CANTON — Give Maggie Lynch a second chance at your own peril.
After she was robbed on a breakaway in overtime, the Archbishop Williams senior responded on her next shift when she found herself streaking free on a collision course with the cage. This time, the prolific goal scorer delivered, sending the fourth-ranked Bishops to a 3-2 win over top-ranked St. Mary’s in Catholic Central play on Saturday night at the Canton SportsPlex.
“I just wanted it back,” summed up Lynch in the aftermath of the win.
In a battle of the No. 1 teams in their respective divisions in the latest MIAA power rankings, Division 2 Archbishop Williams (10-0-1) secured its first win over the Division 1 Spartans (13-1) since 2015, breaking up an 0-11-3 stretch.
But even prior to Lynch’s heroics, it took an equalizer from Grace Mottau — on a rebound of a Lynch offering — with 23 second remaining in regulation to force an extra session.
“It’s exciting for our girls and exciting for our program,” said Archbishop Williams coach Doug Nolan.
Evelyn Lacey made 25 saves for Archbishop Williams, while St. Mary’s’ netminder Angelina Cantino had 18.
The Bishops, winners of nine straight games since a 1-1 draw against league foe Bishop Fenwick Dec. 14, took the initial lead on a Caroline Batchelder power-play goal with 8:50 elapsed.
St. Mary’s responded in the second period with a power-play strike by Jenna Chaplain at 13:04. The Spartans took their first lead 7:15 into the third on an Abbie Poole goal, but despite outshooting the Bishops, 27-20, dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten.
“Last year, we were afraid of them,” Nolan said, referring to an 8-1 loss against St. Mary’s last February. “Now, I think we have a good group of seniors, we believe in ourselves, we believe in our program. I think we’re here to stay.”
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