Nichols OTs St. Mary’s!

The Nichols girls worked overtime against St. Mary’s Wednesday, and their labor paid off. In a season that already seems to offer great challenges, game after game, Nichols took to the road again to face what is likely the MML’s most dominant team.

The first half tilted in Nichols’ favor, even though St. Mary’s notched the first goal, 20 minutes in. But minutes later Mirann Gacioch found Linda Ullmark in the left flank and Ullmark did the rest, beating three defenders before scoring her sixth of the season. With ten left on the first-half clock, Ullmark pushed a pass to Charlotte Greene who gave Nichols the 2-1 lead going into halftime.

In the second half the field tilted a bit, and St. Mary’s seemed to play with a bit more desperation. “I think we became a bit too defensive for the first thirty minutes of the second half,” said assistant coach Tyler Bosch. “We tended to hang back, and when we did advance into the scoring third, there was little support.” The result was a tying goal.

That changed toward the end of the regular time, and Nichols seemed to get a bit hungrier and appeared to have their legs still. Going into the first OT, conditioning would carry the day. Nichols had some very good chances, and fought off a dangerous defensive miscue, leaving the game knotted at two. Sophie Jones and Eden Alphonse played their normal tight defense and controlled some of WNY’s most explosive scorers. “We’re just learning how good we can be,” said coach Desautels, “and part of that is learning to trust one another to cover and contribute. Our defense is beginning to work exceptionally well as a unit, not simply as individuals.”

With just forty-two seconds remaining, Ullmark attacked, beating numerous defenders before taking a hard shot that rebounded. In a cluster of activity at the top of the box, Greene kept the rebound alive as Sierra Warren crashed in to finish.

Safe to say, both teams were exhausted, and one got to celebrate.