Dewald raises Fleetwood District 3 to a field hockey win from New Oxford

As the minutes passed and the game went unpaved, Fleetwood’s frustration increased.

Sixth-placed Tigers dominated much of the District 3 Class 2A field hockey opening game against visiting and 11th-placed New Oxford. But the hard work didn’t show up on the scoreboard.

“It’s obviously frustrating to be there and play ball so often and not take advantage,” said Fleetwood senior Natalie Slusser. “But in the end, we did what we had to do.”

Casey Lynn Dewald scored in the middle of the fourth quarter and lifted Fleetwood to a 1-0 win over New Oxford. The win will send the Tigers (16-4) to Saturday’s semi-finals to play in third-place Northern York at a time to be determined.

Fleetwood had an advantage of 11-5 and a penalty angle of 10-7 over the Colonials (10-8). Tigers had the ball on the attack side most of the time.

But the Tigers didn’t make it to the scoreboard until Dewald made it to the 43rd goal of the season and the 123rd goal of his career with time left at 8.35.

“I think we did everything really well to keep it away and we did well to get it up,” Dewald said. “While it required many opportunities, we eventually got one.”

With 2A’s top seven teams qualifying for the PIAA tournament, the win guarantees Fleetwood at least three more games this season. The Tigers need one more victory to get to the states.