Imani Turner makes a breakaway run down the field April 12, 2011. (Photo by Alexandra Yearly.)

As Ewing’s Marissa Santiago fought her way through a crowd of players and scored with 30 seconds left in the game, the girls on the Ewing bench jumped up to cheer and hug each other, while Steinert players hung their heads in disappointment. It was the final goal in overtime that clinched the win, 16-15, for the undefeated Ewing girls’ lacrosse team.

The April 12 game kept players and fans on their toes as the teams battled and the lead changed with almost every score.

The Blue Devils took the lead early when Silvetta Agosto scored in the first minute after a breakaway run. Steinert responded a minute later with their first goal, scored by Melissa Koster.

Ewing’s Imani Turner and Agosto each scored within a minute of each other, but a penalty shot from Steinert’s Kelsey Harshman kept the score close, 5-2. Six more goals from the Blue Devils and two from Steinert ended the first half, 9-4, with Ewing in the lead.

The action picked right back up when the whistle signaled the second half. Ewing’s Nyleah Ford, Nikki Sullivan and Jani Rodriguez strung together several quick passes before Rodriguez whipped a shot past the goalie. But Steinert started catching up, despite the Blue Devil’s two more goals, as they put eight points on the scoreboard, tieing the game at 12-12 after Harshman’s goal with six minutes left. Agosto’s goal after a penalty nearly decided the fate of the game, but Koster pushed a shot past the goalie with only 46 seconds left, sending the teams into overtime.

Even the two three-minute overtime halves were high-scoring. Agosto scored two quick goals in the first minute, but Steinert’s Kelli Fitzgerald lofted a ball over the goalie’s head to keep the one-point difference. Harshman tied the game once more with a goal early in the second overtime half, nearly causing another overtime delay. But it was Santiago’s goal that finally awarded the win to the Blue Devils.

Steinert head coach Lauren DiStefano said the first few games have been opportunities to “work out the kinks” and get used to playing again.

“We stayed in it the whole time and made the comeback to tie it up,” DiStefano said. “And, you know, to their credit, they’re very athletic.”

The coach said she had nothing but positive things to say about Steinert despite the loss, and senior captain Melissa Koster agreed.

“Ewing, they’re a good team, and we’re a first-year program against them,” Koster said. “I couldn’t be happier - I mean, I could be if we won — but we played really well and hard through the whole game.”

At halftime, Ewing coach Leslie Conant said she focused on telling the girls how they could improve their play on the field. And the Ewing players did pick up the intensity on defense and possession — but they weren’t the only ones.

“Steinert, I felt, also stepped it up as well, so it was really a battle,” Conant said.

Though nine of Ewing’s 16 goals were scored by Agosto, Conant said the Blue Devils team needs to work together to do well.

“I feel like Silvetta does a lot of scoring for our team, but a lot of other girls do contribute in the midfield, in the defensive end,” Conant said. “I really feel it’s a big team effort out there, and I’m really happy with them.”

Turner said the girls had been prepared for a tough game, but they had really needed to push themselves to get the win.

“We don’t want to underestimate teams, because we knew that they were an athletic team, and they were going to come and play hard,” Jordan Barnada said. “We can tell that we had to pick it up, and we did in the end, and that’s what counts.”