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Minichello and Wyoming Area make history with first state quarterfinal win

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PSU comeback try picked off

SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP. &#8212; Not part of Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s past state playoff runs and not even understanding why her playing time was cut in midseason, Marissa Mooney wasn&#8217;t quite sure what to expect from the first PIAA playoff game in which she played.Looks like the Spartans can expect a shot of greatness.Or two.Mooney twice lifted Valley West into a lead by scoring both the team&#8217;s goals Saturday and the Spartans surged into the PIAA Class 2A semifinals for the third consecutive season with a 2-1 victory over Northern York at the Zephyr Sports Complex.&#8220;It was just my team that lead me on,&#8221; Mooney, a freshman forward, said. &#8220;All the inspiration came from my friends and family.&#8221;Her goal-scoring certainly got the Spartans geared up.Mooney punched in a ball just sitting at the goal mouth with 8:30 to play in the first half, giving Valley West a 1-0 lead.&#8220;The first time, it didn&#8217;t go in,&#8221; Mooney said. &#8220;Then I just whacked it in.&#8221;The play started with a penalty corner and, after a shot was turned away, found the stick of senior Rina Tsioles, who slid an attempt from the left post to the right.&#8220;I was on the other post,&#8221; Tsioles said. &#8220;I did a little reverse hit across the cage. She (Mooney) was playing at the post to hit it in.&#8221;The ball from Tsioles skidded off sprawling Kasey Davis and settled inches away from the goal line at the right post. Enter Mooney, who made a darting move and beat everyone to the ball before punching it into the cage.&#8220;She came out of nowhere and just pushed it in,&#8221; Valley West coach Linda Fithian said. &#8220;Good for her.&#8221;It turned out great for Valley West to have Mooney around.Because after Northern York tied the game at 1-1 on a goal by Kayla Michaels little more than three minutes after Mooney&#8217;s first goal, the Spartans needed their freshman phenom again.And just over five minutes into the second half, Mooney came through for a second time, turning a feed from Ari Rupnik into the winning goal. That sent Tsioles, Sydney Rusnock and the rest of the Spartans seniors back to back to the state semifinal game for a third consecutive season, against Villa Maria on Tuesday.&#8220;The first year, I was a sophomore, so I was nervous going in,&#8221; Tsioles said. &#8220;I&#8217;m comfortable playing in this stage now. But they&#8217;re all special.&#8220;Every game in the states is exciting to win.&#8221;The PIAA quarterfinals proved especially thrilling for Mooney, who didn&#8217;t get into Tuesday&#8217;s opening-round 2-0 first-round state victory for Valley West.&#8220;She didn&#8217;t play the last game,&#8221; Fithian said. &#8220;I was like, &#8216;Go in, see what you&#8217;ve got.&#8217; All of a sudden, she&#8217;s like boom, boom.&#8221;The state opener wasn&#8217;t the first time this season Mooney sat on the sideline while her teammates were on the field.&#8220;I started at the beginning (of the season),&#8221; Mooney said. &#8220;I realized once I didn&#8217;t start anymore, I knew I had to step up my game. I had to keep working harder and harder.&#8221;Fithian makes it clear Mooney wasn&#8217;t benched at midseason.&#8220;We went to a different system. That eliminated a forward,&#8221; Fithian said. &#8220;When she started, we went with a different offense. It wasn&#8217;t her fault. She&#8217;s been playing great.&#8220;She&#8217;s a little spark plug.&#8221;The Spartans felt the spark Saturday, again and again.&#8220;So far, throughout the season, she&#8217;s been really aggressive to the ball,&#8221; Tsioles said of Mooney. &#8220;And she&#8217;s always ready to tip it in the circle.&#8221;Meanwhile, the Valley West defense had the Polar Bears running in circles.Star scorer Brynn Crouse, a sophomore and Duke commit who scored two goals and assisted on two more in Northern York&#8217;s state-opening win, was held without a shot, That was thanks in large part to freshman Georgia Tsioles, Rina&#8217;s sister, who spent the game shadowing Crouse. And Liberty commit Kelsey Heltzel didn&#8217;t get a shot off either, as the Spartans surrendered just one attempt from the circle &#8212; the goal by Michaels.&#8220;This is a very good scoring team,&#8221; Fithian said of Northern York. &#8220;They scored six goals against a very good (Bangor) team. I said, &#8216;That&#8217;s not happening against us.&#8217;&#8221;<ins>Georgia Tsioles and her friends made sure it didn&#8217;t, and Mooney made sure that was enough to get Valley West to the next round with her best game of the season during her state playof fdebut. </ins><ins>&#8220;It feels really good,&#8221; Mooney said. </ins><ins>The best part for the Spartans, though, was they may have found a new playoff scoring star. </ins><ins>&#8220;That&#8217;s the thing with the state playoffs,&#8221; Fithian said. &#8220;Anybody can come up big one night. Everybody knows about the main players, they scout them, they mark them. </ins><ins>&#8220;Sometimes, it has to be a little hero.&#8221; </ins>PIAA CLASS 2A QUARTERFINALSValley West 2, Northern York 1 Northern York`1`0 &#8212; 1 Valley West`1`1 &#8212; 2 First half &#8212; 1. WVW, Marissa Mooney (Rina Tsioles), 8:30; 2. NY, Kayla Michaels, 5:13. Second half &#8212; 3. WVW, Mooney (Ari Rupnik, 24:41.Shots &#8212; NY 1; WVW 8. Saves &#8212; NY 4 (Kasey Davis); WVW 0 (Sydney Rusnock). Penalty corners &#8212; NY 3; WVW 13.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

Mooney makes her mark as Valley West moves into state field hockey semis