There has been much said and written about what tests the true character of a team.

In the case of Hempfield girls' lacrosse, one way the Black Knights demonstrated their character was scoring twice with less than two minutes left in regulation to erase a 6-4 deficit on Thursday, June 1, in a home game against South Western.

"That has been the thing this whole season - this team never gives up," Claudia Ovchinnikoff, the Hempfield head coach, stated. "That's what I love about this team."

Mia Brennan scored twice in the final 1:35 of regulation to not only tie the game but to also notch a hat trick.

"We were up two goals, and we should have held the ball, but we turned it over," said Randy Kavanaugh, the South Western head coach. "They're a great team. I've played them three times and never beaten them. It's a good lacrosse community over here."

Hempfield's celebration lasted until the 2:09 mark of the second overtime period. That was when the Mustangs' Leah Leonard scored her second goal of the game - the game-winner in a 7-6 victory for the visitors.

The victory gave South Western the third-seed entry into the PIAA Class 3A state playoffs. The Knights still qualified for states despite the loss.

The Mustangs dominated the first few minutes of the match, maintaining possession on the Hempfield end of the field. The threat culminated with a Paige Coates goal to give South Western an early 1-0 edge.

Asked about how the offensive weapons spread the ball around, Kavanaugh said, "We run a sideline play, we do various cutters and try to isolate them. We run the screen to the opposite side - various things to get them into the open."

Isabelle Masengarb knotted the score at 1-1 and Brennan made it 2-1 Hempfield with 13:23 left in the first half.

Though the Mustangs scored the game-tying goal on Leonard's first goal of the game, the Hempfield defense tightened up, not allowing another score for the remaining 12:50 of the first half.

"We came out flat-footed," Ovchinnikoff said. "But just by spreading it out and just moving the ball, taking care of the ball, things began to swing our way. We started playing more disciplined.

"In the second half we came out much better," Ovchinnikoff added. "We played better both on offense and defense."

Hattie Mack went the length of the field and fired a shot past Mustang goalie Camryn Storey with 1:50 left in the half, giving Hempfield a 3-2 halftime edge.

South Western senior Lexi Plesic became a thorn in the collective side of Hempfield, registering a hat trick - all in the second half. She managed to sneak two shots into the Knights' net to give the Mustangs a 4-3 lead with 16:05 to play.

Though Aubrie Buckwalter tied the score for Hempfield seven minutes later, Abby Beil's goal and Plesic's third of the game provided a seemingly insurmountable 6-4 lead with 3:16 left in regulation.

But wait! Hempfield does not give up.

"No matter how down we are, their drive and the support they give each other - this is a special team," Ovchinnikoff said. "I'm very proud of them."

The Black Knights faced the Penncrest Lions in the opening round of the PIAA's on Tuesday. The Lions, who entered the PIAA's as the second seed out of District One, played host to Hempfield.

Hempfield did not get out of the gate offensively and found itself in an early hole.

"They scored five goals before we scored our first one," Ovchinnikoff explained. "We were off today offensively. We weren't in synch."

The Lions moved on to the next round of states with a 14-4 defeat of the Black Knights. Whitney Hershey scored twice for Hempfield. Masengarb and Natalie Bole also scored.

Hershey will be a senior captain leaving the team. However, the team will return the core of its talented players.

Ovchinnikoff remarked on the Knights' 14-7 season, which came to an end in the opening round of states.

"Losing nine starters from last year and making it as far as we did, I'm very proud of our players," she said. "They stepped up.

"Obviously we're sorry for the season being over," continued the coach. "But we are excited for the next couple of years and what's to come."

BOYS LACROSSE

Those who might have counted out the Hempfield boys' lacrosse team on the Wednesday June 7 PIAA Class 3A state playoff game at Downingtown East, were soon made aware of the Black Knights' tenacity.

Downingtown East had dominated the opening period, outscoring Hempfield 6-1. The Cougars, who entered the PIAA's as the number three seed out of District One, were held to only one goal in the second quarter and held scoreless in the third, taking a 7-3 advantage into the final period.

