The Blue Streaks faced an early deficit before rallying to win the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex semifinal.
Kathryn Roncoroni has been tormenting Warren Hills Regional High School’s field hockey program for four seasons.
And it looked like the Blue Streaks’ recurring nightmare might continue when the Voorhees senior star scored less than three minutes into Saturday morning’s Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex semifinal.
Warren Hills apparently wasn’t intimidated.
The Blue Streaks eventually recovered to tie on a goal by Rebecca Sigman before posting a dramatic 2-1 victory on penalty strokes in the game played in Lebanon Township.
Warren Hills (13-1) outscored Voorhees (14-3) by a 4-2 margin in the penalty strokes. Junior forward Dani Profita converted the stroke that clinched the victory. The euphoric win avenged a 2-1 overtime loss to the Vikings on Sept. 15.
“These games mean the world to us when we play Voorhees,” an emotional Profita said with tears of happiness streaming down her face.”
Profita indicated she unaware of the exact situation when it was her turn to shoot the stroke.
“To be honest, during strokes I never count because I’m afraid I’ll get flustered and mess up,” Profita said. “At first I didn’t know it was over, but when I saw Rachel (Phillips) running toward me I figured we won.”
Roncoroni scored the overtime goal to win the first meeting this season. And it looked like it might be a bad omen for Warren Hills when she gave the Vikings a quick lead on Saturday.
First year Warren Hills coach Kate Rothman felt it was just a matter of time until her team got untracked.
“We made some changes in the second half just moving some people around,” Rothman said. “I told them (before the penalty strokes) that no matter what happens, they played a great game. We played our hearts out. It’s going to be a happy bus ride back.”
Although it’s easier said than done, Rothman placed special emphasis on stopping the talented Roncoroni.
“Roncoroni is a fantastic player,” Rothman said. “We didn’t want her to beat us. We wanted the rest of the team to beat us. At times it was a bit scary, but I think we did a pretty good job on her.”
“We were super pumped on the bus,” Profita said. “We knew (Voorhees) would come out hard. We just had to stay confident.”
Warren Hills will play Hunterdon Central, a 2-1 winner over Hackettstown, for the H/W/S title next Saturday at Hackettstown. No matter what the situation, Rothman maintains faith in her team.
“When these kids get down they don’t get upset,” Rothman said. “These girls are able to stay focused and in control. We have a bunch of mentally smart players.”
Tom Hinkel may be reached at thinkel@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomHinkelLV. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.