O’Neill goal in second OT gives Carroll Catholic League title
ASTON — Grace O’Neill knew it was do or die time when she took a pass from Archbishop Carroll teammate Courtland Schumacher and headed up field with less than five minutes to go in the second overtime.
“All I was thinking was get to the cage and make something happen,” O’Neill said.
Carroll had come up short on two other occasions in overtime to end its Catholic League championship slugfest with archrival Cardinal O’Hara. Lions’ goalie Mackenzie Hand stopped Sienna Golden with 50 seconds to go in the first OT to keep the game tied. Early in the second extra session Cate McGonaghy sent a perfect pass across the goalmouth off a corner only no one was there to tip it home.
O’Neill didn’t squander this opportunity. The senior worked her way into the circle and fired a shot past Hand 4:30 into the second extra session to give the Patriots a 2-1 decision over the Lions at Neumann University.
“I just wanted to put it in the back of the cage,” O’Neill said. It was her second goal of the game and gave the Patriots (13-6) their first league title since 2018. It also was the second straight year that the league championship was decided in overtime. O’Hara beat Carroll, 3-2, to take the crown in 2019. There was no league championship game last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s such a great rivalry,” O’Neill said. “We know it’s going to be a tough game because O’Hara’s a great team.”
“Every time we play Carroll in the championship game it goes to overtime. It’s unbelievable,” O’Hara Jenna Spaeder said. “They played a great game. The Carroll girls did a great job. My girls did a great job. You can’t ask for anything more in a Catholic League championship.”
The game was everything you could expect from the two best teams in the league. Carroll jumped out early when O’Neill put home a pass from Golden with 8:15 to go in the first quarter. That turned out to be just one of three shots the Patriots put on goal in the first half as O’Hara’s defense, led by Annie Welde, stiffened.
O’Hara finally broke through on a great move by Mia Scarduzio to set up Lexie Culp for the equalizer with 9:23 to play in the third quarter. Carroll goalie Reilly McMenamin came up with a huge stop on Anna McCarthy a few minutes later to keep it level and O’Neill thwarted an O’Hara corner with less than three minutes to play in regulation.
It would stay even until Schumacher and O’Neill teamed up to end it. Schumacher got the ball near midfield and sent a perfect pass to O’Neill, who was free in the offensive zone.
“Grace is a clever player and I knew she would make something happen,” Schumacher said.
O’Neill looked up, saw space, and made a beeline for the cage.
“Grace was phenomenal tonight,” Carroll coach Christina Elisio said. “This could have been her last game but she didn’t want it to be her last game.”
O’Neill and the Patriots get to play again on Saturday when they take on the Public League champion for the District 12 Class 2A title and a berth in the PIAA tournament at the Germantown Supersite. Carroll lost in the state Class 2A final last season.
“By the end of the game I just wanted to get it over with,” O’Neill said. “And so I just put my head down and was able to get it in the back of the cage.”
