The field hockey season is over for Bethlehem teams, as Liberty and Bethlehem Catholic were bounced out of the District 11 tournament last week.

The Hurricanes fell to Parkland 1-0 in the 3A quarterfinal round thanks to a lone goal by Parkland sophomore Elaina Fragassi to preserve the win.

It was a stark contrast from the team’s regular season meeting, which saw the Trojans dominate en route to a 4-0 win.

Head coach Jill Dorn hopes that the lessons learned over the course of this season and how they competed in the postseason will pay dividends for the team heading into next season.

“I think in the final game we learned so much about this team and that the underclassmen had a great opportunity to understand the value of how the entirety of the season culminates into what happens in the postseason,” said Dorn. “Having a week and a half to prepare for one team, film study, and practice plans devoted to the way we needed to approach our level of play fine-tunes the preparation needed. We are encouraged by the level of confidence the team walked away with, but we need to work on training with that mindset in the offseason and continue to use that to propel us to the team we want to be.”

Parkland moves on to play Nazareth in Wednesday’s semifinals, while top-seeded Emmaus takes on Easton in the other semifinal round.

Liberty finishes the season at 9-10 and graduates four players from this year’s team including Victoria Oquendo, Tavia Flecksteiner, Nicole Guzman and Sydney Taylor. With plenty of players back in the fold next season, Dorn is excited to see how their growth flourishes with more experience.

“This past offseason we were fortunate enough to bring our incoming freshmen in early on in the offseason and they all contributed in a big way,” she said. “The growth of the players between freshmen and sophomore year will help next year’s returnees have a solid supporting cast of players who have varsity experience, postseason experience, and have learned from all the adjustments to playing at the high school level. Our hopes are that the team sticks together in the plan to foresee where we want to continue to go based on how far we’ve come. Although some players choose to train for collegiate play and take the necessary steps to travel and play with clubs, not every player does. But if they commit to our strength and conditioning coach and the opportunities we will offer as a program to train together as a high school program they will still have great opportunities that will be advantageous for us next year.

“We see the level of competition coming up in our younger athletes, were fortunate enough to work with these players in offseason clinics and camps, and are eager to continue to establish these fundamental expectations of Liberty Field Hockey. Watching the girls compete in their last game, watching them train and peak at such an important part of the season reaffirms how it all comes with time, but we want to work to get their a little sooner for next season.”

Bethlehem Catholic lost to Wilson 6-0 in their 1A opener over the weekend. The Hawks finished the year at 5-13. Wilson moves on to play Palmerton in tonight’s quarters, while top-seeded Moravian Academy plays Palisades in the top bracket.