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Local College Football: Mistakes prove costly for Wilkes vs. Stevenson

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

SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP. &#8212; The scorching-hot scoring star of Wyoming Area&#8217;s playoff run suddenly turned defensive.In fact, all the Warriors did.And it helped them reach new heights in the program&#8217;s field hockey history.Toni Minichello tipped in the game&#8217;s only goal in the first half Saturday, then helped Wyoming Area stave off a two-player disadvantage in the second as the Warriors advanced to the PIAA Class A semifinal round for the first time ever with a 1-0 victory over Boiling Springs at the Zephyr Sports Complex.&#8220;I&#8217;m so excited,&#8221; Minichello said. &#8220;We got knocked out last year in this same game.&#8220;Advancing on is pretty exciting.&#8221;The District 2 runner-up Warriors, now 20-2-1, will face District 3 runner-up and 24-1 Oley Valley in the state semifinals after winning for the third time in four state games - all played during the past two seasons.&#8220;We made history again,&#8221; Wyoming Area coach Erin McGinley said. &#8220;Now we exceeded where we got last year.&#8220;I&#8217;m extremely proud of them.&#8221;Especially given the circumstances.Nursing a one-goal lead late in the game, a Wyoming Area midfield was handed her second yellow card of the second half with 13:04 to play - resulting in a penalty that took her off the field for 10 minutes. And while protesting the call, the Warriors coaching staff was slapped with a five-minute yellow card and forced to pull another player from the pitch for five minutes.&#8220;They said something about her body (contact),&#8221; McGinley said of the officials&#8217; explanation for carding the same player twice. &#8220;We were shocked. As a coaching staff, we were complaining about the call.&#8221;That meant the Warriors would have to play with a two-player disadvantage for five minutes and a player down for five more during 10 of the state quarterfinal&#8217;s final 13 minutes.&#8220;At first, I was like, &#8216;All right, this is going to be terrible,&#8221; Minichello said. &#8220;We need to really step it up. As it kept going, I was like, all right, as long as we kept our mentality, we&#8217;d be good.&#8221;It turned out the Warriors were good to go.Forward Kayla Kiwak shifted to right mid &#8212; &#8220;Kayla typically never plays a mid for us,&#8221; McGinley said &#8212; Makenzie Sweitzer went to left mid and Wyoming Area easily killed five, then 10 minutes of shorthanded action while allowing just one solid shot at the start of the disadvantage.&#8220;We adjusted very quickly when it happened,&#8221; McGinley said. &#8220;They (the Warriors) did what we told them to do. We played the game in the second half with somebody out for five minutes, then 10 minutes, then five more minutes. Props to them, they&#8217;ve never been in that (two-player shorthanded) situation before.&#8221;Minichello certainly helped Wyoming Area overcome that.After scoring her third goal in two state games and assisting on Wyoming Area&#8217;s other this season, she showed some defensive chops by not only scurrying the ball down the field and away from danger, but keeping the ball on her stick for long stretches while valuable time ran off the clock.&#8220;I got a lot more defensive-minded then, as we got down a couple players,&#8221; said Minichello, a starter on last year&#8217;s Warrior team that lost a state quarterfinal game in overtime to Newport. &#8220;I think our team does a veryu good job of running our defense, knowing how to stop a play.&#8220;If they got a breakaway, it would have been tough on us.&#8221;It&#8217;s been even tougher for teams to stop Minichello lately.She opened state play with two goals and an assist in Wyoming Area&#8217;s 3-0 victory in the first round, then came through with the only goal Saturday.This one came when Kayla Kiwak rifled a shot toward the cage, and Minichello re-directed it into the goal with 17:40 remaining in the first half.&#8220;It was a really nice deflection off of Kayla,&#8221; Minichello said. &#8220;I was there for the tip in the cage.&#8221;<ins></ins><ins>That&#8217;s becoming a recurring theme for Minichello, who has developed a knack for tipping and chipping Kiwak&#8217;s rocket shots. </ins><ins>&#8220;We always say the harder you work in practice, the easier it is in games,&#8221; McGinley said. &#8220;Toni&#8217;s seeing the benefits of how hard she&#8217;s working in practice. We really push her. She&#8217;s working to get in position to score, working to get her stick down, working on her tips. It&#8217;s all coming into play for her now.&#8221; </ins><ins>Now, the Warriors play in the PIAA semifinals and for more history &#8212; a trip to their first state title game - against an Oley Valley team that was upset by Greenwood in the District 3 championship game - which remains the only loss this season for a Lynx team many saw as a favorite to win the state title this season. </ins><ins>&#8220;They&#8217;re a fantastic team. We have a lot of work to do going into Tuesday,&#8221; McGinley said. &#8220;But compliments to the kids. They did this. </ins><ins>&#8220;And that&#8217;s huge.&#8221; </ins>PIAA CLASS A QUARTERFINALSWyoming Area 1, Boiling Springs 0Boiling Springs`0`0 &#8212; 0Wyoming Area`1`0 &#8212; 1First half &#8212; WA, Toni Minichello (Kayla Kiwak), 17:40.Shots &#8212; BS 6; WA 16. Saves &#8212; BS 15 (Carly Galbraith); WA 6 (Ellie Glatz). Penalty corners &#8212; BS 0; WA 6.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

Minichello and Wyoming Area make history with first state quarterfinal win