Pleasantville Girls Advance on Capko’s Overtime Goal
By Danny Lopriore
Grace Capko played the lead role in a Hollywood movie scenario on Friday afternoon when she scored the game-winning goal with 1:14 remaining in overtime, lifting the Pleasantville girls’ lacrosse team to a thrilling 16-15 victory over visiting North Salem in the quarterfinals of the Section 1, Class D playoffs.
Capko, who had her game-used stick taken from her by officials in the final moments of regulation time after it did not pass an inspection, used teammate Lauren Drillock’s stick to score her sixth and game-winning goal in the overtime. There were a cast of Panthers who also played major parts in the win.
The third-seeded Panthers needed Capko’s heroics after squandering a 13-3 lead as sixth-seeded North Salem scored the last eight goals in regulation time to tie the score at 15-15 and send the game into overtime.
“I guess Coach (Jaime Williams) called a stick check on No. 15 (Grace Curran) to slow their momentum, so their coach asked to check mine,” said Capko, whose stick was okayed by officials in the pregame check. “I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it, but they took it. I was upset, but everyone said don’t let it get in your head. So I shook it off. I knew I had to stay focused and keep playing.”
Capko, one of the smallest players on the field, made big play after big play, hawking Tiger players on defense and picking up loose balls until she finally had the ball on Drillock’s borrowed stick in front of the Tigers’ goal and sent it home to start a wild celebration.
“I waited until Kathryn (Finnegan) had the ball, then rolled back and it was there,” Capko said. “I didn’t want to shoot and miss because they would get the ball back. I waited and got close enough to be sure. It was amazing to see everyone celebrating.”
Panther goalie Jessica Mullane’s 10th save of the game was a game-saver when she stopped a shot early in the sudden-death overtime to set up Capko’s game-winner.
“It was tough once they started getting so many chances in front of me, but the thing that goes through my mind is to see shots and never take my eye off the ball,” said Mullane, who had a good idea what to expect on Curran’s potential game-winning shot. “I knew where she liked to shoot and just kept my eye on the ball and got it. If it went by, it was because I missed it. But I didn’t.”
Paige Long was a force throughout the game, winning a number of draws to start the offense and playing a big role in helping to fill the gap left by Drillock’s absence.
“When you lose a player like Lauren, it’s a big deal,” Long said. “Coach told us to never let up and look ahead. We weren’t comfortable without Lauren and they got going when they scored two, three goals. Me getting the draws was important and I am always aware of that. We’re so happy to show we are a good team and overcame this.”
Drillock, who scored three goals and assisted on two others, helped Pleasantville build its big lead before she was disqualified on penalties early in the second half. Without one of their key players, the Panthers lost their momentum, while the Tigers, led by Curran, overcame the big deficit. Curran took over midway through the second half and scored six of her eight goals, including goals 14 and 15 to tie the score.
Jenna McAllister and Finnegan each scored twice for the Panthers, who moved on to play in the Class D semifinals.
Lydia Werlau had three goals and an assist, Amy and Jane Fetteroff each scored twice, Kelly McCarty had a goal and Jessica Reiner made eight saves in goal for the Tigers.
Mullane and Capko stressed that the Panthers wanted to push through the playoff run and make a statement for the girls’ program.
“We need to finish what we started,” Mullane said. “We came from not always being the best. People talk about our boys’ team, but we want to prove to our town and the section and the state that we have a powerhouse too.”
“A huge part of this win is that we can show our ability to do great things and we were predicted to lose here,” Capko said. “Even though we’re the three seed, we’re encouraged about our chances and we wanted to show we can be the best.”
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