That was when the Knights (17-6) nearly pulled off an exciting comeback. They outscored the Cougars. 6-3 in the fourth quarter, including a 5-1 run in the final six minutes of the game, only to fall short in a 10-9 win for Downingtown.

"We almost had it at the end," said Hempfield head coach Brett Moore. "We started believing that we could do it. It was a heart breaker."

Seamus Mack scored with 4:16 remaining in the final period to make it a 10-7 game. Julian Morales scored his second goal of the game six seconds later and junior Jason Hilton scored his fifth goal of the game with 3:17 showing on the clock to make it 10-9.

The Knights got the ball back with 1:01 left to play but were unable to finish a scoring opportunity.

"We went on a run there," said Mack. "We didn't start out too well, but really started playing as a team. Our defense helped shut them down in the second half.

"We were putting goals in the back of the net," Mack added. "We were putting it together and just ran out of time."

The Cougars (20-3), who earned a trip to the quarterfinals where they'll face Hempfield's Lancaster-Lebanon League rival Manheim Township, somehow managed to penetrate the Hempfield defense despite having difficulties finding good shots. Jake Woodworth notched with a hat trick while fellow senior Bryson Kolinsky finished with two goals and two assists.

"We are really big on possession first," Cougars head coach Joe Horvath explained. "And then we were attacking from the wings trying to get the ball in the middle and take a good shot. We did that a couple of times. Their goalie made some nice saves.

"Offensively we're really patient, trying to take the right shot, not just the first shot," Horvath added.

Hempfield scored first in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 7-4. In a span of 17 seconds, the Cougars tacked on two goals to take a 9-4 lead with only 6:21 to play.

Toby Marco, who also had two assists on the day, scored at the 5:54 mark. Hempfield made it 9-6 only 34 seconds later.

Kolinsky's second goal of the game gave the Cougars just enough breathing room to survive Hempfield scoring three times in 59 seconds.

"I'm very proud of our guys - we went down swinging," Moore said. "This is our first year as a coaching staff. We had some ups and downs as a team, but made it to the state tournament. I couldn't be more proud of these guys. They fought hard."

"Mid-season we were kind of down on ourselves," Mack said. "Once district playoffs began, we started picking each other up. We played pretty well since then."

"Downingtown East can play - they're a great team," Moore commented. "And anytime you're playing District One, it's going to be tough."

"We knew we could compete with them," said Mack. "We came out kind of slow and that kind of hurt us at the end. We just didn't do it in the first quarter."

The Hempfield boys faced Dallastown in the District Three 3A consolation contest at Susquehannock on Thursday evening, June 1.

By the midway point of the match, the Knights had scored seven goals for a 7-2 lead. In the third quarter they doubled their scoring output, carrying a 14-3 shellacking in the fourth quarter of their eventual 17-5 victory.

Hilton came up with six of the Knights' 17 goals. Zack Antesberger notched a hat trick while both Carsten Rankin and Phil Krauser scored two each.

The Knights also got one goal. each from Morales, Isaiah Martin, Dylan Ahlskog and Logan Klinger

BASEBALL

The L-L League Section One all-star team, as voted on by league coaches, was announced with Hempfield represented by six players.

The pitching aces of a team that went 17-6 made the all-star team. Hunter Williams was 4-0 on the year with a 1.69 earned run average. He also helped the team offensively with a .366 batting average.

Logan Harelson went 5-0 on the year.

Drew Benchich, the team's designated hitter, catcher Josh Toole, who batted .457 on the year, third baseman Steve Katch (.383) and infielder Peter Fiore, who not only hit .421, but stole 16 bases, also made all-stars.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL

Senior middle hitter Evan Earhart was named to the second team for the District Three Class 3A boys' volleyball all-stars. Senior setter Cole Jackson and outside hitter Aiden Beiler both made third team.