by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond
It took a while but Atlee finally started to capitalize on their opportunities.
Lindsey Booth tied the score with 15:28 left in the match and then Kristin Lescalleet won it in overtime as the Raiders defeated Hanover 2-1 on Friday.
“At the beginning we were just panicking, we weren’t playing as a team,” Lescalleet said. “We weren’t possessing the ball at all. I just feel like we weren’t trying as hard as I know we could…I don’t know, we just turned it on in the last 20 minutes of the game, just put it out there.”
Atlee, ranked third in the DigitalSports Top 10, was on the attack for much of the contest but Hawks goalie Maggie Tillar was up to the task as she finished with 17 saves.
And it was Hanover who led for an extended period of time thanks to a goal off the foot of junior midfielder Samantha Hooe.
Hooe scored on a long free kick from about 10 yards in from midfield at the 19:03 mark of the first half. The ball squeaked by Raiders senior goalie Alicia Rydel.
“She kept it on frame,” Hanover coach Steve D’Adamo said. “One of our biggest problems is taking shots that test the keeper. Anything can happen. Every time you put a shot on goal you could score.”
The lead remained 1-0 until Atlee’s Sarah Northrop blasted a shot off the crossbar and on the rebound Booth headed the ball into the net with 15:28 remaining.
Neither team would score again in regulation and then in the second half of overtime senior midfielder Lescalleet, who had noticeably been limping earlier in the extra period, blasted a shot from just outside the box past Tillar to give the Raiders their first lead at the 4:20 mark.
“It was a great leave by Mia Warlick,” Lescalleet said. “I don’t even know how she did it. She just left it, kept on running. We’ve been working on it at practice, finding the big part where the keeper isn’t and just placing it in the big part.”
The Hawks tried to counter quickly but were unable to score as Atlee defeated them for the second time this season.
“We came out strong in the first half, we played our game in the first half,” D’Adamo said. “I think it had to do a little bit with us just being tired. They had two really good shots, even though Maggie played really well. You just can’t stop two top-class shots.”
Atlee coach Bruce Lovelace was was both pleased with his team’s comeback victory and complimentary of Hanover.
“It was a tough win,” Lovelace said. “Hanover played well. I was very impressed with them.”
Hanover 1 0 0 0 – 1
Atlee 0 1 0 1 – 2
H: Hooe
A: Booth, Lescalleet
Saves: Tillar (H) 17; Rydel (A) 1
Records: Hanover (3-4 Capital, 5-6-1); Atlee (8-0, 12-1)
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