Piedmont, the No. 8 seed and underdog, came inches away from winning the Division 2 North Coast Section Championship game for the second time in school history. On Thursday, May 18, they lost 8-7 in sudden-death overtime to No. 4 College Park. In a gritty performance, the Falcons won the opening faceoff of OT, turning it up field to quickly score the winner.
“In a draw, it’s a fast break situation and they ran a great scheme. They were running cutters all day and one just got in. But hat’s off to our players, they played a great game and excellent defense. We matched up girl to girl,” said PHS coach Carlton Chan.
The Highlanders came inches away from victory. With a shooting space opportunity with just 40 seconds left, Peyton Watson’s shot attempt clanged off the crossbar in a 7-7 deadlock.
“I’m always worried about taking the last shot, but we held the ball for a good three minutes. It didn’t work out. It was so close, so close. It hit the crossbar and that’s usually a really good shot,” Watson said.
Things were going well for Piedmont which opened the first quarter with a 4-1 lead before the Falcons stormed back in the second quarter with four straight goals to take a 5-4 advantage into halftime.
Schickedanz and Watson connected in the fourth quarter to give PHS a 7-6 lead with 8:26 left, but College Park scored the equalizer three minutes later.
“I’m really proud of us,“ said senior leader Schickedanz. “The fact that we went down and regained the lead speaks to the resiliency of our team. Even if it wasn’t the result we wanted, we were able to keep it at a tie and give ourselves a chance to win,”.
Despite the loss, Piedmont’s quest for the NCS title is a testament to the team’s development. In early season, the Highlanders struggled to maintain possession when transitioning their defense into the attack. As the season progressed, PHS became dependable in possession, more patient, and found they were able to fluidly conduct their attack.
“Instead of pushing through defenders, we started turning around and passing to the open girl. That’s one thing that really changed – just being patient when trying to move the ball,” Watson said.
This year’s Piedmont team contrasted considerably with the team of 2019. That squad had a handful of players who went on to play in college: Zoe Torok (University of Chicago), Lily Keville (Pitzer), Elie Cole (William & Mary), Widdy Tevis (Trinity), Maria del Rosario Chan (U.S. Coast Guard Academy), and Sadie Tschider (Smith College).
“We didn’t have any girls playing club lacrosse and in 2019, we were filled with superstars. This team had to rely on each other. They had a lot of grit, worked hard, and learned, learned, learned. We coached this team up and they were so receptive to it. It’s a very different team, but boy were they hard working,” Chan said.
Match Recap
Piedmont opened the game quickly with a goal 24 seconds out of the opening draw when Schickedanz wheeled her way from behind the net for a goal. College Park quickly tied the game 30 seconds later. After that, Watson scored with 5:07 left, then Schickedanz assisted Watson and Graham for goals twice in the final minute—making it 4-1 to end the first quarter.
But in the second, the Falcons came flying back, tying the game with three straight goals to make it 4-4 with 6:20 remaining. College Park then went ahead 5-4 with a pass to an attacker in front of the net for a close-distance goal with 4:24 left. In the remain ing minutes, Luisa Cole, Olive Litwin, and Graham had shots that were blocked before reaching the goal.
Schickedanz tied the game out of halftime, scoring with 9:53 remaining in the third quarter. After College Park tied with 8:21 left to put them back ahead 6-5, Graham had a shot saved, while Watson had a shot ring off of the post.
Schickedanz then scored with 2:27 on another wheel around from behind the net with 2:27 left—making it a 6-6 tie to end the third.
In the fourth, Schickedanz assisted Watson with 8:26 remaining to give Piedmont a 7-6 lead. Near three minutes later, College Park tied the game after scooping a ground ball in front of Piedmont’s net and shooting it in.
From there, Piedmont forced a timeout with 4:20 left in the game and called a timeout with 3:43 left. Controlling the clock until the final minute, Watson drew a shooting space foul with the clock ticking away. Her shot attempt got past the goalie, but cracked the crossbar and back into play. The ball worked its way back to Watson, but her shot went wide.
In overtime, College Park won the faceoff and quickly turned up field. On a dart toward the net, the Falcons scored, and the game was over.
Final stats:
Watson had three goals and won two draws. Schickedanz also scored three goals and had an assist. Graham scored once, won three draws, and gathered a ground ball. Litwin had an assist and three ground balls. Goalie Sophie Santander had 11 saves.