Catholic got the most desired call, in overtime, Saturday at Biddle Field in Carlisle: corner.
And Cardinal Niki Micciche didn’t let it go to waste.
During a feisty scramble in front of Dickinson’s cage, the sophomore forward got ahold of the ball and scored on a reverse chip.
“Mary stepped up and intercepted the ball,” Micciche said. “The momentum went in our direction. Molly (McEvoy) kept it alive, and I put it in. There was a scramble and I lifted it up over the scramble. I knew we needed to put it away. And I did it right then.”
The 1-0 game winner gave Catholic its second victory of the season. The Cardinals are now 2-2 and Dickinson is 1-3. The goal was scored just over three minutes in overtime.
Dickinson goalie, Saige Stevens, was a large part of the reason for overtime. Catholic’s forward line tried to use creativity to shake her up, but Stevens was unphased.
The senior’s playing experience showed in her flawless stick-stop rejection to a fast-paced, lifted ball that was about four-feet in the air that ended the first half. She showed up again in the fourth in a 2 v 1 cleanly slide tackling a player’s shot.
“She has ice in her veins, no doubt,” Dickinson Coach Jenn Hanks said. “She is the only senior on our team, and I think she’s really taking on the role. She’s wearing many different hats…and she’s really, just enjoying it. She’s taking on the new defensive unit in front of her.”
Hanks, a first-year head coach for the Red Devils, said her team lacks playing experience. That’s something she said she can cultivate, but their willingness to grow isn’t.
“I’m excited about the future for this team,” she said. “It’s always about the next day with them, and how can we get a percentage better? We had great movement forward and we put them on their heels.”
Hanks noted that the Red Devils matched the Cardinals in stats: shots, Catholic 9, Dickinson 7; shots on goal, Catholic 4, Dickinson 2; corners, Catholic 2, Dickinson, 6; goalie saves, Catholic 2, and Dickinson 3.
Dickinson sophomore Sammi Moonay, and juniors Abby Marthins and Morgan Yandow-Harding were pivotal during transitions. Each contributed with powerful drives, creating space, and forward vision.
“I’m just extremely proud of them,” Hanks said.
While Catholic edged out Dickinson in the final moments, the Cardinals worked a lot off ball to try to set up teammates in scoring position.
“I think we did spread the field out well,” Micciche said. “I think we’re starting to build our connections with each other.”
That’s Catholic’s brand, Coach Rachel Palumbo said.
“They know our style of hockey,” she said. “They can also recognize when it’s not. Our style is to be supportive and to have different options around the ball, whether it’s back, side, forward. We need to work on more consistency and discipline. We’re moving the ball into right spaces, but we need to be able to possess it when it counts and put the ball in the back of the cage.”
The Division III competition seemingly brought out the best in both teams, even when the numbers dropped to 7 aside in overtime. Although it was Catholic that bested Dickinson, the goal is always to play as one team, freshman Mary Rojack said.
The midfielder-defender was seen hustling nearly every minute of her playing time from one end of the field to the other. A word Catholic talks about often is “unsatisfied,” she said.
“Knowing our team and feeling like I’m so much a part of it, and that everyone is for each other, it gives me the extra boost to sprint as hard as I can back down the field,” Rojack said. “We’re always looking for more. When there’s only a few of you, you just have to do it for your team.”
Cardinals:
- Goals – Micciche (1)
- Shots – 3
- Saves – 2
Red Devils:
- Goals – 0
- Shots – 2
- Saves – 3
