VJM graduate Katie Sullivan enjoys ultimate thrill in NCAA title game for Johns Hopkins

Katie Sullivan experienced a moment that athletes dream about but few get to enjoy.

In the December 4 NCAA Division III national championship game, Sullivan scored a goal 4 minutes, 24 seconds into the second half that turned out to be the difference in Johns Hopkins' 2-1 victory over Case Western Reserve in Salem, Virginia.

The result was the Blue Jays' first NCAA women's soccer title.

Top Performers: Record-breaking showings in basketball, swimming, bowling, top this week's list

"It was definitely a little bit surreal," said Sullivan, a 2021 Villa Joseph Marie graduate from Yardley. "I definitely did not think that the game-winner was going to come that early."

On the play, the left-footed Sullivan moved to an open spot in the middle of the field from left wing, received a pass from right wing Maria Romo-Nichols, who had dribbled the ball downfield, and one-timed it with her right foot from 9 yards out into the upper right corner of the goal.

"When it left my foot, I really thought I had shot it over the goal, so when I saw it go in it was an amazing feeling," recalled the 5-foot-7 Sullivan, who played all 90 minutes in the title game. "Usually when I'm about to score I have a feeling that I'm going to because I can see that I have a good angle or see that the ball is going in. But for this shot, all I remember was kicking the ball and seeing it hit the back of the net and feeling pure joy."

Johns Hopkins head coach Dan Weiler called Sullivan's goal in the final "a wonderful finish to an incredible team effort."

Sullivan, who contributed a goal and an assist in Johns Hopkins' 4-1 semifinal win over Messiah, finished her sophomore season with 16 goals, including a hat trick against Franklin & Marshall, and a team-leading 13 assists. She earned second-team All-American honors for the 23-0-2 Blue Jays and also made the NCAA all-tournament team after recording four goals and three assists in the six-game tourney.

As a freshman, Sullivan had 10 goals and five assists for 16-2-2 Hopkins, which fell to Wesleyan 2-1 in the Sweet 16 round.

Sullivan cites her left foot, 1-on-1 ability and competitive standard/work ethic as her biggest strengths on the soccer field.

"My favorite thing about being a winger is that I get into 1-v-1 situations a lot," said Sullivan, an economics major with a minor in psychology, as well as accounting and financial management. "And I love to be as creative as possible to try to beat my defender and create something (on offense)."

Making it happen: Pennridge grad Marissa Sheva achieves goal of playing women's pro soccer

Looming decision: George School is considering the elimination of football program

Short reign: Pennridge looking to replace football coach Chuck Burgy after one season

"Katie is a dynamic and exciting, attacking player," Weiler added. "She brings unpredictability to our attack and is a tireless worker."

One of the reasons Johns Hopkins appealed so much to Sullivan was the program's consistent success after winning four District One titles and reaching the PIAA championship all four years at Villa Joseph Marie, where she tallied 56 goals and 44 assists during her high-school career.

"One of the reasons I chose to play at Hopkins is because I loved making the postseason runs at Villa and I knew that we could have the same opportunities here at Hopkins," said Sullivan, 19. "Honestly, I just love playing and being surrounded by some of the best people every day at practice for as long as possible is all that I wanted."

Sophomore seasons have been especially rewarding for Sullivan. In addition to helping the Blue Jays secure the NCAA title during her second collegiate campaign, she had the winning 'golden goal' in overtime of VJM's 2-1 semifinal victory over Mechanicsburg on the way to the PIAA Class AAA crown as a 10th-grader. She also scored the Jems' goal earlier in the game.

"When you're a freshman, you don't have much experience (and) you don't know how it feels being almost brokenhearted when your season ends in playoffs," Sullivan said. "So I think both times, getting that experience of losing in playoffs, seeing how sad I was, really pushed me to play harder in my sophomore years."

The results, highlighted by the NCAA championship game-winner, speak for themselves.

Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Katie Sullivan experiences ultimate achievement at Johns Hopkins