Cha Cha Shuts Out Haverford

By RYAN BRIGHT, Special to the Local News

MALVERN — In one 15-minute overtime session, the Great Valley field hockey team found out exactly what it was made of.



Jess Nawojski scored the game-winner in overtime to propel the No. 3 Patriots to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over visiting 14th-seeded Haverford High School Wednesday in the second round of the District 1 Class AAA playoffs.



"Winning a game like this really shows the team's character," said Great Valley coach Joe Tornetta. "This team isn't going to buckle. They're going to keep battling. If we lose, we lose, but it won't be because we didn't battle."



Great Valley advances to host rival sixth-seeded Downingtown West Friday at 3:30 p.m. The Patriots recently defeated the Whippets, 2-1, for the Ches-Mont League championship.



"If we want to beat a team the caliber of Downingtown West, we have to play better than we did today," said Tornetta. "If we don't execute better than we did today, Downingtown will bump us off.



They were hungry when they played us before and they are going to be hungrier this time."



Although the Fords (14-6) battled till the bitter end, they couldn't help but feel disappointed by the outcome.



"To lose a 1-0 game in the second round of the district playoffs is going to hurt whether it's in regulation or overtime," said Haverford coach Samantha Lloyd. "It certainly was a good fight and we just came out on the wrong end.



"My girls played a very tough regular-season schedule and they battled all season just like they did today. It's a wonderful group of girls and they came out and played a great game against a very good team today. I'm proud of them."



With 9:50 remaining in overtime, Haverford goalie Catherine McGowan (four saves) collided with a Great Valley striker while both attempted to aggressively play a loose ball in the circle. The collision earned the Patriots a corner and they made the most of it.



Coming in off the in-bound pass, the G.V. failed to get a clean shot on goal. However, the loose ball bounced to Zach Davis, who zipped it in front of McGowen to Nawojski, who smacked it through five-hole for the game winner.



"We definitely played a lot better in overtime," said Nawojski. "It was really a lucky hit. I knew it was coming to me and I just turned and swung at it hoping it would go in. It feels so good to know that we can continue our season."



Great Valley struggled on set pieces, connecting on just one of 11 corners in the contest.



"We didn't execute well at all today," said Tornetta. "And even when we scored it wasn't a great execution, but it was good enough to get it done."



Despite the conclusion, the victory was hardly a sure thing for the Patriots. Great Valley began the contest with some early game jitters. Not the typical aggressive style of play that earned the Pats a 17-0 record throughout the season. That lack of assertiveness played right into the hands of the Fords, who began to mount the pressure.



"We were all so nervous because we've never been this far," said Nawojski. "We were playing to not lose, we weren't playing to win."



The Fords had the Pats on the ropes in the first half, earning four corners, and 10 for the game.



"It was great that we were creating the opportunities to score, but unfortunately we were unable to finish," said Lloyd.



Great Valley continued to sputter throughout the matchup, trading chances with Haverford. But the difference in regulation was the play of Patriots' goalie Christina Heston, who made three saves, two of which came late in the second half to preserve the tie.



"She was amazing for us today," said Nawojski. "She completely saved us the entire game. We would have lost this game without her."



Great Valley 1, Haverford 0, OT



Haverford 0 0 0—0 Great Valley 0 0 1—1 Great Valley goals: Nawojski. Goalie saves: McGowen (HF) 4; Heston (GV) 3