Wyomissing’s Sam Donahue plans to see this season through to the end

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

Sam Donahue ran onto the field with her teammates during those joyful seconds after the championship goal. She was right in the middle of the celebration.

Wyomissing’s senior found Hannah Hurleman, who scored the overtime winner against Northern Lebanon nine months ago. They’ve been best friends and teammates for as long as they can remember.

“We gave each other the biggest hug,” Hurleman said. “She was like, ‘You did it.’ It was a really special moment for us.”

The moment was almost perfect. There was one way it could have been better.

What Donahue was missing was her uniform. Her shin guards. Her cleats. Those were put away two weeks earlier. One of the best defenders in Berks girls soccer, the center of the Spartans’ back line, was turned into a spectator.

“I was proud of my team for competing and doing well,” Donahue said. “It was fun watching on the sidelines but it’s not the same. It’s ‘you should have done this or you should have done that.’ But you can’t actually help them. You’re just sitting there.”

Donahue was benched by the PIAA’s transfer rule, which prohibits juniors and seniors from participating in the district and state playoffs if they transfered after their 10th-grade year. The rule is designed to prevent athletes from transferring for competitive reasons. It comes with side effects.

For her first two high school years, Donahue attended Berks Catholic while living a block from Wyomissing High. She didn’t relocate to find a better team. She went to her public school and rejoined the girls she has known her entire life.

None of that matters in the eyes of the PIAA rule. It has no wiggle room. Donahue had to sit.

“It didn’t make sense to me at all,” she said. “Trust me. We fought it forever. We went all in. At the end of the day they were like, ‘No, you can’t do it.’”

In this instance, the transfer rule only succeeded in keeping a student-athlete away from a chance at once-in-a-lifetime memories.

The good news for Donahue is she has one season left and it looks like Wyomissing is loaded for another playoff run. The Spartans return eight starters, including four All-Berks players.

Donahue anchors a defense that features Emma Care, Charlotte Lazarchick-Oberti and Jabrea Flowers. She’s the centerpiece of a talented group.

“She’s knowledgeable about the position,” coach Rachel Hoffman said. “She knows what she’s supposed to do. I think her biggest asset is confidence in what she’s doing. I think she communicates well and gives that confidence to the other three that are working with her back there.”

There’s an ease about the way Donahue patrols her area. She never seems to be in a hurry. She doesn’t just erase the opponent’s chances. She creates them for her team.

Wyomissing won its first Berks and District 3 championships since 2004 last year. Donahue was an essential part of the county run, helping the Spartans post a shutout over Wilson in the final.

Once the district playoffs started, she was itching to keep playing. She wished she could venture onto the field for warmups. It wasn’t allowed.

“She still came out to practice every single day,” Hoffman said. “She still trained with the girls. She was there on the sideline cheering them on. She was still very much part of the team. She had to take on a different role. I think she did it with a lot of maturity.”

Wyomissing lost to eventual champion Bloomsburg in the PIAA quarterfinals. It was a 1-0 heartbreaker. The last piece to the puzzle, a state crown, is still missing for the Spartans.

If they make another run, Donahue will be part of it. All the way to the end.

“I just hope we get farther than we did last year and we work really hard this season,” she said. “You know I want that state title. I want to play in districts and go all the way.”