With 20 seconds left in the second overtime, Hopkins sophomore Dene Dimartino scored the winning goal, snapping the fifth-ranked Northwestern Wildcats’ five-game win streak. The Lady Jays are now 11-2 overall in the season, and their ALC record is back to .500 with just two league games to go.
Seven minutes into the game, the Wildcats led 3-0 before the Lady Jays returned with back-to-back goals less than 90 seconds apart. After the teams exchanged one goal each, Hopkins senior Sammy Cermack converted a free position goal to tie the game up at four a piece with 12:38 left in the half. Both teams would score two more goals, bringing the score to 6-6 as the game went into halftime.
The Wildcats came out strong, scoring the first two goals of the second half and pushing the lead to 8-6. Hopkins would not let them get away as Cermack beat the ‘Cats goalie at the 21:50 mark. Cermack’s goal was the first of a three-goal run for the Lady Jays in just over four minutes. With back-to-back goals coming from DiMartino and Cermack, Hopkins held their first lead of the game with a score of 9-8.
The Lady Jays stayed strong defensively, as freshman Caroline Federico provided back-to-back saves, but Hopkins turned it over on the offensive end where the Wildcats converted for a goal. With a tie game at 9-9, Northwestern’s Kaleigh Craig converted a free position shot, giving the Wildcats a 10-9 lead with 7:23 left in regulation. Federico made another clutch save for the Lady Jays with 3:47 left to play. After a Wildcat turnover, Hopkins senior Taylor D’Amore scored the equalizer with 49 seconds to go. Northwestern won the ensuing draw, getting two shots off in the final seconds. However, both went wide of the cage and the teams headed into overtime.
The Lady Jays won the first draw of the overtime and DiMartino converted a free position shot. Northwestern tied up the score yet again with 2:02 left in the first overtime, and after a save from Federico, the teams headed into a second overtime.
Both teams played strong on both ends of the field. With just 20 seconds remaining in the game, DiMartino would score her fifth goal of the game, giving the Lady Jays the victory.
DiMartino, after a couple of rocky games, led the Lady Jays with five goals saying,
“I have had a rough couples games whether I wasn’t finishing opportunities or producing as much as our team needed me to and I think I knew the task at hand and I needed to rise to the occasion for my teammates,” DiMartino said. “My team picked me up and gave me opportunities that I made sure I finished.”
Cermack finished the game with four points — 2 goals, 2 assists — and D'Amore had a goal and an assist. Federico finished with nine saves for her second career win, both coming in overtime.
After coming off of a tough loss against Florida, the Lady Jays showed no hesitation with the Wildcats.
“We had a full week of practice to prepare for Northwestern and I think we took full advantage of it,” DiMartino said. “We knew how it felt to lose by one to Florida and we didn’t want to have that same feeling again going into Sunday’s game. We made sure we came fully prepared and left everything on that field until the very last whistle.”
DiMartino said Hopkins Coach Janine Tucker kept the team focused and motivated,
“Coach Tucker just kept reminding us that we have been here before and that we weren’t tired,” DiMartino said. “She just kept telling us we had to keep composed and make smart decisions and that’s what we did. As a team we weren’t going down without a fight and we wanted to take that game more than anything.”
With few games left in the season, the Lady Jays are ready to fight to the finish.
“There is no stopping us now,” DiMartino said. “We know what we are capable of and we have come so far this season for it to just end. We are chasing that national championship.”
Hopkins returns to action on Friday, April 18, as the Jays travel to State College, Pa. to take on Penn State at Jeffrey Field. The opening draw is set for 6 p.m.
