When Whitehall hosted Moravian Academy in their final regular season game of the year, it was the third undefeated field hockey team they faced in a week.

The prior two meetings, against Crestwood and Emmaus, respectively, ended in losses for the Zephs. While the game against the Lions would have no bearing on their seeding for either the league or district playoffs, the Zephyrs were determined to end their season on a positive note.

“The first two were very close, but not the outcome we wanted,” said head coach Jennifer Bodnar. “We definitely wanted to go out and showed that we belong in this game.”

Bodnar knew her team was tired, having played a game the day before, and the game wasn’t going impact them positively or negatively. But it allowed her to pose the question: “What do you want to do from here?”

“They all said, ‘We want to play to win,’” said Bodnar.

It was a game that tested their fortitude, and they persevered, answering her question with an emphatic W.

“It was an excellent game,” said Bodnar. “We definitely wanted to play smart. We probably exerted a little more energy than we wanted to before we play a playoff game tomorrow, but I can’t tell this team not to play to win, because they just wanted to go out and finish strong.”

Cara Bonshak broke a 2-2 tie with 9:50 remaining in the second half, giving the Zephyrs their fifteenth win of the season. She initiated the opportunity by first forcing a corner after driving hard to the goal, with the Lion defender penalized for stick obstruction, setting up the winning goal. Bonshak, who serves as the team’s inserter on penalty corners, jumped back into the play after passing to the top of the circle, and was ready when the rebound came her way, slapping it home for the game winner.

Bonshak a Michigan State commit, completed a come-from-behind-win for the Zephs, carrying them into the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Championships on a winning note.

Her tenacity around the cage allowed them to topple the undefeated Lions.

“She’s definitely a high energy player,” said Bodnar. “She definitely goes strong. She’s a competitor.”

Even though the Zephs were behind 2-0, they battled back even though their postseason fortunes were already sealed.

Senior Vita Marks said that having that “we never give up” mentality spearheaded the win.

“It was really nice that we were able to pull through and beat an undefeated team,” said Marks.

Marks said that they didn’t show up to play when the game started, with the Lions scoring within the first 15 seconds. They got down by two goals early, prompting them to turn up the intensity.

“We kind of woke up after they scored their second goal,” said Marks. “We said, ‘Look, we need to pull through and we can’t give up. We showed up to play and we’re going to play.’ That’s when we scored two goals.”

Rachel Schannauer scored the first goal for the Zephs. Kyle Cunningham followed with the second, knotting the score.

Once they got the lead, Marks said their mindset switched to making sure they weren’t going to give up the lead. Bonshak nearly gave them a two-goal cushion when she went to her backhand on a breakaway, but her shot clanked off the post.

“They pressured us a little bit at the end, but we didn’t let them score,” said Marks.

Goalkeeper Kayla Nailor was instrumental in keeping the Lions off the scoreboard after they went ahead.

The Lions mounted some furious rallies, but she stood tall, surviving two corners at the end of the game, with one in process as time expired. She finished with six saves.

“The fact that we scored three unanswered goals in this game with the caliber team that we played is quite impressive,” said Bodnar. “I’m really proud that they didn’t just sit down and give up, and that they really played hard.”

The Zephs faced East Stroudsburg South in the opening round of the EPC Championships on Saturday. Heading into the game, Bodnar said it’s probably the last time they’ll play on their home field for this tourney, so they were going to just play strong.

“Any time you get to play in the postseason, it gets exciting,” said Bodnar.

It got extremely exciting for the Zephs as they blanked the Cavaliers 6-0.