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11/19/2017 11:00 PMThe Guilford girls’ soccer team wasn’t able to win a SCC or state title this season, but the Indians still qualified for both postseason tournaments, while building a solid structure for future prominence on the strength of a more cohesive club whose athletes are now a year wiser.
Head Coach Scott McMahon and the Indians finished 8-3-5 on the regular season and claimed the SCC Hammonasset Division crown. In the SCC Tournament, 5th-seeded Guilford took a 2-0 quarterfinal loss to No. 4 Shelton. Then as the No. 17 seed in the Class L State Tournament, the Indians outlasted No. 16 Masuk 1-0 in a game that went to penalty kicks, where Guilford prevailed by a 4-3 margin. The Indians wound up finishing at 9-5-5 overall after taking a 2-1 double-overtime loss to top-seeded RHAM in the second round of states.
Coach McMahon said the Indians had to overcome a midseason slump that included a three-game losing streak. However, in the end, McMahon felt that stretch proved crucial in terms of revealing the character of the team.
“We went through stuff this year as far as getting the sophomores, juniors, and seniors on the same page, and we started the year with big expectations with our talent level,” said McMahon. “Once we got through the losing streak, we came together to have a strong finish to the year. We played well in the tournaments, but we didn’t go as far as we would have liked to. But the girls played hard, played together, and we learned a lot.”
Guilford’s losing streak came against a trio of well-respected SCC stalwarts in eventual league champion Hand, Lauralton Hall, and Shelton. While some clubs might feel satisfied with simply being competitive against those three teams, the Indians were motivated to power through their small skid on their way to winning a division title—and did so without any dissension or negativity in the ranks.
“After the Shelton loss, we felt we were a much better team than we had shown. We knew we had to continue to work together. We never put our heads down and knew we could finish strong. Their resolve kicked in, and then we didn’t lose the last six games of the regular season,” said McMahon. “Winning our division was huge. We focused in on our game against Branford to stay in title contention, and then we had to finish off Mercy, which we did.”
The Indians’ senior class was led by a dynamic duo of captains in defender Taylor Shutak, a four-year starter; and midfielder Chloe Shaw, a three-year starter. McMahon said that stepping into the captain’s role was a learning process for the duo, but he felt they handled it with great aplomb, and made the Indians a better squad.
“They are two great players and people. They are very humble and will be the first ones to say they learned a lot this year as we figured things out,” McMahon said. “They never wavered as far as being leaders and, through their consistent effort, they showed what Guilford soccer is all about. They handled being captains well, and it was a good experience for them.”
Shutak and Shaw were both named All-SCC First Team and also made the All-State squad. Junior midfielder Abbey Vilaseca and sophomore defender Madison Gambardella made the All-SCC Hammonasset Division Team for the Indians.
Guilford now looks ahead to the 2018 campaign with a boatload of optimism. With a crop of underclass athletes who are now more experienced after having fought hard in several postseason games, the Indians will be ready to make their first run at a state title since 2013 and their first toward a conference crown since 2014.
“Our strength going into next year is that we have a lot of returning starters and role players. Our problem this year was scoring. We had good possession and scoring chances, and we return most of our offense, and, hopefully, they will work hard to finish those opportunities they created,” said Coach McMahon. “On defense, we return everyone but Taylor Shutak. We had great seniors in the midfield, but we also had underclassmen getting minutes. The outlook is good for next year. We knew we belonged on the field with Masuk and RHAM. Our goals for next year are no less than the state semifinals and SCC semifinals or final.”
From the Sidelines
• Guilford finished 5-0-3 in SCC Hammonasset Division play against West Haven (winning 1-0 and tying 1-1), Branford (prevailing 2-1 and 3-1), Foran (earning a 7-3 win and scoreless draw), and Mercy (winning 1-0 and tying 1-1).
• The Indians have now been undefeated in division play for five straight seasons and have won five straight SCC Hammonasset Division titles.
•In their eight regular-season wins this campaign, the Indians posted four shutouts, including a 1-0 triumph over Hand to open the year. They also played to two scoreless ties.