KINGSTON — The first goal opened the floodgates.
And by the time they closed, Crestwood had unleashed a powerful force that left little doubt who the mightiest team in the district was.
Heather Pitman scored a hat trick to spark a five-goal barrage in the opening half Tuesday and top-ranked and unbeaten Crestwood lashed Lake-Lehman, 7-1 in the District 2 Class 2A field hockey championship game that ran the clock through the second half under the mercy rule at Wyoming Seminary’s Nesbitt Stadium.
“I just really wanted it,” said Pitman, part of a senior corps of Comets who won their fourth consecutive district title.
Evidently, so did the rest of her teammates.
Fellow senior Hannah Ackers added three assists in the opening half, junior Jordan Olenginski peppered the cage with a couple of goals in the second half and senior Ashleigh Thomas finished with a goal and an assist as Crestwood, which went 13-0 through Wyoming Valley Conference and District 2 play.
What’s more, Crestwood’s starting defense didn’t allow a single score as the Comets cruised into Tuesday’s PIAA Class 2A opener against the No. 5 team from District 3.
“I was just happy with the way they played,” Crestwood coach Patsy Moratori said. “They cut hard to balls. Everything we’ve been working on this season kind of came together tonight – from top to bottom.
“They played outstanding.”
It started with Pitman, who hadn’t scored more than twice in a game this season but took off on an early scoring spree in the district championship.
She pushed across the game’s first goal 8:25 into the game, and it set a rather rapid tone.
Thomas followed with a goal little more than four minutes later, Pitman added two more scores and Lizzy Dessoye made it 5-0 as the Comets scored five times in a 19-minute span to set the mercy rule in motion by halftime.
“I think our team really needed it,” Pitman said of her sudden penchant for putting the ball in the cage. “I’ve been working on cutting more. I was cutting to the balls I shot. We work really hard. We don’t give up. We have to keep pushing for the state championship.”
That relentlessness continued well into the second half, when Olenginski popped two goals within three minutes to boost Crestwood’s lead to 7-0.
“They’re just that good,” said an impressed Lake-Lehman coach Jean Lipski, whose team fell to 15-2 – with both losses coming at the hands of Crestwood this season. “As I’ve said, they’re just a strong, fast, well-skilled team with a lot of seasoned players.
“And they’re good.”
Despite the loss, Lehman will also advance to the Class 2A state tournament and face the top team from District 11 on Tuesday.
“This one’s done. We move on,” Lipski said. “There are a lot of things we have to work on.”
Crestwood, meanwhile, will work on winning some more.
“We came out playing our best,” Pitman said. “You can always keep improving.”
Crestwood 7, Lake-Lehman 1
Lake-Lehman`0`1`—`1
Crestwood`5`2`—`7
First half — 1. CRE, Hunter Pitman 8:25: 2. CRE, Ashleigh Thomas (Mackenzie Kile) 12:51; 3. CRE, Pitman (Hannah Ackers) 14:17; 4. CRE, Pitman (Ackers) 20:22; 5. CRE, Lizzy Dessoye (Ackers) 27:31. Second half — 6. CRE, Jordan Olenginski 5:50; 7. CRE, Olenginski (Thomas) 8:12; 8. LL, Kate Supey (Taylor Alba) 23:39.
Shots — LL 6; CRE 24. Saves — LL 17 (Alicia Galasso); CRE 4 (Marlee Dillon). Penalty corners — LL 4; CRE 10.
