HIGH SCHOOL FIELD HOCKEY: 'It was a sister thing.' Costello twins salvage OA's season

EASTON -- What better way to start the state tournament than a double-overtime thriller?

Trailing by one goal against No. 17 seeded Scituate almost all night long in Thursday night’s Division 2 Round of 32 game after several silenced scoring chances, the Oliver Ames High field hockey team needed a hero to emerge in order to salvage its season.

Well, two rose to the challenge. And their bond is rooted much deeper than teammates.

“The two Costellos - they’re everywhere,” said OA coach Sharon Lawrence.

On a penalty corner, Ava Costello established position from short range to score the game-tying goal with just three minutes to play in regulation. An overtime later, just a minute into the second extra frame, Georgia Costello received an open-field saucer pass in stride to net the game-winner, ultimately giving the senior sisters’ career another day to live.

“I think that first goal was really something special because it was a sister thing,” said Georgia Costello of Ava Costello's goal to tie the game. “And with us being the captains, it could’ve been our last game, it just totally bounced back for us. It was awesome.”

“The plan was to go from our inserter to Georgia at the top and she slipped it left,” said Ava Costello of the play. “I was trying to tell myself to keep the stick on the ground, don’t try to chop the ball and shoot it when you get it on the stick. And it worked out.”

Their sisterhood came to life as Georgia Costello, who entered play on Thursday with 19 goals and 16 assists on the season, added another assist to her résumé on her sister's tying goal late in what was nearly their final game united on the turf. Ava Costello, a midfielder primarily responsible for dictating the tempo of possession, has scored three goals and facilitated six assists this fall.

“It’s a different kind of trust and bond on the field," Georgia Costello said. "We trust each other with the ball. I can tell her something and nothing is too sensitive. You don’t take it to heart."

“It’s constructive criticism," Ava Costello followed. "I think we just trust each other on the field, I always know she’s going to be in front of me.”

Georgia Costello responded with a chuckle, “Maybe a little telepathy in there, too.”

Lawrence and the Costello twins entered the program in the same season four years ago. Now, a high school career later, Lawrence has seen the duo develop to power her team's postseason pursuit. The twins plan to split routes to the college level, though. Georgia Costello committed to play at Salve Regina, Ava Costello to Regis College.

“They compliment each other so well,” said Lawrence. “To have Ava in the midfield, she controls the whole midfield and she’s fantastic. She sees the field so well, and so does Georgia in the front. They have the twin connection too. They just know where each other are at all times and it's been such a blessing to have them on the field.”

But the foreword preceding the storybook ending didn't quite go their way.

Oliver Ames was met by stifling defensive pressure all night long. In the first minute of the game, Georgia Costello set up junior Julia Maclaine for a shot on the left side that rung the post and went awry. Scituate teetered between sending senior Molly Walsh and sophomore Beth MacCune out to preserve the low-scoring affair, and each swatted scoring windows from Oliver Ames to keep the Tigers at arm's length.

“I definitely felt like it was going to fall at some point," said Lawrence of being held scoreless for the first three quarters. "Before we got the corner we scored on, all those shots in a row, I thought for sure one was going (in)."

“Before the game, I always get nervous but I think we both work better under pressure," said Georgia Costello, standing beside her sister. "I think that helps us more and gets our minds in the serious mode than to play down.”

Scituate preserved the Tigers scoreless streak for as long as it could, but time of possession shifted OA's way down the stretch as the Sailors season comes to an end with a valiant defensive effort.

“Our goalies have done an unreal job. They rotated in and out all season long, and I can’t say anything more about the way we played and the way they composed themselves," said Scituate coach Andy Barlow. "One extra bounce our way, it’s a different game. They got the extra bounce and our season’s over now.”

With seven seniors and 12 juniors on its roster, Scituate won the Patriot League Fisher Division and finished with a 12-5-3 record. Senior Hannah Gillis was awarded league MVP honors.

“The tears that they’re crying right now are because they wanted it so bad and they worked so hard," said Barlow. "It’s tough, but we wait until next year now.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Ava and Georgia Costello save Oliver Ames field hockey season