Opportunities elude Penn-Trafford field hockey team
The penalty-corner opportunities steadily increased for the Penn-Trafford High field hockey team in last Wednesday's WPIAL Class AAA championship game against Fox Chapel under miserable skies at North Allegheny High's Newman Stadium.
On six occasions in the first half, Penn-Trafford had a penalty-corner opportunity, and the Warriors had 10 more in the second half and two more in overtime. Each time, though, either the ball was mishit or the Foxes employed a superior defensive effort to keep the game scoreless.
The Foxes were the beneficiaries of just one penalty corner. Goals, however, are not awarded on penalty corners. So, when senior forward Sammi Pitz saw the ball deflect off Penn-Trafford goalie Harry Miller with 3:09 left in overtime, she pounced on it and shot it into the cage for the game's only goal before Miller had a chance to react. The 1-0 loss ended the Warriors season at 14-4-1. It was the second time Penn-Trafford had lost to Fox Chapel as the Foxes won a 3-0 non-section game over the Warriors in September.
Fox Chapel's elation following the 1-0 triumph and their first-ever WPIAL Class AAA championship was short-lived. Less than 12 hours later, the Foxes were on a bus to State College, where they lost to State College, 5-0, in a PIAA Class AAA play-in game last Thursday afternoon.
Given the circumstances, however, Penn-Trafford coach Cindy Dutt would have loved to have had the opportunity to put her team on a bus and head to Happy Valley. But she couldn't forget the team's missed opportunities.
"It's absolutely disappointing," said Dutt, who spoke moments after her team accepted their runner-up medals amid the sounds of the Fox Chapel team's celebrations cascaded around the Warriors amid a relentless, chilly mist.
"It is what it is," she said. "They are really good on their defensive corners, and we just couldn't convert. And, it was a disappointment."
Dutt said that while the Warriors had more offensive scoring opportunities, they seemed less than their best in overtime.
"They weren't going to be packing (the defensive) circle," she said. "But we couldn't score on our corners either. On the winning goal, the post was open and we should have had a defender there. That's what happened. You know what? That happens."
Penn-Trafford is graduating eight seniors, but the Warriors will return plenty of good players, including sophomore midfielder Isabel Siergiej and junior defender Tori Lago.
On six occasions in the first half, Penn-Trafford had a penalty-corner opportunity, and the Warriors had 10 more in the second half and two more in overtime. Each time, though, either the ball was mishit or the Foxes employed a superior defensive effort to keep the game scoreless.
The Foxes were the beneficiaries of just one penalty corner. Goals, however, are not awarded on penalty corners. So, when senior forward Sammi Pitz saw the ball deflect off Penn-Trafford goalie Harry Miller with 3:09 left in overtime, she pounced on it and shot it into the cage for the game's only goal before Miller had a chance to react. The 1-0 loss ended the Warriors season at 14-4-1. It was the second time Penn-Trafford had lost to Fox Chapel as the Foxes won a 3-0 non-section game over the Warriors in September.
Fox Chapel's elation following the 1-0 triumph and their first-ever WPIAL Class AAA championship was short-lived. Less than 12 hours later, the Foxes were on a bus to State College, where they lost to State College, 5-0, in a PIAA Class AAA play-in game last Thursday afternoon.
Given the circumstances, however, Penn-Trafford coach Cindy Dutt would have loved to have had the opportunity to put her team on a bus and head to Happy Valley. But she couldn't forget the team's missed opportunities.
"It's absolutely disappointing," said Dutt, who spoke moments after her team accepted their runner-up medals amid the sounds of the Fox Chapel team's celebrations cascaded around the Warriors amid a relentless, chilly mist.
"It is what it is," she said. "They are really good on their defensive corners, and we just couldn't convert. And, it was a disappointment."
Dutt said that while the Warriors had more offensive scoring opportunities, they seemed less than their best in overtime.
"They weren't going to be packing (the defensive) circle," she said. "But we couldn't score on our corners either. On the winning goal, the post was open and we should have had a defender there. That's what happened. You know what? That happens."
Penn-Trafford is graduating eight seniors, but the Warriors will return plenty of good players, including sophomore midfielder Isabel Siergiej and junior defender Tori Lago.
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