Meanwhile . . . Back In Bloomsburg . . .

When last we left Class of ’71 alum Rosalie Amato Strouse, she was preparing to travel the five miles down Route 11 in Bloomsburg to watch the Wilson Area HS field hockey team take on host Central Columbia in the opening round of the PIAA Division 1A State Championship Tournament  Coincidentally, at the conclusion of the hockey game, Ro wouldn’t have to leave her seat to cheer on her granddaughter, Ella, and her unbeaten Central Columbia Girls Soccer teammates in their opening match of the PIAA Girls Soccer Tournament.

It turned out to be one of those good news / bad news kind of evenings.  Actually it was more like bad news / good news.

For the 16-3-1 Wilson girls, the journey to Bloomsburg marked a milestone for the school’s field hockey program.  It was the first ever appearance in the PIAA State Championship Tournament, a culmination of the best season ever for the program at WHS.

It was fully expected that the pool of the 16 best Class 1A teams in the state would pose the biggest challenge yet for the Warriors.  The fact that Wilson was the only team in the field that regularly trained and played its games on natural grass added a further degree of difficulty to the task.. 

While the introduction of multi-purpose synthetic turf fields has impacted many sports, it has had a particularly noticeable influence on field hockey.  Basically, a small sphere plus a consistent smooth surface equals a whole new ballgame.  Any advantage Wilson had in its home matches played on grass was reversed in the post-season since all tournament games were scheduled for turf fields and all 15 possible opponents in the PIAA playoffs regularly played on synthetic surfaces.  Wilson did get a little help from erstwhile rivals Nazareth and Easton High Schools, which generously lent access to their turf fields for several pre-playoff practice sessions, but the bar at states was always going to be a very high one.

Central Columbia, which boasted a 17-4 overall record and (like Wilson) had qualified for states with a second place finish in its district tournament, struck first and added two more goals for a 3-0 lead at intermission.  The Warriors’ valiant effort to stage a comeback in the second stanza was cut short by the host Blue Jays, who added two more goals, completed the shutout victory and put an end to Wilson’s fabulous season.  

(BTW, Wilson’s 2022 nemesis Northwest Lehigh, which had ended the Warriors’ runs in both the Colonial League and District 11 tournaments, also dropped a first round 5-0 shutout in their PIAA opening round match.   Central Columbia went on to advance to the state semifinals, where it lost a 1-0 overtime match to eventual PIAA Class 1A Champion Boiling Springs)

However, if her alma mater’s field hockey setback had even the slightest negative impact on Rosalie’s evening, she wouldn’t have to wait long to cheer herself up.  Shortly after the Wilson girls left the field and hockey goals were exchanged for soccer nets, it was Central Columbia’s Girls Soccer team that took to the pitch against visiting Susquenita to begin its pursuit of the PIAA Class 2A Championship that had eluded Central in 2021, when it lost in the semifinals to eventual title winner Allentown Central Catholic in OT. 

And it was shortly after the kickoff that Ro’s granddaughter Ella – Central Columbia’s captain and standout holding midfielder – scored the Blue Jays’ first goal to stake the unbeaten District 4 champions to a 1-0 lead.

Ella’s strike turned out to be the winning goal in a 7-0 first round blanking of Susquenita and the first of 24 tallies (against just two opposition goals) that Central put into the nets in the next two weeks as it swept the field to capture its first PIAA State Championship. 

The short trip down the road that Rosalie had taken to watch her high school’s field hockey team and her favorite high school soccer team was followed by about 500 miles of trekking and braving the November winds, rain and cold as Central traversed Pennsylvania in its quest for the state trophy.  Twice Ro and family made the 150 mile round trip to Bernville in Berks County, where Ella and her squad dispatched Trinity 7-0 in the quarterfinal round and three days later rolled over Wyomising 7-1 in the semis. 

Finally, on November 19, Central and its supporters (including Rosalie) wrapped up the 2022 season with a 200 mile round trip to Mechanicsburg, where the Blue Jays posted a convincing 4-1 victory over General McLane HS of Edinboro to cap off a perfect 21-0-0 season and claim their first state title.

Congratulations to Rosalie and family, Ella, her teammates, coaches and supporters, as well as the Wilson High field hockey players, coaches and supporters for their accomplishments, dedication, hard work, teamwork and pursuit of excellence that make youth and school athletics such an important part of our communities and educational institutions.  Well done, everyone!