Holy Cross Repeats as WCAC Champion in OT Battle
This had been the third time these two had met this year, with Holy Cross winning the first contest 1-0 at Good Counsel, then the Falcons winning the second match 3-2 on the Tartans home field.
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Senior Kathryn Cecere is one of two players this year that have been with Coach Thurman for all four years.
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All three contests between Good Counsel and Holy Cross were decided within one goal.
Photo By: Howard Bernstein / GamedayMD.com | VIEW GALLERY
Written by: Dave Vatz
COLLEGE PARK, MD- Senior Katie Slater will never forget her final moment as a field hockey player. In the second minute of overtime, she received the pass on the penalty corner and found the left side of the net, giving the Academy of the Holy Cross Tartans a 1-0 OT win over rival Our Lady of Good Counsel Falcons for their second WCAC field hockey championship in a row.
"It's unbelievable, I'm still in shock," Slater said after the game.
Although it had been raining slightly during the game, the rains held off during most of the two halves, but the field was still damp throughout the contest. Despite the wet grounds, both sides had a strong cheering section, including a big tailgate outside the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex before the game's opening whistle.
The game got off to a very slow start, with the first half only seeing one shot off a Good Counsel penalty corner 11 minutes that went wide right. Neither side got many good opportunities in the half-circle.
"We had a little speech, one that we've been reading for years, and it's from Herbie Brooks from Miracle, from the 1980 U.S. ice hockey team, and so they read it and talked about being down in the hole and they need to come back, and I think that really got them fired up," Holy Cross head coach Candy Thurman said of their halftime.
The second half saw a much faster pace. Early into the half, Holy Cross went on the attack, seeing some good looks but could not complete the crosses, then getting a shot from freshman Madeleine Ellenberger that just went wide left in the 35th minute. Good Counsel got a strong counter attack, getting a 3-on-1 in the center circle, but could not get a shot off.
Into the 42nd minute, Good Counsel had another opportunity with senior Caren Deily getting a shot in front of the keeper, but sophomore goalie Jill Genovese dived towards the ball and stopped the shot.
The Falcons would continue to get chances, including a wide left shot by senior Mary Shawhan at the 44th minute then a penalty corner two minutes later. The Tartans got control back and got two penalty corners in two minutes, but neither saw a cross that resulted in a shot.
Action continued back and forth until the 57th minute, where Holy Cross had another penalty corner, but the cross missed. The final big goal threat came from Good Counsel, where sophomore Mary Plotas had a breakaway attempt, but the ball went too far on a move to avoid a defender.
Before the half ended, a quick downpour put a fresh coat of rain onto the field as the game moved to overtime. Both sides moved to a six-on-six format with one goalkeeper for sudden victory overtime.
Holy Cross had the first opportunity on a penalty corner, where a cross was given to Slater who shot it into the left side of the net for the win with 8:21 remaining in the overtime period. For Slater, who is off to Virginia to play lacrosse, it was a little different setting for an overtime penalty corner.
"Normally [the play] is called '2,' and it normally goes to someone who was not in overtime, so we had to switch it up a little, but it worked."
"She's a defender who sees the field and she is excellent on offensive moves, and she is one if not our highest goal-scorer, and the two Katies, she and Katie Cecere, are the only two that have been with me for all four years, so I'm really happy for them," coach Thurman said of her senior captain.
This had been the third time these two had met this year, with Holy Cross winning the first contest 1-0 at Good Counsel, then the Falcons winning the second match 3-2 on the Tartans home field. All three contests were decided within one goal, plus both sides only lost to each other in WCAC play this year.
"It's always good to play a team that challenges us, I never worry about if it is going to be a good game because the girls are going to play their hearts out and leave it on the field every time," said Good Counsel head coach Theda Bagdon of the rivalry.
Last year Holy Cross gained the title with a 4-1 championship win over Elizabeth Seton. Coach Thurman's squad finishes the year with a 16-1-1 record.
"The girls were playing hard the whole game, everybody that played and people on the sidelines, so it was very much a team effort."
