MARYLAND HEIGHTS – St. Joseph’s senior Jo Carollo felt the dread.
With the Angels trailing by a goal in the closing moments of their state quarterfinal matchup with Ladue, Carollo felt the season and her high school career slipping away.
“It hit me that this could be it. We needed to turn it on, give it all we had and leave everything on the field,” Carollo said.
Carollo assisted on Anna Spalitto’s game-tying goal with triple-zeroes on the clock, then assisted on Mia Ryan’s game-winner in overtime to propel St. Joseph’s to a heart-stopping 3-2 overtime victory over Ladue in an instant classic Monday at SportPort International.
No. 3 St. Joseph’s (15-2-1) which advanced to its third consecutive state semifinal, will play No. 2 Villa Duchesne (22-2) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Sportport.
No. 1 John Burroughs (16-2) will face No. 4 MICDS (18-4) in the first semifinal at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The second goal by Ladue junior Victoria Derdoy gave the Rams a 2-1 lead entering the fourth quarter. Despite losing by eight goals at St. Joseph’s on Oct. 10, the Rams were not surprised how the rematch was playing out.
“That (first) game against St. Joe was very uncharacteristic for us,” Ladue coach Leah Jones said. “We knew we could play to the level of St. Joe. We played well and scored against top teams in St. Louis all season. Everyone else in St. Louis may have counted us out, but we believed in ourselves.”
Led by Carollo, St. Joseph’s found another gear in the fourth quarter.
“For me, I started taking more risks. I trusted the solidness of our defense so I could I go up and take those risks,” Carollo said.
The Harvard-commit weaved through defenders, set-up teammates and earned penalty corners, but breaking through the Ladue defense for the tying goal required the entire 15 minutes and then some.
Ladue sophomore goalie Mimi Tabscott made 15 saves, including several highlight-reel rejections in the final minutes. She slid across the crease to deny Spalitto, then rose to her feet to blocker away the rebound attempt from junior Lylah Kaminski. During a penalty corner situation, Tabscott padded down a blast from Carollo before Ladue senior defender Katelyn Garrett knocked away the rebound inches before it crossed the goal line.
“It came down to everyone knowing their roles and doing their part,” Jones said.
Carollo earned a penalty corner with 1:43 remaining, which became a second corner and ultimately a third. While setting up for the third penalty corner, the clock struck triple zeroes, signifying the final play of the game.
St. Joseph’s moved all their position players around the circle, with only four Ladue defenders and Tabscott standing in the goal for resistance. An errant pass, a wide shot or Ladue clearing the ball out of the circle would end the game.
It was a moment when, both literally and figuratively, time stood still.
“I said to myself, ‘If you don’t get this in, this is it,’” senior Anna Spalitto said. “That was literally the last second of our season, and if we didn’t get that in, it was over. For me, it would be the last time ever playing field hockey.”
Carollo received the insert and sent a shot goalward. Spalitto reached out her stick, tipped the ball over the shoulder of Tabscott and watched it hit the netting inside the cage to tie the game at 2.
“We just gave it all we could, and I was in the right place at the right time,” Spalitto said.
The moment was as exhilarating for St. Joseph’s as it was deflating for Ladue. As the Rams slowly trudged back to their sideline in disbelief, Jones and the Ladue coaches quickly refocused them.
“Game’s not over,” Jones said of her message. “We allowed them to feel (deflated) for about half a second, and said, ‘Alright, we’re ready to move on. This is how we’re playing overtime.’”
Field hockey overtime is played 7-on-7, with only six position players and a goalie on the field. The setup was beneficial to both teams, each characterized by tremendous speed, and both teams had excellent scoring chances in the extra period.
But in the sixth minute of overtime, Carollo found available space in the midfield, dribbled past one defender, then another, and sent a soft pass to Ryan at the far post for a tap-in, overtime winner.
“We practice so much 7 v 7 and that really helps me in knowing where my teammates are,” Carollo said. “Mia is always there. I can always trust her on that right side. I knew when I dished it over to her, she’d put it in.”
For Ladue (14-7), the heartache of missing out of the program’s first final four berth eventually subsided to a feeling of great pride.
“I’m super-proud of this team. I don’t think a lot of people besides us really believed we could potentially win or take St. Joe to overtime. Every player, whether on the field or off the field, played their role. Total effort for the entire game. You can’t ask for much more than that,” Jones said.
Pride was also the prevailing feeling for a St. Joseph’s team that reached for something extra, unsure if they would find it as the minutes ticked away in the fourth quarter.
“We were down for so long, and the fact that we didn’t let down, we kept going – those last minutes really said something about our team,” Spalitto said.
Carollo added, “I still have chills.”
For a photo gallery of this game go to: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Field-Hockey/2024-Season/MICDS-vs-Cor-Jesu-State-Quarterfinal-10-29-24
For photo galleries from the 2024 field hockey season: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Field-Hockey/2024-Season