Lewisburg tops Line Mountain in district semi
Nov. 2—SELINSGROVE — Tia Berge and Maddy Moyers will be ninth-graders until the end of the school year, but they haven't been "freshman" field hockey players for some time now. They're full-fledged varsity starters for a Lewisburg team that returned to the district championship game on the strength of their goals Tuesday.
Moyers' breakway goal snapped a scoreless tie with 3 1/2 minutes to play in the third quarter, and Berge added insurance in the waning minutes as the Green Dragons beat Line Mountain, 2-0, in a District 4 Class A field hockey semifinal at Selinsgrove's Bolig Stadium.
Second-seeded Lewisburg (13-5) won its fourth consecutive game and avenged a season-opening home loss to the Eagles (4-0 on Aug. 31).
"They're a great team, and we've just worked so hard this season correcting all the flaws that we had that game," said Green Dragons junior midfielder Ryan Brouse. "So we knew we kinda had something to prove coming out here. I think we played great as a team. I'm so proud of how we played as a team."
Lewisburg, which appeared in three straight district finals from 2018-20 (winning in 2019), will play top-seeded Central Columbia for the crown at 7 p.m. Thursday back at Selinsgrove. The Blue Jays (17-3) won their 12th consecutive game by blanking two-time defending district champion Bloomsburg, 3-0, in Tuesday's other semi. Central's only other district final appearance was a win over Lewisburg for the 1985 Class 2A title.
Sixth-seeded Line Mountain (9-10-1), which had won four in a row, plays No. 4 Bloomsburg (13-7) in a rematch of last year's championship game for a state playoff berth 5 p.m. Thursday at Selinsgrove.
The Green Dragons graduated the players responsible for 68% of last season's points, and they got off to a relatively slow start with just four goals in as many games. Since then, in a run coinciding with the addition of Moyers to the starting lineup at left forward, they've gone 11-3 while averaging 4.7 goals per game — which includes a loss to newly-minted District 2 Class A champion Wyoming Area in the only other game they were shut out this season.
Moyers became an instant contributor — she has two hat tricks among her 11 goals — and her presence helped Lewisburg's established varsity scorers flourish: senior Maddie Ikeler (16 goals this season) and juniors Avery Mast (17) and Whitney Berge (13). Tia Berge, younger sister of Whitney, scored her first varsity goals with one in each of the Green Dragons' last three games.
"I've had these girls since junior high, and (Tia Berge and Moyers) have played beyond their years — even in junior high. So I knew that we had a bright future coming up to the varsity level. They just have fit right in. It's been awesome," said Lewisburg first-year coach Tonya Berge. "We have four of our forward line girls that are in double-digits for scoring tallies, so everybody's a threat up there. But anytime you have — I mean, even Tia helping from the midfield, and Ryan has had some goals from the midfield — that definitely takes the pressure off.
"We don't come into one of these games and they can mark just one top scorer. They have to be aware of everybody."
Eagles senior mid Taylor Rothermel cleared the ball on both of Lewisburg's two first-quarter penalty corners. Line Mountain then had a series of four corners in the final 3:12 of the period with Green Dragons senior Keeley Baker stopping the only shot on cage.
In the second quarter, Lewisburg sent a long ball diagonally across the circle to the right post where Eagles standout freshman Miley Brezgel dove to make a save as Ikeler crashed over a pair of defenders beyond the end line. Several minutes later, Moyers flipped a pass from left to right across the circle to Ikeler, who flicked a shot off the left post.
The Eagles had no shots after the first quarter, and they had only one corner in the second half.
"They possessed the ball well and they blocked up in front of the circle very well," said Line Mountain coach Maggie Fessler. "It was hard to get a corner opportunity when you can't get the ball inside the circle. They looked to double(-team) us right outside the circle a lot, and that really slowed our attack down."
Midway through the third quarter, Line Mountain's Alana Martz pushed a ball past goalie Keeley Baker, but Brouse swooped in to clear it away from the cage. Soon after, Tia Berge took possession near midfield and fed Whitney Berge for an attack that ended with Brezgel thwarting Moyers.
It was late in the third when Brouse dug the ball out of the Eagles' attacking end and passed ahead to Moyers in the middle of the field. Moyers accelerated between a pair of defenders before they could get a stick on the ball and bolted 35 yards down the middle for a shot that rolled just past Brezgel's attempt at a kick stop.
"I saw the one girl to my right pressuring, so I thought I have to use this to my advantage so I just ran faster. When I saw the girl on the left pressuring me, I just decided to go middle instead of going left," Moyers said. "I honestly was surprised (to score), but I'm very glad that it went in because I definitely think that gave us a confidence boost and encouraged us to keep playing hard."
"I think Miley is making super-hellish plays continuously, and when you're stuck in three-vs-one situations a lot you're exhausted," Fessler said. "She's laying it all out for numerous plays leading into that. We kind of let her out to dry a couple times, and that's tough for a freshman to deal with."
Brezgel finished with nine saves, turning away Mast and Moyers during a three-minute span late in the fourth. The Green Dragons earned their fifth and final corner with 2:09 to play, and Tia Berge ripped the insert from her sister into the cage off the stick of a diving Brezgel.
"I think we bring more than what people expect (from freshmen)," said Moyers.
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DISTRICT 4 CLASS A SEMIFINAL
At Selinsgrove H.S.
NO. 2 LEWISBURG 2, NO. 6 LINE MOUNTAIN 0
Third quarter
L-Maddy Moyers, 3:36.
Fourth quarter
L-Tia Berge (Whitney Berge), 1:39.
Shots: L 10-2. Corners: LM 6-5. Cards: None. Defensive saves: None. Saves: Line Mountain 9 (Miley Brezgel); Lewisburg 2 (Keeley Baker).
