Cougars Force Hilltoppers to Work Overtime by Scoring Twice in Final Two Minutes
SUMMIT, NJ - In a River Road Rivalry instant classic, Hilltopper junior Jane Freeman scored with 12 seconds remaining in the first overtime to give the number-one seeded Summit High School Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team a 7-6 victory over fourth-seeded Chatham in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions (TOC) semifinals on the Upper Turf Field at Summit High School.
Freeman drove to her right and fired home, setting off a bench-emptying sprint to the goalscorer and a happy Hilltopper merry mosh pit. In addition to the immediate exaltation, there was a healthy whiff of relief in the O2 as the Maroon and White looked to be sailing to the finish line in regulation before being torpedoed by two Chatham goals inside the games final two minutes -- including the overtime-forcing tally with just 16 seconds left.
Summit's victory creates an all-Hilltop City TOC Final, as the Hilltoppers will take on third-seeded Oak Knoll -- which triumphed 11-6 over second-seeded Morristown in the other 'semi -- on June 11 at Mount Saint Mary Academy. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
Versus the Cougars, Freeman and classmate Lily Spinner each had two goals for Summit, now winners of nine straight and now 22-2 on the season. The girls from the 07901 got 12 big saves from senior goalie Caitlin Walsh, while senior captains Kit Zanelli and Ashley Thomas, along with sophomore Anya Wardle, also each found the back of the net for the Hilltoppers.
Summit never trailed in the tilt but could not put away the Cougars (18-5), who kept coming all game long and nearly left Kent Place Boulevard campus with the 'W'. Carly Frohnapfel and Kayleigh Coughlin each had a pair of markers for the visitors, and Cougar goalie Elizabeth Sherman made 11 stops between the pipes.
On a day of goals in the dying moments of the frames, the Hilltoppers scored the first two tallies of the contest and led 4-1 with 2:28 remaining before Frohnapfel dented the twine with 13 seconds left before the break.
It was 5-2 early in the second half after Freeman notched her first of the day, but Addison Barrett and Frohnapfel scored just under four minutes apart to narrow Summit's advantage to just a goal, at 5-4, with 16:30 to go in regulation. Thomas restored the Hilltoppers' two-goal lead with 7:02 left, and then the defenses dug in.
Summit got the ball with less than four minutes remaining but couldn't hang onto it, and the Cougars took advantage. Ashley Kiernan made it 6-5 with 1:46 left and then Coughlin triggered a rush of blue jubilation when she equalized with just 15 seconds left.
In OT, Summit forced a turnover and Freeman got just free enough to end the proceedings and start the countdown to what should be an uber doozy between two teams that share the same zip code and a long history. The Hilltoppers and the Royals have met twice this season, with the teams splitting the two games and being separated by a cumulative goal differential of one.
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