Hamalak helps seal win for Garnet Valley … and dad

CONCORD >> Garnet Valley goalie Sam Hamalak has been a big part of the team’s success since her freshman season. She’s made hundreds of key saves and has been partially responsible for so many memorable wins.

But no emotion quite compares to her feeling after Saturday’s 10-7 victory over Owen J. Roberts in the District 1 Class 3A quarterfinals.

From the Garnet Valley bench, Hamalak wiped tears from her eyes as she pointed across the field.

Her dad, Rick, was waiting for his daughter at the goalie cage, the exact spot Sam occupied Saturday afternoon.

She could not wait to run over to dad and give him a hug and kiss.

“I’m so happy, because of my dad …” Sam said, her voice cracking. “It’s the first game he actually got to see.”

It had been a long road back for Rick Hamalak after undergoing heart surgery. Inspired by her father’s fighting spirit, Sam played out most of her senior season with him in mind. Every game — and every big save — was dedicated to him.

“He had surgery in January,” she said, “so this team has been like my second family. Everyone has always been there for me. This is where I go to clear my mind and out there I am in my own world. Finally seeing him here today … it was sort of a shellshock kind of thing.

“This was the first game he’s been able to come to and able to stand for long periods of time.”

Without Hamalak’s stellar effort in the second half, there’s no telling whether the Jaguars, the No. 1 seed in the district tournament, survive a feisty Owen J. Roberts team and clinch a berth in states.

Hamalak had few save opportunities in the first half, but she knew OJR would crash the net early and often in the second half.

Although OJR made things interesting, scoring the first three goals after halftime to trim GV’s lead to 9-7, Hamalak stoned them on several occasions. She made five stops in the second half to help ensure the Jaguars’ victory.

“In the playoffs you have no idea who you’re going to face next,” Hamalak said. “I was just telling myself in my head, ‘You’re not ending it here, senior year, in possibly my last-ever high school game. There’s no way you’re going out like this.’

“I knew they were going to throw every possible shot at me, so I was hoping to dive for and stop every single one I could.”

When OJR had the momentum, and came close to pulling even with the Jags, perhaps Hamalak was thinking about that one piece of advice her dad offers.

“When it comes to sports, he’s always telling me to push myself that one extra time,” she said, “because it’s not the 10 sprints you do, it’s the 11th sprint where you’re almost dying that you push yourself through that will make you better than almost everybody else.”

Hamalak gave it all she had Saturday.

“Sam has been such a rock for us. We jokingly — but not really jokingly — call her a brick wall because she’s come up so big for us in so many big games,” GV coach Jenny Purvis said.

“It’s just so special for her, on a day like today, to come up with some really big saves and to have her dad here. I know other girls on the team started to cry for her because she was crying. It was special. This team is so close and we all care so much for each other, I think that’s a big reason why we are successful.”

Camryn Faith thwarted OJR’s comeback bid with Garnet Valley’s first and only goal of the second half with 1:08 to play.

“We just did what we needed to do,” Faith said. “I think we executed when we had to and that last goal helped us get it done.”

Garnet Valley had a man-advantage in the first half and promptly made OJR pay the price. The

Jags netted three goals in the span of 58 seconds to grab a commanding 9-3 lead.

“We really had our moments to take advantage of them,” Purvis said. “Their only card of the game, we scored three goals. That’s so huge to go into the half and I think their game plan had to adjust a little bit. Our girls didn’t give up. Our big thing today, since we knew we were playing Owen J, was to play intelligently and not make any stupid mistakes. I’m glad we were able to, even when it got to 9-7, stay focused and play as a team.”

Kathryn Toohey scored a hat trick and Kamryn McNeal posted two goals and three assists. Madi

McKee chipped in two goals and Regan Nealon had a goal and an assist.

Kelsey Kilgallon and Eloise Gobert led the way for OJR with three goals apiece. Goalie Cayden Jarvis made five of her eight saves in the opening half.