Photo by Tracy Dreslinski North Farmington freshman Sami Roumayah, right, battles with Grosse Pointe North junior Samantha Filippelli during a June 2 Division 1 regional semifinal at Utica Stevenson. Roumayah recorded two assists as the Raiders edged the Norsemen 5-4.

STERLING HEIGHTS — North Farmington coach Tim Russell said he wanted a player with “ice in their veins” to take the Raiders’ penalty kick with a little more than one minute to play in their Division 1 regional semifinal against Grosse Pointe North.

With that in mind, he turned to junior defender Kelsey Shapiro, who had scored seven minutes earlier to tie the game 3-3, to attempt to secure the Raiders’ deepest postseason run in school history.

Shapiro didn’t disappoint, coolly walking up and striking the ball into the back of the net to give North Farmington a 4-3 lead, and eventually the game, June 2 at Utica Stevenson.

“She’s perfectly calm, that’s why she had the shot,” Russell said.

Shapiro, a central defender, said the team had been practicing taking penalty kicks all week.

“I kind of always just have to relax and be confident — and I knew I had it — I was going to score, so I was just very excited to actually do it, ”Shapiro said.

North Farmington (12-4-3) appeared on the brink of elimination after Grosse Pointe North (6-6-7) junior Lindsay Brown scored her third goal of the game to put the Norsemen up 3-2 with a little more than 20 minutes remaining. But the Raiders, whose only other lead of the game came 10 minutes in when North Farmington sophomore Morgan Moffatt scored the contest’s first goal, valiantly fought back.

“It was definitely a good team win, because we had to play relaxed and come from behind,” Shapiro said.

Brown scored twice to give the Norsemen a 2-1 lead at halftime. North Farmington junior Vicki Yu tied the game at 2-2 a little more than two minutes into the second half, setting the stage for the late drama.

Freshman Sami Roumayah registered a pair of assists for North Farmington; sophomore Jessie Trimmer added one. Moffatt set up the penalty kick after getting tripped on a breakaway in the Grosse Pointe North box.

Seniors Lauren Walsh and Olivia Stander, and junior Nicolette Capizzo recorded assists for the Norsemen.

North Farmington advances to take on Utica Eisenhower, which topped Troy Athens 4-0 in the earlier semifinal, at 7 p.m. June 5 at Hurley Field.

You can reach Sports Writer Jon Malavolti at jmalavolti@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1040.