find fun amidst serious Keystone Games competition