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Foreigner’s Jeff Pilson talks the band’s Bloomsburg performance

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Local Roundup: Hazleton Area rallies past Nanticoke Area for boys soccer win

WRIGHT TWP. &#8212; With one riveting shot, Sarah Richards offered proof that she&#8217;s all the way back.Maybe her Crestwood Comets are, too.Richards ripped a penalty stroke into the cage 68 seconds into overtime Thursday, lifting streaking Crestwood to a tense 2-1 victory over Honesdale in a field hockey showdown between two intriguing teams at Crestwood High School.&#8220;I was a little nervous,&#8221; said Richards, who estimates she&#8217;s shot four one-on-one penalty strokes in the past and believes she&#8217;s made them all. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been there before. But I haven&#8217;t taken one in awhile.&#8221;One thing she&#8217;s not jittery about these days is her surgically-repaired knee.The standout midfielder suffered a torn ACL in October last year, which forced Richards to miss the finish of her junior field season and sent her driving back and forth to an ortheopedic in Philadelphia to monitor her post-operation progress every other month over the summer.Medically cleared to return to field hockey just last month, Richards is relishing her return.&#8220;It was a lot of physical therapy, three days a week,&#8221; Richards, also a starting guard for the Comets basketball team, said of her recovery. &#8220;I&#8217;m doing really well, I feel great. It was hard just to sit there on the sidelines and watch. It felt really good to get back on the field.&#8221;She&#8217;s back with a vengeance.After Honesdale was called for a major infraction at the goal mouth right at the start of overtime, Richards quickly lined up to take the ensuing stroke.&#8220;We never even asked her,&#8221; Crestwood coach Patsy Moratori said. &#8220;She just stepped up and took it. She wants that. When the game&#8217;s on the line, she wants to have it.&#8221;Richards had her own idea about how to get the winning goal.Rather than making a fake or finding an angle, she simply unleashed a bullet that whizzed low past the goalie&#8217;s left side and cracked off the back of the cage &#8212; sending the Comets swarming her in celebration.&#8220;I just think to go low left as much as I can, every time,&#8221; Richards said. &#8220;That&#8217;s the hardest spot for the goalie to see, and it&#8217;s also their stick side.&#8221;With that, Crestwood stuck another victory on the board.It was the third straight win for the Comets, who pulled to .500 at 4-4 after starting the season with losses in three of their first four games by outlasting a Honesdale team that had won three of four and is battling Wilkes-Barre Area for the top seed in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs.&#8220;We made some position changes, some system changes,&#8221; Moratori said. &#8220;It&#8217;s definitely paying off.&#8221;Mallory Moratori&#8217;s pass to Taylor Yeager paid dividends for Crestwood when Yeager slipped the ball across the line for a 1-0 Comets lead in the first half.That held up until Honesdale&#8217;s Mandy Gunusky lifted a penalty stroke of her own into the top left corner of the cage to tie the game at 1-1 with 11:19 remaining in regulation.But that was the only way the Hornets found to get the ball by the Crestwood defense and goalie Isabella Caparusio, who finished with nine saves and helped the Comets turn away six penalty corners over the final 13 minutes of the second half.&#8220;Some crucial saves, and big saves,&#8221; Moratori said. &#8220;A lot of them, she&#8217;s kicking the ball up to our forwards so they don&#8217;t have to come back for it. Isabella was upset she didn&#8217;t stop that stroke, but it was unstoppable.&#8221;So are the Comets right now.They&#8217;re 5-6 overall, and although the Comets probably won&#8217;t catch 6-2-1 Wyoming Valley West for the top spot in the District Class 2A playoff seedings during their final seven games, they could lock down a No. 2 seed and make a run in the postseason.&#8220;The way we&#8217;ve been playing now,&#8221; Richards said, &#8220;I think we really do have a shot to be in the district championship this season.&#8221;Her winning shot with 13:52 to play on the 15-minute overtime clock not only gave Crestwood confidence, it turned around a 2-1 loss to Honesdale in a non-league game that opened this season&#8217;s play.&#8220;It was nice to come back and be able to sneak out a win,&#8221; Moratori said. &#8220;It helped to see we&#8217;ve made progress since the beginning of the season.&#8220;Hopefully, it&#8217;s coming together at the right time.&#8221;Northwest 2, Tunkhannock 0Aleigha Parnell and Sydney Franchella scored unassisted goals as the Rangers moved to 7-1 and joined Lackawanna Trail at the top of the WVC Division 2 standings.Parnell&#8217;s goal came in the first half and Franchella wrapped things up by scoring with 1:44 left in the game.Ella Larioni made five saves for the Tigers, who were held without a shot by Northwest&#8217;s defense.Dallas 1, Hazleton Area 1Kaitlyn Diehl scored midway through the second half as Hazleton Area came back and tied the Mountaineers.Jordan Bond gave Dallas a lead with a goal just under eight minutes into the game and goalie Amanda Puza made 22 saves to keep the Cougars from getting a go-ahead score.Crestwood 2, Honesdale 1 (OT)Honesdale`0`1`0 &#8212; 1Crestwood`1`0`1 &#8212; 2First half &#8212; 1. CRE, Taylor Yeager (Mallory Moratori). Second half &#8212; 2. HON, Mandy Gunusky, 11:19. Overtime &#8212; 3. CRE, Sarah Richards, 13:52.Shots &#8212; HON 10; CRE 7. Saves &#8212; HON 5 (Nicole Miszler); CRE 9 (Isabella Caparucio). Penalty corners &#8212; HON 10; CRE 2.Northwest 2, Tunkhannock 0Northwest`1`1 &#8212; 2Tunkhannock`0`0 &#8212; 0First half &#8212; 1. NW, Aleigha Parnell, 11:30. Second half &#8212; 2. NW, Sydney Franchella, 1:44.Shots &#8212; NW 7; TUN 0. Saves &#8212; NW 0 (Cassidy Gray); TUN 5 (Ella Larioni). Penalty corners &#8212; NW 8; TUN 4.Dallas 1, Hazleton Area 1Hazleton Area`0`1`0 &#8212; 1Dallas`1`0`0 &#8212; 1First half &#8212; 1. DAL, Jordan Bond (Alondra Church), 22:07. Second half &#8212; 2. HAZ, Kaitlyn Diehl, 16:20.Shots &#8212; HAZ 23; DAL 2. Saves &#8212; HAZ 1 (Elaina Ashman); DAL 22 (Amanda Puza). Penalty corners &#8212; HAZ 17; DAL 6.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

Richards’ penalty stroke to give Crestwood 3rd straight field hockey win