by TOM UTESCHER

 After enjoying a first-round bye in the PIAA District One AAA field hockey tournament, eighth-seeded Mount St. Joseph Academy advanced to the semifinals last week with home field wins over Downingtown East on Wednesday (1-0) and Methacton High School on Friday (2-1).

The Magic (14-5-1) will continue to play for the district crown this week, but by moving up into the local Final Four, they've already made certain that they will represent the region in the PIAA state tournament next month.

"We're so excited," said junior midfielder Sarah Reinprecht. "It's the first time a team has done it in the history of our field hockey program."

The first opponent last week, ninth-seeded Downingtown East, was not an unknown factor for the Mount. The locals had defeated the Cougars, 2-1, in the semifinals of the Christopher Dock Tournament back on September 20.

"What I do remember is that the center of their field was strong," recalled Mount co-coach Lois Weber. "They had a good center mid and we spoke to the girls about watching her and having the forwards come back to pressure her."

The Mount attacked early and was awarded several corners. Reinprecht fired shots just wide to the right and the left of the cage, and the Cougars' Alyssa Mellon had to clear a loose ball out of the goalmouth to prevent a score.

Downingtown took its first corner ten minutes into the game, but didn't get off a shot against MSJ's Liz Trinkle. Two minutes later, Katie Burke gave Trinkle a boost by sweeping a dangerous ball out of harm's way. The Magic pushed up on offense soon after that, and stayed there much of the time until they scored the only goal of the game with 5:14 left in the first half. The ball was passed down low from the right side, and made contact with a defender's stick before scrappy Nina Ferrier popped it into the Cougars' cage.

"We spoke about getting more pressure on goal, and following our shots," Weber would say afterward.

The match featured two mother-daughter combos: Mount co-coach Tina Reinprecht and daughter Sarah, and Downingtown mentor Diana Kowalski and her daughter, Jeanine. The younger Kowalski had a chance to tie the game with no time left on the first-period clock. A drive by the Cougars off of a corner had struck MSJ's Burke in the shin pads, saving a goal but setting up a penalty stroke. Fortunately for the hosts, Kowalski's shot was fairly soft, and MSJ's Trinkle sprawled toward the left post to stop it.

As the second half dawned, Downingtown kept up its quest for the equalizer early in the second period, but for most of the last 20 minutes, the Magic preserved their lead largely by going on the attack themselves, or jamming up the Cougars in the midfield. Jamie Calahan and Jackie Beebie were very effective in the latter role, with defensive back-up provided by Alex Meis and Sydney Slater. Trinkle only needed three saves for the shutout.

In the closing minutes, the Mount almost added an insurance goal when Reinprecht crossed the ball from high on the left side towards the right post, but teammate Colleen Longacre stumbled at the far side of the cage and couldn't get wood on the ball.

Methacton had reason to be confident coming into Flourtown on Friday; in the round of 16, the Warriors (#16) had upset the top seed in the district, Ridley High School. The Magic kept their heads and cooled the visitors' ardor by firing in two goals in the first half.

The match was still less than four minutes old when Kara Bolger moved the Mount ahead, closing in on the rebound of a shot that came back off of the goalie's leg pads. With 18:41 left in the opening period, the locals reinforced their lead when Calahan received Ferrier's pass from outside the circle and finished the play.

"In the first half, we were really firing on all cylinders," remarked the elder Reinprecht.

The MSJ co-coach said that from reviewing a scouting report on the Warriors, "We knew that they liked to lift the ball coming into the circle. That's how they got the penalty stroke against us."

She was referring to a play nine minutes into the second half, when Methacton launched a moon ball and MSJ's Trinkle batted it down, drawing the ref's whistle. Beth Latham took the stroke and put the visitors on the board. The Warriors attacked furiously after that, but the Magic clung to their slim lead.

Sarah Reinprecht related "I think by the end we were able to take back the momentum and we actually had a few scoring opportunities toward the end of the second half."