It was the last clutch play in a lifetime of such moments.
New Canaan’s Olivia Hompe has never been one to shy away from pressure, but there’s one important fact she pointed out: “I remember the ones I missed as well as the ones I made. .”
Well, his last moment is another one for the highlight reel.
Hompe scored from an open position with 54 seconds left in third overtime to give England an 8-7 victory over Australia in the Women’s Lacrosse World Championships bronze medal match at Towson, Maryland, July 9.
A Princeton graduate, Hompe scored four goals and had one assist in that contest and, with 21 goals and eight assists in eight tournament games, earned a spot on the All-World team.
But it was that final goal, and the ensuing celebration on the pitch with her teammates, that would be the enduring image of the tournament for England.
“This team was really the best we’ve ever sent to a World Cup, so it was great to see the girls performing and being part of such a great performance from an England team,” said Hompe, 27. year. “I think it will only get better for the England team in sport.
“It was an amazing atmosphere in Towson. It reminded me of many times in New Canaan and Princeton.
It was Hompe’s second world tournament with England, who also won bronze in 2017, the last time the games were played.
Hompe’s mother, Amanda was born in England and her parents lived there in the 1980s. Older sisters Xandra and Eliza were born in England and all four siblings, including brother Patrick, have British nationality.
During her first season with England in 2017, Hompe was teammate with fellow New Canaan lacrosse alum Jenny Simpson. Simpson, a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, was then a lacrosse coach at the Caterham School in England.
“It was a lot of fun playing with her,” Hompe said. “I obviously knew Jenny because I remember in eighth grade I went to see the New Canaan women’s lacrosse team and watched her – she was the star of the team at that time. So it was really cool to be able to play with her. It was very fun.”
The next World Cup was originally scheduled for 2021, but was postponed due to the pandemic. Hompe has kept in touch with the team’s players and coaches via Zoom and videos, and also underwent hip surgery in 2021 so did not return abroad until February this year .
“I did three or four trips between that and the World Cup, so it’s been a crazy spring getting back into lacrosse shape and getting to grips with the new girls,” Hompe said. “We have family there and cousins who live in Oxford, so it was wonderful to be able to spend more time with them and get to know that side of the family better, and get to know the lacrosse community of England, which is really great. They are pushing to develop the sport in England.
Hompe had a lasting athletic legacy at both New Canaan and Princeton.
She remains the all-time leading scorer at both schools, with 268 goals and 108 assists at New Canaan, and 195 goals and 97 assists at Princeton. She also had 236 goals and 148 assists with the New Canaan women’s ice hockey team, the most in state history and second in the nation.
Hompe said playing at both schools helps prepare athletes for the pressure of tough games.
“I remember thinking about my time at Princeton and being able to be what I would consider a clutch player in some of those high pressure times,” she said. “I’ve always attributed it to my time in New Canaan, both on the ice hockey team and the lacrosse team.”
In his freshman year on the ice hockey team, Hompe scored the game-winning goal on a third-period penalty shot to beat Darien and clinch a state championship.
The final goal of the bronze medal game brought back that memory.
“Both in this game and in this game, towards the end of this overtime, there was this feeling that I just had to wait until I got the ball or the puck and I’m going to take that. shot,” Hompe said. “There’s a confidence that comes from a work ethic, and when I was younger I always worked hard and trained with that mentality of being that player trying to get the last shot.”
After graduating from Princeton with an undergraduate degree in 2017, she completed a graduate scholarship called Scholar’s in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI), a program designed to “encourage, support, and prepare the nation’s best students to pursue a career in the U.S. government, both in international and domestic agencies.
The program allowed her to work at the Department of Defense for two years before returning to Princeton in the fall of 2020. She earned her master’s degree in public administration in 2021 and once again returned to work in Washington, DC.
As for athletics, it is in the air for the moment.
“I’m going to seriously think about what I want the next few years to look like,” Hompe said. “It’s hard to say goodbye to sport. Lacrosse and hockey have been such a big part of my life for a long time.
“I haven’t made a final decision yet, but it would be a very good shot to throw.”
david.stewart@hearstmediact.com; @dstewartsports