This was the last claw game in a lifetime like this.
Olivia Hoump of New Canaan has never been one to shy away from stress, but an important fact she points out: “I remember the things I missed as well as the ones I made.”
Well, her last one is another one on the highlight reel.
Hombe scored in a free position with 54 seconds left in third overtime to give England an 8-7 victory over Australia in the Women’s World Championships bronze medal match at La Crosse in Towson, Maryland, on July 9.
A Princeton University graduate, Hompe scored four goals and assists in that competition, racked up 21 goals and eight assists in eight tournament appearances, and earned a spot on the All-World team.
But that last goal, and the celebration that followed on the pitch with her teammates, will be the lasting image of the tournament for England.
“This team was really the best team we have sent to any World Cup finals, so it was great to see the girls put in such a strong performance and to be part of such a strong performance from the England team,” said Hombe, 27. “I think he will only improve for the England team in this sport.
“It was a great atmosphere in Tucson. It gave me so many memories of the moments in New Canaan and Princeton.”
This was the second Hombie World Championship with England, who also won the bronze medal in 2017, the last time matches were played.
Hombe’s mother, Amanda was born in England and her parents lived there during the 1980s. Two older sisters Zandra and Elisa were both born in England, and the four siblings, including brother Patrick, hold British citizenship.
During her first season with England in 2017, Hompe was a teammate of another New Canaan lacrosse alum, Jenny Simpson. Simpson, a University of New Hampshire graduate, was a lacrosse coach at Caterham School in England at the time.
Playing with her was so much fun,” Hombi said. “Obviously I knew about Jenny because in the eighth grade I remember going to see the girls’ lacrosse team in New Canaan and watching her — she was the star of the team at the time. So it was really cool to play with her. That was so much fun.”
The next World Cup was originally scheduled for 2021, but was postponed due to the pandemic. Hompe has kept in touch with the squad’s players and coaches through Zoom and videos, and also underwent hip surgery in 2021, so she didn’t return abroad until February of this year.
“I did three or four trips between that and the World Cup, so it was a crazy spring to get back into lacrosse form and get up with the new girls,” Hombe said. “We have family there and cousins who live in Oxford so it was great to be able to spend more time with them and get to know this side of the family better, get to know the English lacrosse community, which is really great. They drive the development of the sport in England.”
Hompe has a lasting sporting legacy in both New Canaan and Princeton.
She remains the top scorer in both schools, with 268 goals and 108 assists at New Canaan, and 195 goals and 97 assists at Princeton. She also has 236 goals and 148 assists with the New Canaan girls’ ice hockey team, the most in state history and second in the country.
Hombe said that playing at both schools helps prepare athletes for the stress of challenging games.
“I remember thinking about my time at Princeton and being able to be a clutch player in some of those high pressure moments,” she said. “I’ve always attributed that to my time in New Canaan, whether on the ice hockey team or the lacrosse team.”
During her first year on the ice hockey team, Hombi scored the match-winning goal with a penalty in the third inning to beat Darren to clinch the state championship.
The final goal in the bronze medal match brought back that memory.
“In that match and in this match, at the end of that extra time, there was a feeling that I had to wait until I got the ball or the disc and I would shoot,” Hombe said. “There is confidence that comes from work ethic and when I was younger I work hard and always train with this mindset of being that player trying to achieve the end goal.”
After receiving her undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 2017, she received a graduate fellowship 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 careers in the United States government, both in international and local 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 a master’s degree in public administration in 2021, and is back in business again in Washington, DC.
As for athletics, that’s up in the air for now.
“I will think carefully about what I want the next few years to look like,” Hombe said. “It’s hard to say goodbye to sports. Lacrosse and hockey have been a big part of my life for a long time.
“I haven’t made a final decision yet, but it would be a good opportunity to get out.”
david.stewart@hearstmediact.com; Tweet embed