Natalie Heffner was so close. If the pass had connected, if the ball had found its way into the net, it would have brought the biggest cheer of the day.

The end came Tuesday night at Exeter when Villa Maria Academy scored with 17 seconds left in the first overtime to defeat defending state champion Emmaus 2-1 in a PIAA Class 3A semifinal game.

Emmaus still has the chance to win its fourth state title in five years after a 3-1 win over Methacton in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals. Easton, which was the only other local team left in the quarterfinals apart from the Green Hornets, saw its season end with a 3-1 loss to Central Bucks West.

Addy Zimmerman and Shelby Kline dream of opening their own salon someday. That way going to work won’t feel like work at all.

A controversial no-call in the fourth quarter’s waning minutes marked the end of Wyoming Area’s season, as the Warriors fell, 1-0, to District 3 runner-up Boiling Springs on

Newport's Gracyn Shutt blocks a shot by West Perry's Jordan Byers during West Perry’s 3-1 win in the PIAA 1A field hockey semifinal game at Susquenita High School, Nov. 12, 2024. Vicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLive Vicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLive

The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference sent two field hockey teams into the PIAA Class 3A field hockey quarterfinals on Tuesday night as Emmaus and Easton advanced. Southern Lehigh fell in Class 2A action. Northwestern Lehigh and Palmerton were both eliminated from the Class A field.

The thoroughness of Warwick’s 4-0 victory over Northern York in the PIAA Class 2A field hockey championship game Saturday afternoon did not make the trophy or medals any larger, but it did give the Warriors a sense of achievement they had been seeking for a long time.