Mondays can be rough. For Palmerton senior Maddy Bennyhoff, her Monday was one to remember.

She was accepted at Moravian College where she will compete in track, and then stepped onto the turf at Northern Lehigh’s Bulldog Stadium and was a defensive wrecking ball who helped the Blue Bombers beat Saucon Valley 2-1 in the District 11 Class 1A field hockey semifinals.

The win moves Palmerton (11-7-1) into the finals and also guarantees the team a spot in the PIAA tournament, which gets underway next week.

“Defense doesn’t always get the recognition that they deserve,” said coach Meg Leadbetter. “When Maddy wants something, she goes after it. She has vision on the field unlike anybody I have ever seen. We had talked about moving her up to the forward line for this game, but we didn’t want to change anything and didn’t need to fix anything, plus, she is so important for us on defense.”

Bennyhoff was, in fact, surprised to be getting recognition for her contribution. After the game, she was surprised to be asked to talk about her play. “Are you sure you have the right Maddy?” asked the newest Moravian College recruit.

It was Bennyhoff who came up with several steals and plays, particularly late in the game, to help Palmerton hold onto a one goal lead. In the end, she and her coach both talked about the win being a team victory that took everyone to contribute, but Bennyhoff stood out in critical moments.

“I feel like our defense is one of the strongest, and that the three of us are all strong. And then we have Sabo (goalie Sarah Sabo) behind us, and she is there to stop any direct shots that other teams do get, and we all trust in her,” said Bennyhoff. “We were hoping for a big offensive game with lots of goals and a lot of offensive time, but it turned out to be a little different.”

As it turned out, freshman Maddy Thomas and senior Mackenzie Long also had good days on Monday, as they teamed up to score both Palmerton goals.

While Saucon Valley (7-12-2) had the better of play through much of the opening quarter, the Bombers came up with an opportunity when Long was able to push the ball toward the goal and found Thomas there with an opening to put a shot past goalie Hayley Heffelfinger for a 1-0 advantage.

From that point on, both teams took turns moving towards the attack zone, but rarely were able to find openings from that point on, and when they did, both goalies were up to the task of flicking shots away from the goal.

The defensive battle continued throughout the second and third quarters, and in the early portion of the final quarter of play until Saucon Valley found the opening it was looking for.

The Panthers were awarded a corner, and as the ball was played toward the goal, senior Riley Lannon put a shot on goal, and as Bella Catania attempted to make a big defensive save, the ball skidded just off the top of her stick and eluded Sabo to wind up in the back of the cage.

The goal tied the game at one and flipped a switch that sent both teams into overdrive for the remaining 10 minutes of play.

While the goal created some anxiety for Palmerton fans, the players eased their fears with a go-ahead goal just :29 later as the senior and freshman combo of Long and Thomas connected for their second goal of the night.

With a flock of players battling in front of the net, Long was able to poke the ball over to Thomas, who beat Heffelfinger with a shot to put Palmerton up by a goal.

“We were down and just needed to push through,” said Thomas. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. I really wanted us to win this one for our seniors because they have been so great to me and have helped me all year long. Every single one of them has helped me and taught me something and most importantly, they have shown me that is how a team works together to win.”

“I think Maddy (Bennyhoff) and the rest of the seniors just aren’t ready to stop playing,” said Leadbetter. “They have kicked things into high gear.”

THE PURSUIT OF TIGERS… Up next, Palmerton plays top seed Northwestern Lehigh (19-3-0) in the finals, which will be held Thursday night at 5 p.m. at Catasauqua’s Alumni Field. Palmerton, the No. 2 seed in Class 1A, lost both games to Northwestern Lehigh during the regular season. No matter how that game turns out, both teams will have spots in states waiting for them.