Parkland High School field hockey players were looking to get the bad taste of defeat out of their mouths as quickly as possible. Following a 2-0 defeat against Emmaus in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference semifinals, the Trojans just wanted to get back out on the field and experience victory again.

That’s just what happened as Elaina Fragassi found the back of the cage for the game’s only goal as third-seeded Parkland defeated sixth-seeded Liberty 1-0 in a District 11 Class 3A quarterfinal at Parkland High School last Thursday afternoon.

“We stayed focused and didn’t let the referees affect us,” said Parkland head coach Julie Sikorsky. “They called back a goal early in the game that after watching film and seeing photos was a goal. After that they didn’t get defeated and continued to fight.”

Sometimes in games it is all about being in the right place at the right time and getting a fortunate bounce. That happened for the Trojans (15-6 overall) with the lone goal off a penalty corner, as Fragassi positioned herself in front of cage and was there for a rebound opportunity that she put home, giving Parkland the victory.

“We had several offensive corners throughout the game,” Sikorsky said. “We have struggled to finish. We get the initial shot off, but don’t always crash the cage for second and third shot opportunities. Emma Brayford took the initial shot and Elaina Fragassi crashed the pads to tap it in for the goal.”

Parkland’s defense kept the Hurricanes (9-10) off the scoreboard for the entire game.

“They did a good job attacking outside of the circle,” Sikorsky said. “We’ve had issues with feet in the circle. We’ve practiced attacking the ball outside of the circle to avoid the defensive corner and they did that well. Tess [Garchinsky] is always very vocal, calling out marks and encouraging in the backfield. She is always a key component. Our midfield hustled back often to help on defensive corners or to pick up marks encroaching from the 25-yard line.”

The win gives Parkland more time together and another game at least, with a shot at states with one more victory.

“The girls are humble and always thankful for any win or opportunity to play another game,” said Sikorsky. “Their goal now is to seek redemption against Nazareth and get another shot at Emmaus. They would ideally love a state game as we’ve only made it there two or three times in program history.”

Parkland takes on second-seeded Nazareth in the semifinal round.