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Jill Witmer said she was about to cry.
That's not the reaction you'd expect from a seasoned veteran with more than 100 career goals.
Still, Witmer said she was not prepared to take a penalty stroke awarded the Comets on a controversial call with just 4:30 left in Saturday's District Three Class AAA field hockey championship game.
"I wasn't ready for that," Witmer said of hearing her name called to take the stroke.
The Comets senior did step up, just like she's done so many times during an illustrious scholastic career, and swooped the ball into the cage.
Witmer's successful stroke was the difference as Penn Manor edged Hempfield 2-1 at Milton Hershey to earn its first district title since 1986 and just second in four trips to the championship game. The Comets were runners-up in 1979 and 2007.
"It's about time," PM coach Matt Soto said of winning district gold. "We finally got one [district title]."
It was a somewhat bizarre ending to an otherwise exciting championship game that pitted the L-L League rivals against each other for the third time this season.
Just as in the past two, Manor (24-0-1) came out on top against the Black Knights (15-6-1).
"That was utterly disappointing," Hempfield coach Julianne Bojanic said of the stroke that was awarded to the Comets in the closing minutes of a 1-1 game. "That was a huge game-changing opportunity. It's disappointing that it took us out of the game."
Hempfield definitely had the upper hand in the first half, with Laken Gehris scoring a beautiful goal off a difficult angle on a penalty corner 2:34 before halftime. The ball actually ticked off Witmer's stick before going into the cage.
The Knights, while outcornered 4-1, controlled most of the field play before intermission. Their passing game was crisp, and they constantly beat the Comets to the ball.
Plus, their confidence soared after they scored on a Penn Manor defense that hadn't given up a goal the entire tournament.
"We've done a fantastic job in the postseason coming together as a team," Bojanic said. "They did everything I asked of them. They played well."
One of the biggest factors contributing to Hempfield's halftime lead was the play of goalie Joanna Youssef, who went to the ground to halt PM scoring opportunities.
Kayla Denlinger, who splits games with Youssef, picked up where her teammate left off in the second half, also going to the ground to stop the Comets' shots.
Then, the Comets came alive. A second-half spurt was ignited by Witmer's goal off a corner just 7:14 after the break. She dodged defenders three times before using a reverse chip to get the equalizer.
Then, five corners later came the fateful call. A ball that Brittany Troutman appeared to stop with her stick was ruled by the official to have hit Troutman on her leg, giving Manor a penalty stroke.
"There was an audible sound of [the ball] hitting her stick," Bojanic said. "I just don't have the words for [that call]."
Witmer, for her part, didn't really understand what Soto was saying when he told her to take the stroke.
"I was about to cry," she said. "Usually Nancy [Stehman] takes them. She's our best stroker."
So why did Soto send Witmer to the line?
"I went with my gut," he said. "We hadn't had a good week of practice [with penalty strokes], but I know Jill knows how to score."
Witmer lined up her shot, then beat Denlinger to the goalie's right, about halfway up the post, for what proved to be the game-winner.
The Comets will meet Radnor, the District One sixth-place team, at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Governor Mifflin in the opening round of the PIAA Tournament.
Hempfield will play District One third-place finisher Wissahickon at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Mifflin.
• Also in the PIAA field is Cocalico, which got its winning goal from Jordan Page 3:17 into overtime to beat Conrad Weiser 2-1 in the fifth-place game. Kayla High also scored for the Eagles., who will play District One champ Central Bucks South at Wissahickon at a time to be announced.
In the third-place game, Hershey defeated Lower Dauphin 1-0 in overtime.
pkauffman@lnpnews.com
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