Olivia Kim of Abington Heights runs past a Twin Valley defender while looking to pass the ball.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
Lady Comets’ Abby Schneider plays tight defense during their PIAA playoff game against Twin Valley.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
Abington Heights senior captain Kiera Crowell brings the ball past midfield.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
Abington’s Morgan Davis takes a shot during play against Twin Valley.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
Morgan Davis of Abington Heights avoids the defense en route to the net.
Buck Norton-Jennings | For Abington Journal
CLARKS SUMMIT — Abington Heights had the advantage of opening the PIAA State Class 2A girls lacrosse tournament at home.
The Lady Comets, one year removed from a run to the state semifinals, however, ran into the misfortune of drawing the eventual state champion in the first round.
Twin Valley began its recovery from a District 3 championship game loss by using eight goals from Taylor Ebert to down Abington Heights 17-8 June 2 for the first of its four state tournament wins.
Madison Lawrence added five goals for the winners, while University of Michigan recruit Ellie Kaplan had two goals and four assists and kept her team in possession by dominating the draws that follow each score.
“We definitely knew that we were going to come into a really difficult game against a super talented team,” Abington Heights coach Becky Davis said. “They showed it today. They were really disciplined on both sides of the ball.”
The loss ended a 20-2 season for the Lady Comets, who repeated their Wyoming Valley Conference and District 2 titles.
“I couldn’t be more proud of their work ethic,” Davis said. “Coming from District 2, it’s always hard when you get outside the area to compete with those other districts throughout the state.
“I’m really proud of the girls. Ourselves and Crestwood have really developed as programs and have shown over the past couple years that we really can compete outside the districts.”
Allie Rothenberger tied the game for Abington Heights with the first of her three goals.
Twin Valley took control by scoring the next five goals, four of them before the first quarter ended.
Freshman Brooklyn Yankow had two goals for the Lady Comets while Olivia Kim, Hawley Lynott and Morgan Davis scored one each.
Season recap
Morgan Davis finished her sophomore season as one of the state’s most prolific scorers with 101 goals and 25 assists. She also controlled 113 draws.
Rothenberger, a senior who will continue her career at Rider, had 67 goals, 29 assists, 78 draw controls and 53 caused turnovers.
Brooklyn Yankow contributed 55 goals and 26 assists.
Rylee Yankow, a senior, led the defense and caused 30 turnovers.
Junior defender Abby Schneider caused 42 turnovers.
Kim, a junior midfielder, set a school record with 50 assists while also scoring 22 times.
Addison Waters made 56 saves and had five shutouts, combining with the defense for 13 goals of two or fewer goals allowed.
“We are losing a very solid senior class that has been together for the last four years,” coach Davis said. “They have created a very nice culture for us and there are some big shoes to fill, but there are a lot of girls that are looking forward to that opportunity.”
