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Tuesday night, Witmer was tough to cover as she scored three goals to lead the Comets past Cocalico 4-0 in an L-L League field hockey semifinal game at Pequea Valley.
Manor (19-0-1) will meet defending champion Donegal (16-3) in Thursday's title tilt, set for 7 p.m. at Manheim Central.
The Indians edged Warwick 2-1 in the semifinal nightcap, which was the identical score by which Donegal beat the Warriors (13-6) for last year's L-L crown.
Mary Lynam put Donegal on the board just 1:31 into the game, then Laura Gebhart notched what proved to be the game-winner 2:03 after intermission.
"It was a great feeling," Lynam said of her goal, which she converted by diving for and tipping in a cross from Kathryn Markovits. "I think it kind of set the game pace for us. It gave us a little extra boost."
The real boost, though, came from Gebhart, who was twice denied by Warwick goalie Julie Kolmer before using a reverse chip on her third consecutive shot on goal.
"I kept shooting and (the ball) kept coming back. I thought 'When is this going to go in?' Finally, it did," said the junior midfielder and member of the U.S. Women's Under-21 squad.
"The difference was they have a Laura Gebhart and that's a heck of an asset to have," said Warwick coach Bob Derr. "We were not able to stop her."
Still, there was a lot of time left on the clock, and Warwick had answered Donegal's first-half goal by converting on a penalty corner 5:16 into the game when Jocelyn Scillia redirected an Emily Harting shot to knot the score.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they couldn't get anything else past the Donegal goalie duo of Jessica Garber (6 saves, one goal allowed) and Alyssa Gower (2 saves) for the remainder of the game.
"Our goal was to return to the league championship game to defend our title," said Donegal coach Jessica Shellenberger, a former player for Derr at Warwick who improved to 3-1 against her mentor. "Win or lose (against Penn Manor Thursday), it's going to be a positive experience heading into districts."
If the Comets have their way, they are going to hand Donegal another loss, having beaten the Indians 4-2 in a nonleague game October 3.
"I hope the next time we play we're ready to take a big, big step to finally win something we've been trying to do," PM coach Matt Soto said of claiming a L-L crown. The Comets won the PIAA Class AAA title last year, but were knocked out of leagues in the semifinal round by Donegal. "Hopefully, we're ready and able to accomplish that goal."
Manor came out on fire Tuesday, with Witmer scoring off a penalty corner just 1:31 into the game. She added her second just 1:12 before halftime, then completed the natural hat trick 15:14 into the second half.
All three of Witmer's goals, as well as the final tally by Megan Harris with 6:02 left to play, came off penalty corners. However, Soto was quick to note, that the Comets' corners were not well run, but the goals came off ad-lib plays.
"Jill's so crafty, when she gets some space she's going to score some goals," Soto said. "Those reverse sticks (shots), that was just her improvising."
It's that kind of ability that helped Witmer score 99 career goals and land a scholarship to Maryland next fall.
As for the Eagles (16-4), they just couldn't put anything together when it counted.
"We didn't play like we did (Monday) night," Cocalico coach Krista Page said of her team's performance Tuesday compared to its 2-0 quarterfinal win over Hempfield. " That's our youth and inexperience. Hopefully, it's a growing experience."
