Council Rock South senior Caroline McGovern reached a milestone recently when she scored the 100th goal of a stellar career.
The scene played out like script straight out of a movie.
Caroline McGovern – one shy of the 100-goal milestone – stepped to her spot at the top of the circle for her team’s fourth corner of overtime in a classic battle against Neshaminy.
The insert pass from Tori Wright was on the money, and the Council Rock South senior - with one sweet swing – hit a rocket that bounced off a rough spot in the circle, ricocheted off the goalie and into the cage, giving the Golden Hawks an electrifying 2-1 win over the Redskins.
“Every corner – especially in overtime, I’m like ‘This has to be it, I have to end it right here,’” McGovern said. “They have Mia Sexton as their flier, and she’s super fast.
“She was blocking me the whole game. She’s a phenomenal player, and I couldn’t get it by her. Tori had a great insert, and luckily, I got a good touch on it. That is a corner I like to go to every time because it’s just a simple straight shot and hope for the bounce, which is exactly what happened.”
Signs popped up on Rock South’s sidelines commemorating the historic goal while McGovern collapsed to the ground in relief and was mobbed by jubilant teammates.
“I didn’t know what to do – in our last Neshaminy game, we did the exact same thing, I scored the same exact goal, and I hit the ground,” McGovern said. “Going through that whole game and that overtime, you’re just so out of it, and when you get that win, there’s no better feeling.”
The historic goal was the Boston College commit’s second of the game and not only gave the Golden Hawks the dramatic win but also sole possession of the SOL National Conference title.
“During the school day, somebody came up to me and was like, ‘You’re going to get your 100th today, right?’” McGovern said. “The first thing on my mind was league champions. You don’t want to have to share that with anybody.
“We want that name on our banner to be able to say – this was our league this year. We worked really hard all season, and coming into this game, that’s all I was really thinking about.
“After that last goal, I didn’t even think about it until I saw the signs, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s right - that is my 100th.’”
McGovern closed out the regular season with 37 goals.
“Midway through the season we knew she potentially was going to get her 100th goal,” Rock South coach Lisa Belz said. “We were hoping it would be in a big game, and I’m thrilled for her that it could be a game winner for the league championship.
“She comes up big when you need her to, and those players are hard to come by. Her skill is above and beyond what any high school player is usually capable of, but in addition to that, it’s her game sense.”
Belz went on to recount how McGovern had watched the video of the initial game against Neshaminy – also a 2-1 overtime win.
“She came to practice with corners she wanted to try, and she really helped out the forwards and the mids with the spacing,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “She’s not about her own personal accomplishments, she’s a true team player. She wanted this league championship more than anything. Her other goal is that we get a good seed in districts and make it to states.”
The Golden Hawks – seeded eighth in the District One 3A Tournament – earned an opening round bye and will face the winner of the North Penn/Wissahickon contest in a second round game Wednesday.
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