Kennard-Dale, Susquehannock to play in final
Kennard-Dale girls’ lacrosse made history last season; Susquehannock made history this season.
Get used to it, because the two programs will make some more history at 5 p.m. Wednesday night when the teams face off in the District 3 Class 2A championship at Hersheypark Stadium.
It marks the first time two York County schools will face off in a District 3 girls’ lacrosse championship game.
“It’s going to be cool to see two York County teams in a district final,” Kennard-Dale coach Kelly Wetzel said. “Just from an historic standpoint, that’s kind of exciting.”
Kennard-Dale and Susquehannock each survived Monday night’s District 3 semifinals.
Kennard-Dale knocked off rival York Catholic, 13-8, at Susquehannock High School, while the Warriors defeated Hershey, 18-10, at Penn Manor.
“It’s going to be a huge game and a huge crowd,” Susquehannock’s Rachel Marshner said about the district final. “It’s what, a 10-minute drive from here to there?
“They’re good. They’re a great team, but we’re a great team. This game is going to be so much fun to play. We’re all excited for this one.”
Susquehannock battled through a back-and-forth first half against Hershey, and Susquehannock (19-3) found itself trailing, 7-6.
“After that it just clicked with us,” said Marshner, who finished with six goals and two assists. “We went on a 10-0 run, got the running clock and just held it after that.”
The win guaranteed the Susquehannock program its first district final appearance, and the Warriors also set the school mark for most wins in a season.
“This is a really great feeling, because we’ve never gotten there before,” said Susquehannock’s Riley Roeder, who had 12 draw controls. “It’s a big step for our program.
“I think we all knew we had a lot of talent on this team and we were going to go far. So this is a great accomplishment.”
A year ago, Kennard Dale (17-1-1) became the first York County school to win a girls' lacrosse district title. It punched its ticket to a return trip to the title game in an impressive first half against longtime nemesis York Catholic (15-3-1). The Rams ran out to a 6-1 halftime lead.
“This time, honestly, we really weren’t nervous,” Kennard-Dale’s Emmie Dressel said about the Rams' third meeting with the Irish this season.
Known for its high-powered offense, which scored a combined 50 goals in the first two rounds of the district tournament, Kennard-Dale’s defense dominated the first half. The Rams held York Catholic to a single Amanda Tufano goal in the first half.
“Our defense killed it,” Dressel said.
“We owe it to Megan Halczuk (12 draw controls) and our defense.”
Freshman goalie Maria Schneider finished with 12 saves.
“I feel like in this game I had my teammates, especially, and the crowd to pump me up,” Schneider said.
The two teams played to a 7-7 draw in the second half, with Kennard-Dale's offense responding whenever York Catholic made a run.
“We wanted to stay positive, keep scoring … and play our game,” Kennard-Dale’s Gillian Zimmerman.
York Catholic coach Rob Linthicum added: "We're typically real strong defensively. We're not as strong offensively, but I was frankly shocked we only had one goal in the first half. They did a real nice job."