Northampton's field hockey team bowed out of the District 11 playoffs last Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to then unbeaten Stroudsburg in the semifinals.

Coach Kelly Backenstoe, although disappointed with the loss, thought her Konkrete Kids had "a great season."

Backenstoe, who completed her seventh season with a 13-8 record, said "we had some big wins, like beating Parkland three times, knocking off Lehighton and downing Nazareth when we needed a win … and improving after every game."

"We never flat-lined. We just kept improving and our senior class provided strong leadership. We never quit as we kept coming back after a loss to make the league and district playoffs," she said.

"We pulled together through a tough season, what with a new league and a tougher schedule. We set the bar high and did really well in our division (the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference's Skyline Division)," she pointed out.

The Konkrete Kids reached the league (first the Lehigh Valley Conference, then the EPC) in all of Backenstoe's seven seasons as coach and made the District 11 semifinals in the last three seasons.

"Our senior class was outstanding," she said. "Three of our five seniors are going on to play field hockey at colleges (Megan Wiest at Drexel, Makenna Marhefka at East Stroudsburg and Kasey Frey at Arcadia).

"They were real leaders! Wiest broke school scoring records, Marhefka was a great all-around player, Frey supported the middle and was a star on defense, Amber Saylor was fantastic at midfield and Rachel Heimbach was our biggest cheerleader even when she was on the bench for the last seven games after receiving a serious arm injury."

Coach Backenstoe was also impressed by the "great surprises from our juniors and sophomores," pointing out the explosive actions from Hallie Muffley and Emily Henry, both sophomores.

"Our underclass goalies (junior Shannon Dalton and sophomore Ashley Kunsman) combined for 10 shutouts. Everyone contributed, especially Emily Schwartz, Kiersten Schmall, Makenzie Kistler, Sydney Warner, Sarah Spengler, Saylor and Frey on defense."

Meanwhile, Backenstoe also cited Katie Wasilko, Meghan Hemingway, Devon Saul, Claire Gogel and Wiest on offense as the Kids scored 59 goals with Wiest knocking in 29 this year and 45 for her career - the third best total in Northampton's history.

"From our first scrimmage in August until our final game in October, the girls never quit. It really was a great accomplishment. They were really an ideal team to coach," concluded Backenstoe.

"They never flat-lined and our future looks bright."

Stroudsburg, the EPC champion, took a 1-0 lead on Northampton on Jenn Bukowski's goal before Wiest tied with 8:26 left in the game. But, Julianna Sweeney's redirected shot less than two minutes later won it for the Mountaineers. Then, Saturday Emmaus shut out Stroudsburg 2-0 for the Hornets' 26th consecutive District 11 crown.