Somers Thrills with Sudden Death Victory over John Jay

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On Saturday April 18, Somers came roaring back from a 7-1 first half deficit, but even though the Tuskers took a late 14-13 lead, there was still overtime work to do. And when Shea Mullins stood poised by herself with the win in her sights, destiny overtook any doubts.

“I was thinking, it’s my time,” said the Tusker, and the clock struck sudden death when Mullins’ shot hit home.

John Jay didn’t wait to get started, though. From behind the net, Cait Brennan caught Coco Inglis out front, and she made it 1-0.

Only 14 seconds in, John Jay was briefly stalled by Caitlyn Mayfield. An errant pass by Fin Degl had Sofia Conner on the scoop, and off to the races she went. Mayfield emerged on the left, and the middie tied the game at 10:55.

Not for long, Brennan teed up from behind with nine seconds left on the shot clock. She deftly hit Degl in the crease, and the Wolf made a little stick juke to beat Emma Donaldson.

Of course, John Jay never has a shortage of Brennans. Maye Viders assisted Erin Brennan for a sneaky underhand score, and next the freshman assisted Amelia Inglis for a 4-1 game.

In at 4:58, the teams traded turnovers, and when Coco Inglis scooped a Tusker pass gone long, the older Brennan put her team on the gallop. She received from Inglis and found a streaking Viders for a 5-1 lead at 4:10.

Timeout for Somers, there was no chilling the Brennan family. Swinging out front from behind, Cait Brennan passed back to Coco Inglis, and the John Jay machine led 6-1 at 3:35.

Somers winning the faceoff didn’t help either. John Jay stole the ball back, and Amelia Inglis closed the first quarter by scoring on the penalty.

So in stepped Mayfield at the draw, and the comeback began. First win, the penalty was drawn by Conner ,and she closed within five at 11:26.

Riley McCaffrey responded with an amazing point blank save on Isabella Mancini, but Somers didn’t let their guests get away that easily. Lilly Lassen picked off a pass, and Mayfield took it from there. She received the pass inside and shot behind her back to beat McCaffrey at 9:41.

Next, the goalies stood up. First, Degl’s head long rush on Donaldson was turned away, and turning over, McCaffrey’s kick save on Paulmeno’s penalty shot shifted the field at 5:40.

John Jay took off, and Degl was taken out on a pass inside. Lining up, her shot connected, and John Jay continued the momentum in the middle of the field.

Dillion Hall to Degl, and Cait Brennan fired up her homing device again. She threaded a pass to Coco Inglis, and it was two in a row for John Jay.

9-3 with 3:51 left in the half, Donaldson put on the breaks. Brennan received a pass right on Donaldson’s doorstep, and with a big windup, Brennan’s shot was a big thud.

Somers' ball, the momentum would go their way to end the half. Megan O’Reilly rushed the ball up field, and Elana Kellock scored on the penalty shot to make it 9-4.

John Jay regrouped nonetheless. After McCaffrey made a big save right up in her grill against Mancini, Erin Brennan and Hall regained a seven goal lead for the Wolves.

At 9:14, the teams traded turnovers, but Somers took advantage. Kate Barton’s move in front draw the penalty, and Jay’s mini run was over.

Still, John Jay stayed on point. Degl skied for Hall’s lift, and her pass off to Coco Inglis was good enough to beat Donaldson.

12-5 at 8:26, Somers really got the runs and not just in the back of the John Jay net. Mayfield went on a mission and kept coming down with the ball. The first beneficiary was Kate Barton. The Tusker came from behind and made it 12-6 with 8:01 left in the third.

Another draw to Mayfield had McCaffrey registering a tough save, but Donaldson matched her on the other side at 6:40. Switching sides, Mayfield’s swing right drew the defense, and her blind pass back to a scoring Conner exemplified the team mindset. “We all work as a team together. So it sets up opportunities for everyone,” Conner said.

The same goes for Mayfield’s work in the middle. “She’s really confident at the draw,” said Conner, and another win put Somers on the attack again. Barton drew the penalty and scored from the right side to pull within 12-8.

Time called by John Jay with five minutes to go, Mayfield struck anyway. But so did McCaffrey, and another tough save was registered.

Not so fast, Barton gave chase and got the steal to give Somers the ball back. The larceny left Conner to strike again by scoring on the penalty at 2:58.

No surprise, Mayfield won the draw but McCaffrey did her part too. Another unbelievable save set up a Degl penalty shot goal to give momentum back to close the third.

A loss for Mayfield to start, she had help from Donaldson. Coco Inglis teed off at point blank, and the Somers goalie contained the Jay run to one. Mayfield making sure, she hit Paulmeno over the middle, and the senior's shot down beat McCaffrey at 9:56.

Up in the air, Mayfield struck again but deferred praise. “It wasn’t like I was winning the draw,” she said. “My draw team was, and my pair of eighth graders were amazing.”

Amelia Marcus spoke up for the middle school on the ensuing set up. She hit Barton for the assist, and the score was 13-11 at 9:47.

Can’t win ‘em all, Kaitlyn Condon stopped Mayfield’s streak, and the Wolves appeared to do the same to the Somers run. Brennan to Hall on the left, the shot disappeared into the net and all stopped. The back of the net not counting, the Somers crowd sighed relief.

The players didn’t miss a beat - especially Conner. She swung left, and her goal at 7:54 made it a one goal game.

Somers wasn’t above accepting a little luck either. Maye Viders hit the post at 7:36, and then Donaldson denied her 20 seconds later to give Somers the ball.

Back and forth the play going, the usual suspects tied the knot. Mayfield to Conner and Somers pulled even with 90 seconds remaining.

Still, Somers was whistled for a penalty, and John Jay went on the advantage. Nonetheless, Somers got the ball back, and Paulmeno brought the game all the way back by scoring at 1:01.

Of course, John Jay didn’t just start up the bus. Condon won the faceoff, and after calling for time, Coco Inglis scored on the penalty.

At :24.5, John Jay almost rectified all. Coco Inglis picked up a loose ball, made an impossible pass to Degl, but her shot flew just wide to end regulation.

Onto OT, Mayfield did her thing, and Somers was primed to win. Unfortunately, Conner’s miss on goal had John Jay closest to the ball.

The Wolves set up, but Mayfield was the mammal on the hunt. “We were pressuring out on defense,” she said. “It was a long pass, so I decided to go for it.”

The pass coming from the right, Mayfield made a backhanded stab that put Shea Mullins on the break. “Caitlyn made an insane interception, got it to Amelia, then to Barton and she drew the defense and passed to me. I faked and finished.”

15-14, the change of events was easy enough for Paulmeno to sum up. “John Jay started getting down of themselves, and we took advantage,” the Tusker concluded.

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