de Raismes made a key save of a penalty stroke by Voorhees star Kathryn Roncoroni
Kathryn Roncoroni got the ball rolling early on Saturday morning. However, Jackie de Raismes ultimately had the final say.
de Raismes stopped a shot by Roncoroni in the first round of penalty strokes and Warren Hills Regional High School’s field hockey team went on to post a 2-1 win over Voorhees in a Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex semifinal in Lebanon Township.
The Blue Streaks (13-1) will play Hunterdon Central for the H/W/S title next Saturday at Hackettstown at a time to be determined. The Red Devils defeated Hackettstown 1-0 in Saturday’s other semifinal.
“Oh my god, this is so much fun,” de Raismes said. “I love playing.”
Roncoroni, a high-scoring senior forward who owns virtually every school record, gave Voorhees (14-3) a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal just 2:58 into the game.
The Vikings were unable to pad their lead and Rebecca Sigman tied it for Warren Hills with a goal assisted by Dani Profita with 10:18 left in regulation.
Neither team was able to score again for the remainder of the second half and two 10-minute overtime periods.
Roncoroni, An American University recruit, led off for Voorhees in the first of five rounds of penalty strokes but her shot was smothered by de Raismes.
Mikayla Dugan converted to give Warren Hills a 1-0 advantage in the strokes. Successful strokes by Voorhees’ Isabelle Houser and Laura Chen were offset by Warren Hills goals from Tali Popinko and Katie Thompson to give the Blue Streaks a 3-2 advantage.
Hannah Schiavo was next up for Voorhees but her shot was wide left. Profita, a junior forward, converted for the Blue Streaks to clinch the victory.
“We work on strokes every practice, especially for moments like this,” Profita said. “We were ready.”
de Raismes always takes a businesslike approach whenever she defends penalty strokes.
“I didn’t even know that was her (Roncoroni), to be honest,” de Raismes said. “Every player is just another player to me.”
de Raismes has no special formula or technique in penalty stroke situations.
“I don’t really prepare myself for this,” she said. “I just kind of focus and do what I need to do.”
Mission accomplished.
Tom Hinkel may be reached at thinkel@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomHinkelLV. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.