FIELD HOCKEY Dallas wants return to glory By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor he first season was a period of adjustment. The second was marked by great strides. And now in head coach Mary Kate Stauffer’s third sea- Lake-Lehman's Vera Garreity moves the ball down the field during a scrim- mage against Honesdale. Special seniors lead Lake-l.ehman By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor LEHMAN TWP. - Jean Lipski has nearly seen it all during her two dec- ades on the sidelines at Lake-Lehman, coaching a pair of state champions and some of the best teams in the tra- dition-rich Wyoming Valley Confer- ence. So when the Black Knight field hockey coach says this year’s squad possesses some intangibles she’s nev- er see, before, it might be wise to pay attention. Lipski begins her 23rd year at Lake- Lehman, fielding a team with nine se- niors in the starting lineup and 17 re- turning players from last year’s team that advanced to the state quarterfi- nals. “These seniors are the best role models I've ever seen,” said Lipski, whose team finished with a 19-4 re- cord a year ago. “They're terrific. You constantly hear the seniors saying en- couraging things to the underclass- men. They're exceedingly positive. They don’t miss practices and they play through pain. You couldnt ask for anything more. It’s just what you want from your seniors. “A lot of things have to fall into place for things to work out like you hope, but this group has all of the right tools to have a special season.” Seniors Aime Sgarlat (forward), Joscelyn Mahon (midfield), Alyson Paulauskas (forward), Jamie Lipski, Tina Watkins (midfield) and Caroline Boris (goalkeeper) return from last year’s starting lineup, along with sophomore forward Kelsey Amy. The Black Knights suffered a 2-1 overtime son, the Dallas field hockey team is ready to return to its place as one of the premier pro- grams in the Wyoming Valley Conference. The Mountaineers return 10 of 11 starters from . last year’s team, which finished with an 11-6 re- 8 cord. Dallas lost in the second round of the Dis- trict 2 Class 2A playoffs to eventual state quarterfinalist Lake-Lehman. “We finally have some experience,” said Stauffer, a New Jersey native who teach- es at the Dallas Middle School. “We've been young the last two years. Our junior class is the back- bone of our team and they have been since they've been fresh- men. The girls are finally com- ing into their own.” Under former coaches Robyn Jones and Ron Moran, the Moun- ~taineers were among the elite in the ¥ WVC in the 1980s and 90s. At one "point, the program won five consecu- § tive District 2 championships and went _. more than a dozen years without mis- i Ly sing the playoffs. But after having only two coaches for 20 seasons — Jones and Moran combined to coach the team from 1980 through 1999 - Stauffer became program’s third head coach in four years when she took over in 2004. “In the first year, we were all getting used to each other. Everything was new. Last year, the girls started to come around and believe in them- selves. This year, I very rarely have to repeat my- self. I think there’s an overall maturity in the i program. “I think our program gone through a lot of changes. And I mean that in a positive way. We've been on a positive swing forward. The Dallas field hockey program has had a lot of suc- cess. We definitely want to get it back to that lev- el.” The Mountaineers will field a starting lineup con- sisting of all seniors and juniors, said Stauffer. Some of the players to watch are seniors Julianne Pettit (de- fender), Stephanie Pace (forward) and Amanda Musto (goalkeeper); juniors Paige Selenski (forward), Alyssa TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO\FRED ADAMS loss against District 1 champion Villa Maria Academy in last year’s state playoffs. Seniors Erin Sutliff (midfield), Emily Deubler (halfback) and Elyse Apaliski (halfback) will join junior forward Sammy Swingle in the start- ing lineup. Sutliff and Swingle both saw significant playing time last sea- - son. I i “Our speed is one of our / ; strengths. We're quick,” Lipski / said. “The players also trust each / other, so theyll take chances. They’ll go after a ball when some- one else might not. When you have a team that will take those kinds of risks, I believe you can have better outcomes.” But — like all good coaches — Lipski says there’s room for improvement. “Our passing is good, but it can get better,” she said. “Everything can get sharper, faster, and one step better. With the work ethic and desire of these girls, I think we’ll continue to get better. They know there’s work to be done.” Lipski doesn’t want to start think- ing about the state playoffs so early in the season, but she says this year’s squad reminds her of a previous team. “There are a lot of similarities to the 1996 team,” said the coach, referring .. her first state championship team. N FOR THE POST/ CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Alyssa Pyros The Black Knights also won a PIAA is one of the Pyros (midfield), Lauren Zimniski (midfield), Bailey 8 icaders at Van Jura (midfield) and Lindsey Davenport (goalkeep- Dallas. er); and sophomore forwards Katie Confer and Ni- cole Clemson. Sophomore Tara Puffenberger, a er 3 transfer from Wyoming Seminary, is also expected to play a big role for the Mountaineers when she See L-L HOCKEY, Page 10 | a See DALLAS HOCKEY, Page fi 9002 ‘€ ¥39W3Ld3S 'AVANNS ‘NOILI3S TVIO3dS L 39vd
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