Proto leads Lauralton
WOODBRIDGE — Despite allowing an early goal, Lauralton Hall goalie Julia Proto kept the Spartans off the board the rest of the way, making 13 saves.
None were bigger than two saves she made on back-to-back Amity penalty corners midway through the fourth quarter as the Crusaders clung to a one goal lead.
Proto held her ground and the Crusaders held on to their lead to beat Amity 2-1 and claim the SCC Division B field hockey championship.
“Every time they get in our corner I say, “take a deep breath it’s going to be okay” and at the end of the day it was okay,” the senior goalie said, while crediting her defensemen Bri Firgeleski, Emma Strong and Maddie Paine.
“They’re the real MVPs, they’re the reason why we
won this game,” Proto added.
The Spartans controlled the first three quarters of the game, but only beat Proto once in the first quarter on a Natalie Huber goal. They continued to pressure and put shots on net but never could solve Proto again.
“We knew we would have to get the rebounds,” Amity coach Sara Hale said. “Their defense was stepping in and they knew we were going to be doing that.
“We couldn’t seem to finish.”
Finishing in front of the net was something the Crusaders couldn’t do for most of the game themselves until they were awarded back-to-back corners with no time left on the clock in the third quarter.
On the second try, Strong deflected a shot into the net to tie the game.
“(I told myself ) they can still come back, it can take 30 seconds to score a goal, you
have to keep your head in it and say this game isn’t over,” Proto said. “But with that one goal I did breathe a little easier.”
Then just two and a half minutes into the final frame, Gulia Emanuel found the back of the net to give the Crusaders the lead for good.
“Every day we took as if it was our last and we played to the very end,” Lauralton Hall coach Christine Miller said. “You couldn’t ask for more from this team.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Julia Proto, Lauralton Hall. Proto made 13 saves and stood on her head in net to lead the Crusaders to the SCC Division B field hockey championship.