Winning Berks County championships seems like a regular event for the Oley Valley field hockey team.
Despite a strong four-year run, Taylor Vaccaro and seven other Lynx seniors were down to their final chance to check that feat off the to-do list.
“We knew this was our last shot so this was all we wanted,” Vaccaro said. “We knew we were going to give it our all in this game.”
Oley Valley overcame an early deficit to avenge last year’s championship game loss with a 3-1 victory over Wilson Saturday night at Alvernia, making the Lynx’s third straight county championship appearance a triumphant one.
Izzy Buehler, Julia Wagner and Vaccaro scored goals as the top-seeded Lynx (19-1-1) defeated second-seeded Wilson (14-7) for the second time this season.
“It’s something that we really wanted for this group of seniors who haven’t had one (championship) yet,” said Oley Valley coach Tiffany Cappellano. “To be able to add this to their resume as a class is really special.”
The Class of 2024 players watched as Oley Valley reeled off four straight Berks titles from 2016-19. Despite winning four division titles and 79 games over the last four years, this group hadn’t reached the pinnacle. That’s why win No. 80 was so special.
“It feels really great to come out with the win,” Vaccaro said.
The Lynx started strong, dominating possession and earning penalty corners in the first quarter. But the solid play of goalie Catherine Wolf and a breakaway goal had the Lynx staring at a 1-0 deficit eight minutes into the game.
Caroline Horace scored on the breakaway off a pass from Mallory Sauppee to revive memories of Wilson’s 2-1 win over Oley Valley in the 2022 championship game.
“We really came out of the gate strong,” Cappellano said. “It was like reliving the county final from last year with the breakaways. But there was still so much time left in the game.”
Buehler scored the equalizer off an assist from Ava Walters five minutes into the second quarter.
The game remained tied until Wagner knocked in a rebound after Wolf had saved the initial shot off a penalty corner five minutes into the second half. Vaccaro tacked on the Lynx’s final goal with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“I think we did a really good job staying positive,” Vaccaro said. “We knew that if we kept playing the way we were and kept our energy up, we could come out on top.”
Wilson put together one last flurry with three shots midway through the fourth quarter, but Megan Schaeffer turned all three aside.
Oley Valley finished with advantages of 13-4 in shots and 8-2 in penalty corners. Wolf made 10 saves for the Bulldogs.
“Oley is an awesome team,” said Wilson coach Kim Underwood. “We played a really good team tonight and I think we played well. I just don’t think we played as well as they did.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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