For nearly the entirely second half Saturday, Andrew Crockett found everything but the back of the net, hitting pipes and missing goals by just inches.
But in overtime with St. Anne’s-Belfield running with an extra man advantage, Crockett took a pass from Connor McCullough, got under his man and worked back over the top to create an angle. Finally, he found the back of the net for a gamewinner and a 9-8 victory over Norfolk Academy in the schools’ spring rivalry engagement.
“I got a couple of cradles in just to be sure I could place the shot where I wanted to,” Crockett said. “I just put it offside low, a bounce shot offside low, and it went in.”
Crockett’s third goal set off a celebration that the Saints, while boasting a balanced offense, owed to the defense and goalie Austin Sigler. Sigler posted 13 saves as Norfolk Academy peppered the Saints with 37 shots with 21 coming on goal. Sigler’s foot save in overtime, in particular, helped the Saints overcome a slashing call in the extra time. The full game performance was a positive sign for a STAB squad looking to lean on one player in the cage after playing a couple of keepers throughout most of the season.
“We’ve been looking for goalies to have big halves and we want to keep them in there,” said STAB coach Bo Periello. “We really didn’t think twice about keeping him in there when that’s the case. Obviously it’d be nice heading into the stretch run to have some consistency there.”
With 25 seconds left in the third, STAB appeared to be in control when Sam Craighill buried a rocket from 15 yards out to put the Saints up 8-5 going into the fourth quarter. But Norfolk Academy senior David Simone, who finished with five goals, buried an early fourth quarter goal to cut the STAB lead to two. It took the Bulldogs another four minutes to chip away again when Sean Noona scored unassisted with 3:25 left in the game.
Noona then set the table for Simone’s final score as the time in regulation dwindled, knotting the game at 8-8 and firmly shifting the momentum toward Norfolk Academy.
The Bulldogs and the Saints both missed chances to end it in regulation, and in overtime, Norfolk won the faceoff. The Bulldogs turned the ball over though, and a couple of changes of possession and penalties, including a final illegal bodycheck on Norfolk Academy followed before Crockett’s goal ended the contest.
STAB was particularly balanced on offense during the win, with six players checking in with goals. Connor McCollough scored a pair of goals while Michael McCollough, Miles Davis and Craighill had a goal each. Defenseman Eric Pelnik’s goal on a breakway
STAB locks horns with another tough matchup Friday when the Saints travel to take on Woodberry Forest.
