Northampton and Easton had split their regular season field hockey contests, each team winning on the other’s home field 2-1. The squads faced off last Wednesday in the district semifinals at Whitehall. The Rovers capitalized on a penalty stroke 5:12 into the game and held on to win, 1-0.

In field hockey, a penalty stroke can be awarded for a foul in the penalty circle that prevents the “probable scoring of a goal.” In this case, a Northampton defender who was protecting the goal behind goalie Kadee Schrader was struck in the torso with the ball resulting in the attacker-on-goalie shot from 7 yards away.

The goal capped off a miserable start to the game for the K-Kids. The Rovers racked up 6 early corners and dominated play.

A despondent Carrie Saul summed it up after the game.

“The slow start killed us,” she said. “We knew that going into this game, it was going to be a game of opportunities. And whoever had the better opportunities and capitalized on them was going to win. We were a little nervous and not used to being here (in the semifinals).”

Northampton responded to the goal by earning six corners of their own in the last five minutes of the first period. On the third of those corners, Morgan McIntire beat the Easton goalie with her shot, but a Rovers’ defender was able to get a stick on the low ball and deflect it away just before it crossed the goal line.

Unlike the 12 total corners in the first period, the middle two periods saw little in the way of good scoring chances for either team. Easton had but a single corner. Northampton had one in each period.

As the clock was winding down on their season, the K-Kids ramped up the pressure, earning five corners in the last five minutes of the game, including one last chance after the final horn had sounded.

Northampton’s field hockey program has been a model of consistency. In terms of team sports, they are the only K-Kids’ fall sports team to qualify for districts in each of the past five years. This year’s team will be saying goodbye to nine seniors that have been part of that recent run of success.

Five of those seniors are looking to play field hockey in college. Bri Sell will be attending Arcadia University. She might be joined there by Morgan McIntire. Meredith McGraw will play at Earlham College in Indiana. Olivia Lorah may play at Albright. Laura Filchner is considering Albright or Juniata.