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11/12/2016 11:00 PMAfter putting together a tremendous regular season, the Guilford field hockey squad fell out of its comfort zone when it was shut out by Cheshire in the SCC semis, but the Indians got their swagger back after squeaking out a pair of one-goal wins in the Class M State Tournament to advance to the semifinal round.
Guilford went 13-2-0-1 for the regular season and then took a 3-0 loss to Cheshire in the SCC Tournament--a defeat that may have shaken up the Indians, according to Head Coach Kitty Palmer. With a week off to regroup before states, the 4th-seeded Indians responded with a 2-1 victory over No. 13 Farmington in the first round on Nov. 8. The Indians then played their way to the semis after defeating No. 12 Hand for the third time this year, winning 4-3 in the quarterfinals on Nov. 10.
The Indians, who are now 16-3-0-1, will face No. 8 seed Lauralton Hall (13-4-2-1) in the Class M semis at Branford High School at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16. The winner faces either No. 3 Branford or No. 7 New Canaan in the final on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Wethersfield High School.
“That first win in states gave us our confidence back because we were nervous after the Cheshire game and we didn’t play our best game there,” said Coach Palmer. “Yet playing in the SCC and in the tournament helps us for states without question. It is I think the second-best league in the state next to the FCIAC. Every game in that conference is a big game, so it helps us relax a bit with these do-or-die games in states.”
Senior co-captain midfielder Teddi Stanley gave Guilford a 1-0 edge versus Farmington before junior forward Olivia Clarke netted what stood as the game-winning goal in the second half. The Indians clamped down on the defensive end to secure the victory by outshooting the visitors 19-2. Senior co-captain goalie Cami Makula made one save in the cage for Guilford.
“They had some nerves early because we didn’t play our best and missed a lot of plays in that first half,” said Palmer. “They were strong on defense, but I was pleased with our second half.”
The Indians drew first blood against Farmington (8-9) when they were presented with a corner opportunity. Senior midfielder Julia Ellman found Clarke, who fed the ball to Stanley, and she buried it with 12:12 left before halftime.
Farmington then knotted things at 1-1 just more than three minutes later on a score from Dana Theisfeld.
Throughout the second half, both sides looked for that pivotal go-ahead goal. Fortunately for the home team, that monumental moment came with 7:11 to go in regulation, when Clarke put one into the top corner while battling through traffic among a scrum of players. Guilford withstood any last-gasp efforts from Farmington and moved on to the quarterfinals.
“We had some good chances in the first half, but they had a good defense here. It was also nice to convert on a corner to get that first goal,” said Coach Palmer. “We started to get to the ball more and a lot quicker in that second half.”
After losing in the SCC semis, the Indians had a week-long absence from game play leading up to states. Coach Palmer used the week off to get her athletes focused on disrupting their opponent’s offensive flow, while cornering the market on their own point production.
“We scrimmaged against North Branford with our week off and we concentrated on better tackling and corners,” said Palmer. “We practiced both our defense and offense in corners and circles and it certainly paid off against Farmington.”
In the quarterfinal contest against Hand (9-8-2), Clarke scored twice for the Indians, including what held as the deciding goal with 2:28 remaining in regulation. Junior Bryce Makula and sophomore Emily Torre also scored for the Indians. The shots were even at 10 apiece with Cami Makula making seven saves. Ellman had a pair of assists, while sophomore Celia Mariconda and Clarke also had a helper for Guilford.
Hand opened the scoring within the first 10 minutes of the opening half with an unassisted goal by Taylor Leckey. Guilford bounced back with the next three goals. The first, which came a minute after Leckey's goal, saw Clarke shoot in a rebound off the goalie's pads. The next two goals were scored as a result of corners. The goals came from Torre (her first varsity goal) and Makula and both were assisted by Ellman. At the beginning of the second half, Hand scored on a corner by Erickson Richard. With three minutes to go in the game, following a corner by Hand, Clarke dribbled 50 yards down the field and scored a beautiful breakaway goal. With less than 50 seconds to go, Hand closed it to 4-3, but Guilford hung on to seal what Palmer called, "a tough, emotional win."
From the Sidelines
Olivia Clarke and Julia Ellman were named All-SCC First Team this season, while Teddi Stanley and Kendra Luden collected Second Team honors.
Guilford’s regular season regulation losses came against Lauralton Hall (4-1) and Cheshire (3-1), plus the Indians also took a 1-0 overtime defeat to SCC champion Branford.
Prior to beating Hand in states, Guilford had posted a 1-0, double overtime victory versus the Tigers in the quarterfinals of the SCC Tournament.