Hayman saves the day

Schalick goalie turns back penalty kick, helps Cougars blank Palmyra to reach SJ Group I girls soccer final

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
Semifinals
Schalick 2, Palmyra 0
Audubon 4, Maple Shade 0
Championship
Monday
Schalick (16-4) at Audubon (18-1-2), 3 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PALMYRA – Will Kemp knew the exact moment it was going to be his Schalick girls soccer team’s day.

It was the moment early in the second half when senior goalie Carly Hayman turned away a penalty kick by Palmyra’s all-time leading goal scorer Julia Ostroff to maintain the Cougars’ one-goal lead in an eventual 2-0 victory in the South Jersey Group I semifinals.

“Once that save was made, I knew the momentum was going to carry for the rest of the match,” said Kemp, a former Schalick and in-state small-college goalie. “It was just a phenomenal moment. As a goalkeeper myself it was something you cheer even more than a goal for.

“Being able to prevent that goal puts us inside the final. It’s not just a save, it’s a game-winning save. That’s exactly what that actually is.”

The Cougars (16-4) will now play at top-seeded Audubon (18-1-2) for the South Jersey Group I title Monday at 3 p.m. It will be their third trip to the sectional finals in four years. They won it in 2021 – with Hayman in the goal.

Hayman has stopped penalty shots before, but not recently and never in such a pressure-packed situation.

The penalty was set up by a foul in the box. Hayman stood her ground until it came time to act and then she dove to knock the shot away.

“I was trying to read her,” Hayman said. “She decided to go (my) right and then I went to the right. It was in the air and I knocked it away. I was like, ‘Oh my God I made the save.” I kind of got up and started screaming.

“I was a little nervous because it was only 1-0 and I was thinking they can tie it right here. But I believed in myself that I could do it.”

Kemp believed in her, too. After the save Hayman tried to retrieve the rebound but was unsuccessful, but her defenders who have been so solid in front of her all season swept it to clear the ball away.

“Carly’s strong,” Kemp said. “She’s the type of player you can feel her presence especially inside of moments like that. She’s the type of person who will get in your head, look you square in the face and then end up making the save while talking to you a little bit.”

Palmyra did hold Schalick scoring machine Emily Miller goal-less for the first time in 11 games, but the Cougars (16-4) have other scorers.

Cali Fisler, who’s regularly on the assisting side of the scoring, gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the first half when she converted a give-and-go with Karlie Bakley. It was her ninth goal of the season to go with a school-record 22 assists.

Quinn Berger sealed the Cougars’ eighth straight victory when she scored on a free kick from just outside the 18 that was deflected by a defender about 10 minutes after Hayman’s big save.

The last time Miller didn’t have a goal was when the Cougars were shutout by Sterling on Sept. 29. She did have two breakaways that were denied. She’s holding with 47 goals.

The win earned the Cougars a measure of revenge for the Panthers knocking them out in last year’s sectional semifinals.

“They played extremely well,” Kemp said. “The girls nailed their tactics right. They did everything that was asked of them. It was probably one of the best games they played and especially at this level. The girls just executed everything properly.”