This afternoon at 3 p.m., a whistle will blow at Maurene Polley Area in Malvern, Pa., inside earshot of the Amtrak trains working alongside The Foremost Line between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
The sphere hockey sport, that includes former PIAA discipline hockey champions Millersburg Penn Manor (Pa.) and Malvern Villa Maria (Pa.) is the primary in a 15-game rollercoaster trip, which is able to stream hither and yon throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over the following fortnight, ending at Chapman Area in Mechanicsburg, Pa. two Saturdays from now.
PIAA discipline hockey is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this 12 months with a bracket within the AAA classification with rivals, traps, snares, and backstories galore. It is perhaps the all-time strongest and most talent-laden postseason bracket I’ve ever seen.
While you break down the 16 groups which certified, solely 4 groups — West Grove Avon Grove (Pa.), Easton (Pa.) Space, Boyertown (Pa.), and Gibsonia Pine-Richland (Pa.) have by no means made the state ultimate. . 9 groups within the bracket have gained the championship earlier than (this contains the 1988 title gained by Downingtown (Pa.) earlier than the district cut up in half in 2003.
And importantly, there are two sitting state champions within the bracket: Emmaus (Pa.) and Villa Maria, the latter of which moved as much as Class AAA from AA.
And since the Hurricanes and the Hornets are in the identical half of the bracket, solely certainly one of these two sides could make the state ultimate. Certainly, Villa Maria/Emmaus half of the bracket has loads of historical past and loads of expertise. Take, for instance, what may occur within the quarterfinal spherical. The winner of Villa Maria-Penn Manor should play both final 12 months’s PIAA AAA finalist Manheim (Pa.) Township, or 2017 PIAA AAA finalist Downingtown (Pa.) West.
In Emmaus’ quarter of the bracket, the second-round sport may very well be both 2019 PIAA Class AA champion Plymouth Wyoming Valley West (Pa.), or 1995 PIAA Class AAA champion Fairview Village Methacton (Pa.).
Now, within the reverse half, Hummelstown Decrease Dauphin (Pa.) will tackle Doylestown Central Bucks West (Pa.), a sport which is able to see not solely two of the best youth gamers within the nation, however their extremely achieved moms will probably be on the sidelines. Sophomore Chase Strohm is a defensive midfielder for Decrease Dauphin, and her mom, LD assistant Kylie Kulina Strohm, was capped for the US U-21 nationwide group. On the opposite facet, junior Aida Ierubino is an attacking midfielder for Central Bucks West, and her mom, CB West coach Lori Mastropietro Ierubino, was a midfielder for the US within the 1994 FIH World Cup.
Factor is, neither Easton nor Boyertown, that are within the Decrease Dauphin/CB West quarter, are a pushover by any means. Easton has performed Emmaus robust over time, even getting a objective within the first minute of play final week within the District 11 ultimate.
Within the decrease quadrant of the bracket, you will have 2022 PIAA Class AAA champion Mechanicsburg (Pa.) and 2019 PIAA Class AAA winner West Garden Wilson (Pa.) in a doable second-round match. However, don’t sleep on Tredyffrin Conestoga (Pa.), which performed Villa Maria to a one-goal sport final Saturday within the District 1 ultimate.
Now, I acknowledge that there are a selection of states that are additionally crowning champions in discipline hockey over the following three weeks. However this bracket — this championship — may very well be actually particular. The competitors goes to be exceptional. I hope you, pricey readers, are in a position to make it out to a few of these video games.