WASHINGTON TWP. -- Don't ask Warren Hills sophomore Jenna Wyckoff to describe one of the most amazing goals you'll see this season.
The important thing is that her incredible cross-cage goal while lying on the turf found the cage and lifted the Blue Streaks to a thrilling 2-1 victory over upset-minded Hackettstown in sudden-victory overtime on Saturday afternoon at Warren Hills School District Stadium.
"I just wanted to get it in and get [the game] over with," said Wyckoff, who followed up her initial shot off the pads of Tigers goalie Sophia Mallozzi with a perfectly-placed shot into the right corner of the cage just 49 seconds into the seven-a-side OT.
Warren Hills (6-3-1), ranked No. 1 in the area by Open Mike, was in a tough spot after losing two in a row and three of its previous five games coming in against a hungry Hackettstown team looking for its first win in the rivalry since 2006. Instead, the Group 3 runners-up in 2017 dug down after giving up the game's first goal with 20:34 left in the second half.
"We definitely needed this," Wyckoff said. "This gives us a big confidence boost coming off two losses [2-1 at Madison and 1-0 at home against Hunterdon Central on Wednesday]."
No. 4 Hackettstown (6-2-1), which had won six of seven since a 3-1 loss at Madison in the season opener, took control of this one early and won the statistical battle, but it could not cash on any of its eight penalty corners in the first half. The Tigers finally broke through on sophomore forward Megan Doyle's goal off the pads with 20:34 left in the second half. It was the only goal for an offense that had averaged nearly five per game coming into this one.
But Warren Hills charged right down the field and tied it off a penalty corner -- one of just two in the game -- when junior forward Samantha Dugan knocked in her fifth goal off an assist from sophomore Simryn Desai with 18:38 left in regulation.
Second-year Streaks coach Josie Potter, who has dealt with multiple injuries this season, including the loss of sophomore midfielder Sarah Korczukowski (illness) for this one, switched up her lineup prior to the game and made another adjustment in-game -- going from a 3-3-3-1 to a 4-2-3-1 alignment. The switch to four forwards opened up things for an offensive unit that had produced just four goals in the previous five games.
"When [Hackettstown] called a timeout [with 7:10 left] in the first half, we modified and organized the lineup," said Potter, who started only one senior, along with four sophomores and juniors, and two freshmen. "We knew we need to make the center midfield a factor, so we sent our side mids out wide and it gave up that extra offensive push."
In overtime, junior back Kate Fenner, who was rock-solid as the anchor of a stingy defense, along with sophomore sweeper Kylie Compton and sophomore Liz Schlaffer, set up the winning drive by taking the ball at around the 40 and bringing it down the right sideline against a Tigers lineup that was oddly comprised of four defensive players.
Fenner, Dugan and Wyckoff streamed toward the goal, and Wyckoff got off a sweeping shot near the left post before recovering to knock in the winner.
"I knew our two forwards were capable and ready," said Fenner, who emerged as one of the top players in the area as a sophomore and helped lead the Streaks to another Group 3 final appearance in 2017. "We have a lot of young players and we really played as a team. Defensively, we are strong."
Warren Hills, which has won 14 in a row against Hackettstown and owns a 42-4-3 edge in the all-time series dating to 1969, won't have much time to enjoy this one with home games against Hillsborough (on Monday) and arch-nemesis Voorhees (on Tuesday) on tap. The latter will have major Skyland Conference Raritan Division implications as the Streaks and Vikings each have two losses in conference play. Warren Hills opened the season with a 3-1 win at Voorhees on Sept. 4.
"This will be good motivation for us heading into the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament, and against Voorhees," Fenner said.
Hackettstown (6-2-1) 0 1 0 -- 1
Warren Hills (6-3-1) 0 1 1 -- 2
Scoring
Second half -- H, Megan Doyle, 5th, 20:34; WH, Samantha Dugan, 5th, (Simryn Desai), 18:38.
Overtime -- WH, Jenna Wyckoff, 4th, 9:11.
Shots -- Hackettstown 10; Warren Hills 4.
Saves -- Sophia Mallozzi 1, Madison Trotter 1 (defensive) (H); Julia Webber 9 (WH).
Penalty corners -- Hackettstown 11; Warren Hills 2.
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