Susquehannock girls reach first YAIAA championship game
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If any Susquehannock girls' lacrosse player attended the YAIAA championship the last three years, she could only go as a spectator.
That will not be the case Thursday night.
The Warriors, who host the league tournament finals, will be a part of it after their 14-13 semifinal win Tuesday at Central York High School. They advanced by dethroning last year's league champion, York Catholic, which achieved a first in its own right last season: The Fighting Irish are the only program to defeat Kennard-Dale for a league title.
Susquehannock (16-1) will try to do the same.
Related: Kennard-Dale advances to fifth straight YAIAA championship game
"We've been looking forward to this for so long," senior goalkeeper Amber Orner said. "We knew this was our last shot to play them."
Orner and the Warriors lost an April 2 regular-season matchup to Kennard-Dale, 11-6, after the Rams pulled away in the second half. They will meet on the same field but under different circumstances.
The Rams (17-0) defeated West York, 18-4, on Tuesday to reach Thursday's tournament final at 5:30 p.m. They will play for their fourth league crown in five straight title game appearances.
Susquehannock hadn't even qualified for the four-team league tourney until this year. Kennard-Dale and York Catholic always finished ahead of the Warriors for the two spots from Division II.
"To come away with a win was huge for where we think we are," Susquehannock coach Steve Marshner said.
They think they are contenders, but they still don't know if they can beat Kennard-Dale. Orner wants to find out.
Fellow senior Katelyn Welch trembled for a moment just thinking about it. Her six goals Tuesday led the Warriors. Three first-half scores were vital in spurring an early comeback. The Fighting Irish (10-4) jumped to a 4-1 lead behind the efforts of Shannon Moore and Lindsey China. Moore provided six goals for the match, while China scored twice and dished out two assists. York Catholic controlled the pace for the first 10 minutes before Welch ignited the Warriors.
She provided consecutive goals, including the go-ahead score, after pulling down a long pass from midfield. Welch credited a timeout by Marshner to guide the turnaround.
"We got super focused, super quick," she said.
Susquehannock pushed its lead to six before the Irish rallied with five straight goals. Three of them came in the final 33 seconds, a sequence in which Marshner didn't have his top player for face-offs because of a yellow card. York Catholic took advantage but ran out of time.
Susquehannock 14, York Catholic 13
York Catholic67—13Susquehannock86—14
York Catholic goals — Shannon Moore 6, Lindsey China 2, Lisa Casagrande 2, Anna Linthicum 2, Maura Palandro.
York Catholic assists — China 2, Kayleigh Pokrivka 2, Sarah Mazzur.
Susquehannock goals — Katelyn Welch 6, Gena Speights 3, Ashley Valway 2, Maddie Ellis, Kate LeBlanc, Riley Roeder.
Susquehannock assists — Valway 4, Welch.
Shots on goal — YC 24, Sus 20.
Goalies — YC, Domenica Shellenberger (6 saves). Sus, Amber Orner (11 saves).