COHASSET – Not many would have wanted the pressure-packed situation that junior midfielder Elle Hansen found herself in.
But Hansen did and delivered a monumental win for Cohasset in dramatic fashion.
Hansen scored a free position goal with less than a minute left in double overtime Friday to lift the Skippers over South Shore League rival Norwell for the first time in program history with an 8-7 victory at Alumni Field.
"Our team wanted this so much and that is the position I wanted to be in," said Hansen, who finished with four goals and two assists. "I wanted to do it for my team because I love them all. I couldn't have done it without any of them. We worked so hard at practice. We wanted it so bad. We could not wait to get out on the field today.
"We were looking forward to it the whole day and then just finishing the game with that shot in double overtime just meant the world to me and my teammates. It couldn't have been any better. We've gone up against them and we've fallen short every time and this was a really great feeling for all of us."
The familiar script of Norwell (6-1) coming out on top against Cohasset (7-0) took a turn late in double overtime after each squad couldn’t capitalize on opportunities in the first extra session.
Senior goalie Chase Henriquez, who was phenomenal in net for the Clippers making 14 saves, was determined to not let another shot by her and came up with a key save with 2:07 left in the second overtime.
But Cohasset got one final chance, which started with a hustle play for Hansen. Hansen corralled the ball from an errant pass on the left sideline and used her speed to get by defenders to force a free position opportunity.
Hansen didn’t let the chance go to waste, as her shot found the back of the net with several Norwell defenders closing in on her.
"Chase is a really good goalie," said Hansen, as they both play on the same club team. "I just needed to shoot hard and place it and I had faith that it would go in."
Norwell almost fell in regulation, but it had its own dramatics to force overtime. With 31.6 seconds left in the second half, Anne Hilsinger connected with Murphy McDonough for a goal to tie it up, 7-7.
"That was hard to come back from mentally more than anything else," said Cohasset coach Kully Reardon. "But I think we have such confidence. We know we're a good team and they believe in each other. We didn't really doubt it. We knew from the beginning that we had an edge."
Cohasset built a 5-2 lead late in the second half, but that dwindled quickly as Norwell made a run.
Hailey Berglund (one goal, three assists) helped the Clippers storm back by setting up goals from Hilsinger and Lily Warendorf to cut the deficit to one, 5-4, with 8:23 remaining in regulation.
Berglund was on the other side of things to tie the game, 5-5, as she took a pass from Addie Kent and deposited a shot with 6:51 left in the second half.
"We were able to score those three quick ones to get us back into the game," said Norwell coach Kara Connerty, "but we need to do that in the first half. In the first half, we struggled in the offensive end. We can't wait to put it in."
The game teetered with momentum swings from that point on as Jane Hansen (three goals) – Elle’s younger sister – scored 22 seconds after Berglund’s tally to regain the lead for Cohasset.
Hilsinger responded with a goal for Norwell off of a feed from Grace Connerty, who was stellar on draws, to retie the game, 6-6, with 5:42 left.
Elle Hansen answered just over a minute and a half later, though, scoring a goal with a defender draped on her to put the Skippers back in front, 7-6. It was the Hansen show in the second half and overtime, as the two sisters combined to score each one of Cohasset’s goals during that stretch.
“They are such good team players, if they weren't, I don't think they would be as effective," Reardon said. "They're such good teammates that the team knows that we want to give them the ball. They're our fastest players. They're our most agile players. We want the ball in their sticks and they want it and that's the difference this year."
Cohasset dictated play from the outset, but had little to show for it due to the goaltending of Henriquez. The Skippers outshot the Clippers, 11-2, over the first 25 minutes, but led just, 3-2, at halftime.
Unlike all the other times, though, Cohasset would not be denied.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Reardon said. “They have so much heart and they worked so hard for this. They wanted it, which is the biggest difference than in years past.”
