Madeline Hopper didn’t like the effort she put forth in the first matchup against Poly Prep. This time she came out with something to prove and spoiled Poly’s Homecoming in the process.
Behind Hopper’s nine-goal performance, Riverdale defeated Poly Prep,14-10, in Ivy League girls lacrosse in Brooklyn Saturday. It was a performance so stellar that even Hopper couldn’t put it into words.
“It’s unreal,” she said. “This win is like nothing else.”
“She had a little stick in her craw,” added Riverdale coach Carol Pouliot. “She didn’t have a great game against them the first time, in her eyes. Today she came out to prove to Poly that she was a scorer.”
Denis Gostev
Riverdale's Madeline Hopper scored nine goals in a win over Poly Prep on Saturday.
She did so early and often.
Hopper scored five goals in the first half, none more important then the one she scored with 6.8 seconds left on the clock to knot the score up at 6-6. After a Jessica Dahldorf missed shot, Hopper took the ball coast-to-coast and scored to swing the momentum in favor of Riverdale, which they didn’t relinquish in the second half. Lindsay Picard scored four times for the Falcons.
“After we tied it up at halftime, we just wanted to come out and jump on them in the second," Hopper said.
The two traded goals early in the second half, with Hopper scoring three more within in the first six minutes. With her team leading 12-9 and 9:05 left to play, Hopper scored her ninth and final goal. Riverdale (5-2), ranked No. 2 in the city by The Post, remembered how Prep erased a five-goal lead to win 13-12 in their first matchup and eventually ended up winning the game by one.
They weren’t ready to let that happen again.
“The defense was really the key to the game,” Hopper said. “They really stepped it up and helped us land our first signature win.”
The defense held the Northwestern-bound Dalhdorf to only two goals, both coming in the first half. Along with strong goalie play and the defensive adjustment on Dalhdorf, Riverdale captured the victory, tying No. 1 Poly (5-2) for second in the Ivy League.
“I felt that even in the first matchup, we were the better team,” Pouliot said. “We just didn’t finish. This time we finished and we got the win.”
Pouliot and her girls wanted this win badly. After the final seconds ticked off the clock, the team celebrated on the field, which carried over to the sidelines, as Pouliot let out a little victory dance for her team.
“I’ve been talking about what a quality win is,” the coach said. “And the last few years it’s been Riverdale, Hackley, and Poly fighting for the league finals. Up until today, we had not captured one of those wins yet. Now we have one, so now we have to go back at Hackley and get another.”
Sam Domurat led Poly with three goals, on a day in which many of her teammates had trouble getting going.
“We didn’t have fresh legs out there and it showed,” Poly coach Anni Zukauskas said. “At this point of the season, everyone has seen everyone, we know what we’re in for. It’s all about preparation, showing up and performing. Riverdale performed today, Poly didn’t.”
Madeline Hopper, Poly Prep, Riverdale, Carol Pouliot, Hopper, Ivy League, Lindsay Picard
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