Her back ached but her mind remained strong. No way was Breah Phillips going to let pain win. Not when Williamsport had a shot at earning another coveted District 2-4 Class AAAA championship berth.

So, after suffering an injury Thursday and missing practice Friday, Phillips soldiered through Saturday afternoon at Balls Mills. She provided quite a lift, too, and helped Williamsport earn a third straight finals appearance.

Philips assisted on a go-ahead Deborah Shultz goal in the first half and ripped in her own goal which put Williamsport up three in the second half as Williamsport defeated Hazleton, 5-2 in the semifinals. Shultz scored twice and added an assist on Jaelynn Helmrich’s game-opening goal as the Millionaires (9-9-1) earned a spot against Wilkes-Barre in the final which will be played either Wednesday or Thursday.

“I didn’t practice yesterday, so I was kind of nervous coming into the game, but I just really wanted to win,” Phillips said. “I had a lot of drive to make sure that we get to the finals. I pushed through as hard as I could and that’s good for me. I feel good about that.”

As well she should. Phillips delivered in all facets, helping Williamsport get a shot at a championship which has just eluded it the past two seasons. Loisa Hofstrom also scored off a fabulous Kyna Varner assist, one of three straight Williamsport goals after Hazleton had tied the game, 1-1.

Phillips started the game before exiting a little bit before the first half’s midway point. She returned a few minutes later aggressive, determined and became a difference-maker. She had a direct hand in two of Williamsport’s next three goals and ignited that three-goal flurry to go up 4-1 when she fed Shultz near midfield, setting up the go-ahead score.

“I was focused on win, win, win and we can’t lose here. My back was my last thing on my mind,” Phillips said. “I just wanted to play as hard as I could.”

All this, too, after aggravating the injury at one point when she collided with Hazleton’s goalie. She iced her back in the first half, but Phillips then helped Williamsport ice the game upon her return.

“That certainly a scary moment on Thursday when Breah goes down. Breah plays a big role on the left side for us,” Williamsport coach Beckham Sibiski said. “I was super thankful that she came and was ready to play today … more than able to play today. She really played super well and battled well with a goal and an assist on top of the other things she did for us.”

Shultz found Helmrich in the middle of the field, just outside the box and Helmrich scorched a shot by the goalie for the game’s first score, but Hazleton answered less than two minutes later. Philips and Shultz than started changing the game’s complexion with Phillips finding her teammate open near midfield.

Shultz took it from there, weaving around two defenders, making a nifty crossover move and delivering a missile-like shot that zoomed past the goalie’s outstretched hands into the left, middle side of the net for a 2-1 lead. It was the latest terrific play for Shultz in a senior season which includes 17 goals and 10 assists.

“She (Shultz) is a heck of an athlete. She’s a phenomenal player,” Sibiski said. “We do our best to just have her try and go at people. If she can turn and go after people that’s what we like to see and she did it a few times today.”

“Breah gave it to me, and I made a couple moves and I took a shot, and it went in, so that felt great,” Shultz said. “It’s an amazing feeling because we’ve worked really hard to get here.”

That work includes Williamsport overcoming an injury-riddled, slow start and winning seven of its last 10 games. Varner is one of those players who has battled injuries throughout her scholastic career, but the senior had Hazleton feeling bad when she helped put Williamsport ahead, 3-1 shortly before halftime.

Williamsport kept the ball in Hazleton’s zone for much of the first half and Phillips helped ignite the flurry near the 7-minute mark, spotting Varner on the right side. From there, Varner split multiple defenders before locating Hofstrom and the freshman produced her 12th goal, scoring from close-range.

“Kyna made a phenomenal play. That was one of the best plays I’ve seen all season,” Sibiski said. “She was dicing in and out and picked up her head at the right time to find a pass and Loisa composed herself to finish. Kyna has battled back from injuries all four years she’s been here, so it’s nice to see her get an assist on a very important goal for us going into halftime.”

Defender Mylee Bennett played a big role as well, making an alert play which saved a goal early in the game that would have put Hazleton up, 1-0. all parts of the Williamsport team continued working together well and built on the momentum in the second half. After the defense cleared the ball, Williamsport went on the attack and earned a corner kick.

Shultz sent a well-placed shot toward the middle of the field and Williamsport whipped off a shot. Phillips was there for the rebound and smashed it past the goalie before she had time to reset herself and Williamsport went up 4-1 with 29:48 remaining.

“It was bouncing in the air and my leg wrapped around my teammate’s and, bang, it’s in the back of the net,” Phillips said. “I was ready to go. I was like, ‘I’m scoring right here, right now,’ and I did.”

Hazleton kept battling and made it, 4-2 when Ava Arendash stole the ball inside the 18 and unleashed a perfectly placed shot a little more than three minutes later.

As was the case earlier, however, Williamsport did not let Hazleton’s goal negatively impact it. The Millionaires provided few scoring opportunities over the final 25 minutes, and Shultz put the game away when she scored off a direct kick, nearly 50 yards from the goal.

Shultz arched her shot high into the afternoon sky and it took a big bounce off the turf right in front of the goal and over the goalie’s outstretched hands. The Millionaires led 5-2 and the opportunity they have coveted since last October became theirs.

“It felt really good. At first when they scored it was like, ‘Oh no, I don’t know where this is going to go,’ but after we scored again, we kept scoring and kept going,” Shultz said. “It’s hard thinking this could be my last game as a senior and I’m glad that we still get to play and to we’re able to get this win and move on.”

W–Jaelynn Helmrich (Deborah Shultz), 29:15; H–Isabella Ciavarella, 27:53; W–Shultz (Breah Phillips), 16:51; W–Loisa Hofstrom (Kyna Varner), 7:09; W–Phillips, 29:48; H–Ava Arendash, 26:04; W–Shultz, 4:26

Shots on Goal: H–6, W–15

Corners: H–3, W–7

Saves: H–8, W–4

Goalies: Hazleton (Emme Zanolini); Williamsport (McKylee Vollman).

Records: Williamsport 9-9-1. Hazleton 7-12-1.