Two Pennsylvania-dominated teams, Thunder and Motion, contested the U-16 final in the Regional Rumble, and, as such, it wasn’t hard to find contrasts between teammates and between players and their designated coaches.

Motion, for example, was dominated by southeastern Pennsylvania, but their head coach, Kylie Rosengrant, is the head coach at Dallas (Pa.), which is located within the current hotbed of field hockey in the United States, the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.

“It wasn’t a case of the players adjusting to me,” she said, “but it was more of them adjusting to each other. They all know the basics, and it was a very easy group to coach.”

Even with limited substitutions, Motion was plenty fresh in the end, getting a pair of quick Brooke Simone goals in the second half in earning a 2-0 win.

“She did a nice job on our right wing, being able to pull the ball off the weak side and make some nice crosses,” Rosengrant said.

About four minutes after the interval, Simone took an Amanda Granger pass and put the ball over the line. Seconds later, her cross went off the leg of a Thunder defender and went into the goal cage.

“And,” Rosengrant said, “she has a little bit of luck, too.”

The Thunder had plenty of chances to score before Simone’s double, including a penalty stroke awarded for a tackle from behind in the circle, denying a goal-scoring opportunity. But the resulting flick went well wide of the right post.

Thunder 0-0–0
Motion 0-2–2
M: Brooke Simone (Amanda Granger), fg, 28th minute
M: Simone, fg, 29th
Shots– T: 6; S: 5. Saves– T: Christine DiStefano 3; M: Kendra Moll 6.