“It's deja vu all over again,” said Hall of Fame New York Yankees baseball player and manager Yogi Berra.
“It’s deja vu all over again,” said Hall of Fame New York Yankees baseball player and manager Yogi Berra.
Berra, known for his humorous quotes or “Yogi-isms,” was referring to situations that we observe, and then feeling like we have been in that same situation before.
For Chardon Hilltoppers Head Girls Lacrosse Coach Alison Platz, that deja vu feeling occurred in the last minute of the Hilltoppers 11-10 OHSAA Regional Semifinal victory over the Chagrin Falls Tigers May 28 at Chagrin Falls High School.
Previously, the Hilltoppers regular season loss to the Tigers on April 10, the contest was not decided until the end of regulation.
With the Tigers leading 9-8, the Hilltoppers got the ball back in the final moments of the regular season game and raced towards the Tigers’ goal.
With only seconds left, the Hilltoppers were not able to find the back of the net as the Tigers went on to win their 2025 regular season opener.
Fast forward to the OHSAA Regional Semifinal matchup May 28 between these same two teams, and the contest ended in a very similar way.
With the game tied 10-10 in the final minute, the Hilltoppers regained possession and began racing down the field toward the Tigers goal.
Coach Platz said that as she was watching the final moments unfold, immediately she began to think about this year’s regular season game against the Tigers.
“I was having flashbacks from the first time we played them where this happened and we didn’t get the shot off,” said Coach Platz. “That was my first thought: We’re doing the same kind of thing we were doing before, but you know what, this time she’s going to finish it. She’s going to finish the job. And she did.”
Hiltoppers senior Morgan Slack’s goal with 39 seconds left in the contest sealed an 11-10 victory and a spot in the OHSAA Regional Finals against the Hathaway Brown Blazers on May 30.
Afterwards, Slack described her game winning goal and said that she was focused on making smart moves and a smart shot as she scored the game winner.
“It was 10-10 with up to like a minute left, and the ball was on the ground,” said Slack. “And I was like, ‘okay, I got to get this, and I got to go to the goal. So that’s what I did.”
She continued: “I knew it was kind of up to me, once I got the ball. I had to make a smart shot, and smart moves, so I kind of did what I know what to do, and I executed it. I drove hard, took a step, and then I just (made) a fast move and shot low.”
In addition to Slacks’s final goal, five other Hilltoppers found the back of the net in the Regional Semifinal.
The Hilltoppers started the Sweet Sixteen contest by taking a 1-0 advantage on an early goal by senior Ellie Deszczykiewicz.
Deszczykiewicz, who led the Hilltoppers with three goals, said that her team provided great effort throughout the contest.
“It was an all team effort,” Deszczykiewicz said. “We had multiple goals from other girls on the team, and then we got turnovers from our defensive end and long and hard clears from our goalie.”
After Deszczykiewicz got the Hilltoppers on the scoreboard, the Tigers countered with three goals of their own to go up 3-1 with 5:10 left in the first quarter.
Both teams added another first quarter goal as the Tigers took a 4-2 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Hilltoppers then outscored the Tigers 4-2 in the second quarter to go into halftime tied 6-6.
After intermission, the Hilltoppers scored three straight goals to take a 9-6 lead with 1:39 left in the third quarter.
Demonstrating their grit, the Tigers did not give up.
They came back from a 3 goal deficit to tie the Hilltoppers at 10-10 when Jenna Louden scored with 7:39 left in the fourth quarter.
The game then remained tied until Slack’s game winning goal with 39 seconds left in the contest.
For the game the Hilltoppers were led offensively by Elle Deszczykiewicz (3 goals), Platz (2), Slack (2), Ailena Stockton (2), Eliana Conroy (1) and Kaelyn Cardina (1).
The Tigers were led offensively by Emma Thatcher (5 goals), Louden (3), Claire Hoelzel (1) and Brix Niethammer (1).
This 2025 OHSAA Division II, Region Six, Regional Semifinal marked the fourth straight year that the Hilltoppers and Tigers have met in this round of the playoffs.
With the victory, the Hilltoppers and Tigers are now even at 2-2 in their last four head-to-head playoff matches.
After defeating the Tigers, the Hilltoppers ended their season on May 30 as OHSAA Regional Runners Up when the Hathaway Brown Blazers claimed a 15-7 victory to advance to the Final Four.
