Pair of Lily Rost Goals Help LD Blank CD in Season Opener
Lower Dauphin beat Central Dauphin 4-0 to begin the 2024 season on Tuesday night
“We’re jumping right into it,” said Lower Dauphin head coach Erin Catalfano. “We” are Lower Dauphin field hockey, and “it” is divisional play for the Falcons, who moved from the Mid-Penn Keystone division to the Commonwealth in the offseason, perhaps the biggest non-football shift in the entire Mid-Penn realignment story.
Lower Dauphin began a new divisional schedule on Tuesday night, facing Central Dauphin, a common team that the Falcons have seen in non-conference and District III 3A playoffs year after year. In this divisional meeting, LD blanked the Rams, 4-0, to open the season.
Tuesday night’s meeting was a showcase for Lily Rost, a freshman who showed more than a lot of promise in her “rookie” season as her coach, Erin Catalfano, calls it. Rost had a shot saved by Central Dauphin with 6:27 left in the first, then she scored one minute and 21 seconds later, the first in a pair of goals for Rost. She went on to score in the third quarter as well, a shot right in front of the goal. Rost had multiple chances for a hat trick, but she fell short.
Even when up 4-0, that wasn’t where Rost’s focus was. “I’m really just focused on the possession. We were able to keep (the ball) mostly in our 50, that’s what we were trying to do,” said Rost. “We’re trying to force corners and scoring opportunities, and also keeping possession was really helpful.”
Another thing that Lower Dauphin isn’t focused on? The difference between divisional play and non-conference. “Even if it is non-conference, every game still counts toward district rankings. Conference or not, Mid-Penn hasn’t played a conference championship in several years,” head coach Erin Catalfano said postgame. “Yes, it’s fun to have that regular season title, we’re thinking about the ranking and every game counts equally.”
Another sophomore got in on the scoring on Tuesday, Chase Strohm. Her goal came 17 seconds into the second quarter. While Strohm and Rost are not similar in height, they are similar in their leadership and play style.
“Wise beyond her years” is how Catalfano describes Rost. For Strohm, Catalfano recognizes that Strohm is an all-effort player, no matter the circumstance. Against Central Dauphin, Strohm was “man-marked,” having a defender on her at all times. Catalfano says that’s a “whole different level of the game.”
The fourth goal came from Ashlyn McGrady, another sophomore who now finds herself in the starting lineup for LD. The assist on McGrady’s goal came from Lily Rost, making it a two-goal, one-assist night and player of the game.
The Falcons move on to Cumberland Valley on Thursday. It's another team they’ve played as part of their non-conference schedule that will count towards divisional play, perhaps a meeting between the two best teams in the revamped Commonwealth.
“We’re trying to keep what we have rolling already,” said Rost. “We really want to capitalize on the connections we’ve already been making.”
The Falcons visit Eagle View Stadium at Cumberland Valley on Thursday for one of the biggest early season games in District III with a 1-0 record. For Central Dauphin, it’s a 2-1 start after wins over Conestoga Valley and Elizabethtown. The Rams are hosting Carlisle in Commonwealth play on Thursday.
OTHER MID-PENN FIELD HOCKEY SCORES (TUES. AUG 27)
Northern 9, Bermudian Springs 0
Cumberland Valley 11, Chambersburg 1
State College 4, Carlisle 1
Susquenita 6, Mifflin County 1
Gettysburg 2, CD East 1