DUNMORE — Ask Robert Hughes about Tessa Cegelka, and the Holy Redeemer coach takes a moment to gather his thoughts.
He points out a play in Holy Redeemer’s quarterfinal victory over Lakeland where the senior co-captain had a wide-open look at a goal, a point-blank shot from three yards away, but instead, dished it off to a junior-varsity player so she could attempt the shot.
“She’s an incredible kid, and an unselfish athlete,” Hughes said Celgelka. “She’s a leader, a great teammate and a great friend to her players.”
Cegelka made her presence felt Saturday morning in the District 2 Class 1A semifinals against Holy Cross.
The senior found the back of the net one minute into the match, and added two second-half goals as the No. 3 Royals advanced to Wednesday’s district final with a 5-0 victory over the second-seeded Crusaders at Schautz Stadium.
“For us, coming into this match, it was a lot about the mental part,” Cegelka said. “We’ve never been a third seed before in districts. Coming to their field, and coming home with a shutout, I think it helps us to build momentum for the next game. For me, winning a title this year would mean everything. Going 4 for 4 in district finals, knowing you and your team achieved this and accomplished it, it’s life changing.”
Redeemer (10-9) will look for its fifth-straight district title, and because of an upset of No. 1 Montrose by No. 4 Blue Ridge (9-6-2), will host the title game Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Forty Fort fields.
“It’s a new year, and a new team, so I’m excited for them. I’m glad that our younger players are going to have a chance to experience it. There’s nothing like playing at our home field,” Hughes said.
Play fast. Score early. Play possession soccer.
Saturday’s start was just what Hughes drew up. Pressing right from the opening whistle, Redeemer drove deep into Crusader territory, forcing the defense to drive the ball out of play, setting up a Royal corner.
Kyra Chepolis calmly jogged to the flag, set the ball up and lofted a perfect pass right in front of the goal. Cegelka was there waiting, ripping the shot into the open goal as Redeemer lead, 1-0, just 61 seconds into the match.
“There’s nothing like getting that first goal to get the nerves settled down,” Hughes said, “and get back into the rhythm of playing our style of soccer.”
Cegelka was just getting started. Her second goal came off a perfect through ball by Emily Werner before completing the hat trick with 16 minutes left. Working off a direct kick from about 25 yards out, Elyse Kunec bent the ball around the wall of Crusaders defenders. One Royal missed the connecting pass, but Cegelka was trailing — hitting it in stride and past Holy Cross (11-6-2) keeper Alaina Scassellati for the 5-0 lead.
“I was fortunate to connect on all the passes from my teammates,” Cegelka said. “The first half, at the end, I kind of felt that we slowed down a little bit. We knew that we were going to need a big second half because it was just a 2-0 lead.”
When Cegelka wasn’t finding the goal, Nina Lombardi was. And that’s a problem for opposing teams in the district, because she’s just a freshman that’s making her statement in the postseason with six goals in the last two matches.
After scoring four goals in the win over Lakeland, the freshman continued her scoring stretch Saturday.
She increased Redeemer’s lead to 2-0 in the 14th minute after Sydney Sapulak centered the ball and sent a pass into the 18-yard box where Lombardi showed some nifty footwork, dribbling into space to create her shot.
The duo hooked up again early in the second half as Sapulak dribbled wide, and sent a perfect cross to Lombardi for her sixth goal of the postseason.
“For me, there is a lot of nerves because I’m a freshman. Right now, I’m just focusing on looking for teammates and finding those connecting passes,” Lombardi said. “I just want to play hard. I felt good with my goals. When you have those chances, you have to shoot with confidence. I’m excited to play for the district title. I just want to win.”
Once again, keeper Sadie Werner and her defense — Grace Stetz-Madden, Edie Perzia, Chepolis, Sapulak and Hayleigh Dunsmuir — dominated, holding Holy Cross to no shots and only one corner.
In two matches, Redeemer only allowed three shots, while Sadie Werner hasn’t surrendered a goal.
“They are playing great this year. We lost one of our starting backs from last year, and somehow, they pulled it together. There is a lot of senior leadership back there with Grace and Kyra. That’s a big help when you have those kind of leaders back there,” Hughes said.
Scassellati was sensational in net for the Crusaders, stopping several balls that seemed destined for a score. The junior finished with 13 saves as Redeemer racked up 30 shots.
“We’ve kind of been in a slump with our scoring here recently, so we’ve had to rely on the defense,” Holy Cross coach Matt Froncek said. “Our defense played tough today. Holy Redeemer is a powerhouse with a lot of talent and good players. Our keeper is just phenomenal with all kinds of school records. She’s a talented kid, and plays a high level of travel soccer. This is our second-best record at the school since the jointure. We owe it all to our players. The hard work paid off. Hey, we won 11 games. You can’t beat that. I’m so proud of this group.”
First: HR, Cegelka (Chepolis), 38:59. HR, Lombardi, 26:06; Second: HR, Lombardi (Sapulak). HR, Cegelka (E. Werner), 19:33. HR, Cegelka (Kunec), 16:27; Shots-corners: HR 30-9, HC 0-1; Saves: HR 0 (S. Werner), HC 13 (Scassellati); Records: HC 11-6-2, HR 10-9.
Valley View 4, Berwick 0: At Valley View, Mya Cesarini had two goals to lead the No. 3 Cougars to a victory over the No. 6 Bulldogs on Saturday in the District 2 Class 3A quarterfinals.
Callie Gillen had a goal and an assist for Valley View, which will face the No. 2 Abington Heights/No. 7 Wallenpaupack winner Wednesday.
Ashlyn Klahold had nine saves for Berwick.
First: VV – O’Donnell, 14:40; Second: VV – Gillen, 48:45. VV – Cesarini (Kelly), 72:45. VV – Cesarini (Gillen), 78:00; Shots-corners: VV – 13-6, BER 2-2; Saves: VV (Rucks) 2, BER (Klahold) 9; Records: VV 14-2-1, BER 7-10-2.
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