This afternoon at 3 p.m., a whistle will blow at Maurene Polley Discipline in Malvern, Pa., inside earshot of the Amtrak trains working alongside The Major Line between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
The sector 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 journey, which is able to move hither and yon throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over the following fortnight, ending at Chapman Discipline 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 may be the all-time strongest and most talent-laden postseason bracket I’ve ever seen.
If 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 closing. . 9 groups within the bracket have received the championship earlier than (this consists of the 1988 title received by Downingtown (Pa.) earlier than the district break 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 closing. Certainly, Villa Maria/Emmaus half of the bracket has lots of historical past and lots of expertise. Take, for instance, what might 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 might 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 likely 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 america U-21 nationwide staff. On the opposite aspect, junior Aida Ierubino is an attacking midfielder for Central Bucks West, and her mom, CB West coach Lori Mastropietro Ierubino, was a midfielder for america 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 powerful through the years, even getting a objective within the first minute of play final week within the District 11 closing.
Within the decrease quadrant of the bracket, you’ve 2022 PIAA Class AAA champion Mechanicsburg (Pa.) and 2019 PIAA Class AAA winner West Garden Wilson (Pa.) in a attainable 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 closing.
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 — might 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.
