Right fullback Brooke Summers on her crucial goal for Newcastle Olympic in the NPLW Northern NSW minor semi-final win over Charlestown Azzurri at John Street Oval on September 18

But the feeling of scoring a 90th-minute equaliser in Newcastle Olympic's come-from-behind 3-2 win over Charlestown in the NPLW Northern NSW elimination semi-final at John Street Oval on Sunday is vivid.

Olympic trailed 2-1 when the 24-year-old right-back pushed forward for a throw-in deep in Azzurri's territory.

When Keea Parrish hurled the ball long into the box, Summers pounced and chipped it into the top left corner of the net to lock things up.

"It's a massive blur," Summers told the Newcastle Herald. "I was just thinking, 'We've got to do something'.

"We got that throw-in and we know that Keea has a massive throw and I could hear [coach] Paul [DeVitis] saying, 'There's nothing to lose, just get in there'.

"So I ran up the field and then I saw the ball come out and I thought, 'This is going to be me', and took the shot. I've scored a few goals from a little chip in the past so I knew what I had to do.

"I saw it go in and I didn't even know what to do. I was in shock then just started screaming and all the girls were just running at me. It was such a good feeling."

If that felt good then it felt even better two minutes later when Parrish produced the winner from close range off a corner, keeping Olympic's season alive.

They now play Broadmeadow in the preliminary final at Magic Park on Saturday (6.15pm) with the winner meeting Warners Bay in the October 2 grand final.

The Mid North Coast junior played in the Emerging Jets program before joining Wallsend then Olympic.

The Hunter Sports High maths teacher is one of several Olympic players who helped the club earn the premiership-championship double in 2020.

"Brooke brings great positivity and is one of the most reliable players in the team," DeVitis said. "This has been her break-out season and she's become one of our most important players.

"She's versatile. She can play fullback or winger, right side, left side. She has a really good passing game, great dribbling and her crossing has improved out of sight this year.

"She's won a grand final and been part of those first two years that we were super successful, so she's got some big-game experience, which is what we needed.

"She came up trumps in the 90th minute for us, and that's one of her strengths. She's so fit and she plays for a full 90 minutes at the same level."

Olympic were a close second to Magic in a COVID-shortened season last year but battled for a finals spot this campaign.

They finished fourth, seven points behind third-placed Azzurri and just three ahead of Maitland in fifth.

"We really have had to fight for every win this year, which is why I think we also got it on the weekend," Summers said.

"We've had to fight a lot, so we were used to it and we were prepared for that."

Summers believes that fight will put them in good stead when they go head-to-head with Magic, who lost the major semi-final 6-1 to Warners Bay last weekend.

Olympic have not beaten Broadmeadow in three exchanges this campaign but also had not beaten Azzurri before Sunday.

"We have struggled a bit with Magic this year but we're confident, especially coming off the battle we had on the weekend," Summers said.

MORE IN SPORT:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: