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11/26/2016 11:00 PMEveryone at Wethersfield High School knew it was going to be a great game when Shoreline Conference rivals Westbrook and Haddam-Killingworth faced off in the Class S State Tournament final on Nov. 19. The two schools had already played a pair of close contests during the regular season and the state final was no different as the Knights and the Cougars walked off the field as co-state champions after playing to a 1-1 tie through regulation and a pair of overtime periods.
It was a dream season for No. 1 seed Westbrook, which completed the campaign with an overall record of 19-1-2. During the regular season, the Knights saw senior captain Alexa Mulvihill break the program record for goals in a campaign, while Head Coach Janet Dickey earned career win No. 200. Then in the postseason, Westbrook was crowned the Shoreline Conference Tournament champion and captured its first state title since 1975 with the 1-1 draw versus H-K.
“This whole season has just been like something out of a movie,” Coach Dickey said. “Maybe next Monday it’ll sink in when I’ll think it’s time to go to practice, but for now, I honestly don’t think it has yet.”
No. 3 seed Haddam-Killingworth (16-3-2), which lost in last year’s Class S final, got on the board first when Brinley Anderson took a short pass from sister Molly Anderson and scored to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead with 13:52 to go in the opening half. Playing from behind hasn’t always been the Knights’ strong suit in recent years, but Mulvihill changed that when she netted a goal to knot the score at 1 with 4:02 remaining in the frame.
“It was actually kind of funny because my other captain Zoe Ehlert was standing behind me and yelled—well, softly said—to pull right and shoot. The coaches have been nagging me to do it, so I pulled right and shot it,” Mulvihill said. “As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going in. I don’t know how to describe the feeling, but I knew I got a good hit on the ball.”
As expected, Mulvihill’s goal provided a huge sigh of relief for Coach Dickey and her club.
“That was the exhale, jump for joy, and, OK, now it’s back to even Steven and we’re not playing catch up. I’d rather be in that position than have to play catch up the whole time,” Dickey said. “This says something about our grit, as well. Traditionally for us, we’re not one to be able to let a goal get scored on us and come back from it, but we did it twice this year. We did it against North Branford in the Shoreline semifinal. It’s a good lesson for these girls to know that we can do it.”
Right after Mulvihill delivered her tying goal, she promptly turned the focus toward Westbrook keeping the pressure on H-K.
“I mean, being able to score in the state championship game itself is amazing. In the moment, to be able to score, that was a ‘We’re not done yet’ feeling. As soon as I scored, I turned to my captains and said ‘We’re not done yet,’” she said. “After H-K scored, we felt a little defeated, but we did not give up in our minds. We knew what we had to do as a team. To put that in was a ‘We’re not done’ feeling,’ and we knew that’s not how it was going to end.”
Westbrook and H-K battled hard in the midfield throughout the game. Both clubs had their share of possession, although the Cougars converted their ball control into more scoring chances.
“Even though they outshot us, I think it was back and forth between us in the midfield. It wasn’t like we played defense the entire game,” Coach Dickey said. “The defenders really stepped up and there was even a point where people were diving and scrambling over the top of [junior goalie Lauren Wright] when she was down to make sure the ball wasn’t going in the net.”
Wright made 10 saves to preserve the tie and the state title for Westbrook as the Cougars pounded the cage in the latter half. H-K even had four corners when Westbrook was down a player in the second overtime period.
“Lauren really showed up in this one. It was a battle as the game wore on into the overtimes,” Dickey said. “I think she did everything she could to keep the ball out of the net. She wanted to make it happen so much for her seniors and you can tell by how well she played.”
Senior captain Ehlert felt extremely excited to compete alongside her teammates in a state final and the fact that Westbrook came out of it with a championship made the experience even sweeter.
“It was so cool just to be there. As a senior, it was my first time where we won the Shoreline Conference and the state championship, so it was really cool to go all out and nice to get it all,” Ehlert said. “It’s an incredible way to end the season. Being there meant so much, but to be co-champions, that feeling is indescribable.”
Mulvihill expressed the same sentiments as Ehlert and added how her team’s achievements are especially notable considering that Westbrook is a small town.
“Being from Westbrook, which is an extremely small school, we barely have enough kids to even have a team, so to be able to win a state championship where a lot of my peers have never made it past the second round, to win is beyond amazing, and I’m so fortunate to play with the talent we had on our team because so many people don’t get to experience this moment,” said Mulvihill. “To be able to is beyond amazing. It’s a surreal feeling. It honestly means everything because I’ve gone and watched the state championship game since 7th grade and every time I told myself that I wanted to be there playing. I wanted to make it to Wethersfield. To be able to do that my senior season is beyond an amazing feeling. To bring this prestige to our town and coaches that I love, it’s a surreal, amazing feeling.”
The state championship marks Dickey’s first as Westbrook’s head coach. Coach Dickey is not only proud of her players, but is also appreciative of the members of the Westbrook community for attending the game and supporting her Knights.
“We’re very happy coming out with the tie. It’s hard to play the same opponent three times in one season, but I thought we came out and competed well against them,” Dickey said. “I’ve always been there to watch on the final day with [assistant coach Emily Alger] and we always talked about how much fun it would be to be a part of that game and we reminded each other of that goal and dream on the bus ride over. It was such a great atmosphere to be a part of. The stands were filled, the fans were positive, loud, and supportive. It was such a fantastic feeling.”
From the Sidelines
Westbrook’s Class S State Tournament roster was comprised of seniors Biance Ferrucci, Alexa Mulvihill, Zoe Ehlert, Lauren Kane, and Cassandra Vitti; junior Lauren Wright; sophomores Carolyn Bauman, Avery Bauman, Samantha Bartlett, Alana Bochanis, Katherine Dahl, Jamie Merola, and Ingrid Bauman; and freshmen Micayla Malchiodi, Alexandria Young, Olivia Hartzell, Madison Marshall, Alivia Ciarcia, and Kendall Orlowski.
This was Westbrook’s second state final appearance and the other came in 1975, when the Knights edged Canton 2-1 to claim the Class M title.
The Knights posted a record of 14-1-1 during the regular season, after which they won two more games to make the championship game of the Class S State Tournament. Westbrook defeated North Branford 3-2 in the conference semifinals and earned a 1-0 victory against Valley Regional in the final. Westbrook was the No. 1 seed in the Class S State Tournament and started things off by defeating No. 16 Old Saybrook at home in a first round contest. The Knights beat No. 8 New Fairfield by a 3-2 final at home in the quarterfinals, followed by a 3-0 triumph against No. 4 Granby Memorial in the semis at Wethersfield High School. For the year, Westbrook had a record of 19-1-2.