MIDDLETON — Midway through the third period, Jada Ward knew how important another goal would be.

“At that point, I knew it was a clincher,” Ward said. “We had to get another one. I put my second gear in and just booked it to the net.”

The Sun Prairie co-op senior scored twice on Thursday night as she and the Cap City Cougars knocked off the Middleton co-op Metro Lynx 4-2 to move into first place in the Badger Conference girls hockey standings. But Ward’s final tally of the night made for a bit of an awkward moment.

“I didn’t even know I scored,” Ward said. “They were like, ‘Yes, Jada.’ ”

After cutting across the slot and sliding the puck between the legs of Metro Lynx sophomore goaltender Gwen Parker, Ward lost her footing and ended up in a heap in the corner — much to the concern of her teammates.

“We all kind of crowded around her,” senior forward Annika Johnson said. “But she was automatically like, she’s fine, she’s fine. We’re like, ‘All right, she’s good. Nice going, Jada!’ It was awesome!”