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07/01/2018 12:00 AMThe Hand girls’ lacrosse squad didn’t come away with the ultimate prize this spring, but the Tigers still had an excellent season in which they maintained their perch atop the Southern Connecticut Conference, while displaying tremendous teamwork and great dedication along the way. Hand won its fourth straight SCC Tournament title, advanced to the Class M State Tournament final, and finished with an overall record of 19-3 this year.
Head Coach Kevin Siedlecki and the Tigers went 14-2 for the regular season, after which they earned a 17-7 win versus Guilford in the SCC Tournament semifinals, followed by a 12-10 victory against Cheshire in the championship game to record the four-peat.
Hand then entered the Class M State Tournament as the top seed and posted wins over No. 16 seed St. Joseph (19-9), 8th-seeded Barlow (13-5), and No. 13 Guilford (16-8) to reach the final, where the Tigers lost an 11-8 decision to Branford on at Law High School on June 9.
Coach Siedlecki said that he was pleased with how with how his athletes took each practice and every game to heart this season, while discovering the true treasures of high-school athletics.
“There are usually one or two days per season where I have to get on them, but I didn’t have to do that this year. I also loved how they worked with the goal in mind of a state title, but they really appreciated the process of getting to the state final,” said Siedlecki. “It didn’t take too long for them to put that state finals loss in perspective and appreciate the season we had. Wins are great, but they aren’t the be all and end all. It’s about giving it your all and working together.”
Hand’s senior captains for the 2018 season were Riley Kokoruda, Taylor Scully, and Emma Valdez. Coach Siedlecki felt that all three athletes proved exemplary leaders through both their words and actions this year.
“We had three great captains who worked really well together,” Siedlecki said. “Riley was a lead-by-example type of kid. She made it a goal to be more vocal and she was. She made herself a great draw specialist. Taylor was a vocal leader who knew how to get people fired up. Emma became another voice that echoed what I wanted to say. They each understood my expectations as a liaison between the coach and team. With leaders like that, it allowed us more time to focus on lacrosse itself.”
The Tigers’ senior class also featured Grace Craven, Emma Sullivan, Hilary Houghton, Claire Giles, Dory Howard, Abby Barry, and Glenna-Kate Gies, along with goalkeeper Mackenzie Larson. Siedlecki said that each one of his seniors helped hammer home the importance of continuing Hand’s winning tradition to the team’s underclass athletes.
“The rest of the team got on board with our mission. We wanted to compete in every game,” said Siedlecki. “The kids understood all the work we had to put in and the culture the seniors built. They understood the value of the pursuit of goals. We all would’ve liked to win the state title, but they understood the value of the chase.”
Hand earned a 13-12 victory versus Branford in the regular season, before losing to the Hornets in the Class M state final. Coach Siedlecki said the Tigers showed their character in both games by playing their hardest until the final horn. Siedlecki also felt proud to see Hand earn an exciting victory on Senior Night, along with giving an out-of-state power everything it could handle during a midseason scrimmage.
“In the first game against Branford, we played two men down for eight minutes and came back to win. In the state final, we were down 11-8 with three seconds left, and Dory Howard sprinted to try and intercept a skip pass. Those moments showed it’s all worth never giving up,” Siedlecki said. “We also played Ridgewood, New Jersey, the No. 1 team in the state, and actually led 5-3 at half before they came back. We played every kid in that game. We didn’t expect Conard to be as good as they were on Senior Night, but to win in overtime was another never-give-up moment.”
Kokoruda was named to the All-SCC First Team and the All-State First Team, in addition to being selected to the All-American Team for Hand this season. Along with making the All-SCC First Team, Scully was chosen as the SCC Player of the Year after finishing her high-school career with a school-record 435 points. Valdez, Gies, Howard, and Larson also made the All-SCC First Team and All-State First Team, and Larson was additionally named the Most Outstanding Player of the SCC Tournament. Sullivan solidified spots in the All-SCC Second Team and the All-State Second Team for the Tigers.
Coach Siedlecki knows that it’s going to be a tall order to replace the members of this year’s senior class. However, he believes the Tigers have plenty of talented underclass athletes who will come back battle-tested after getting plenty of reps under the varsity spotlight in 2018.
“We have a lot of talent that got a chance to play this year. We have a lot of talent coming back, and they are all playing lacrosse over the summer,” said Siedlecki. “We will be strong next year, I think, and the girls will fill in nicely. They can work together and step up in order to keep the tradition going.”
From the Sidelines
Hand finished with a record of 14-2 for the regular season by defeating North Haven (16-1), Weston (20-7), Amity (15-4), Simsbury (16-3), Mercy (15-9), Shelton (18-5), East Lyme (17-6), Glastonbury (18-8), Hall (16-2), Lauralton Hall (17-5), Guilford (19-7), Conard (15-14 in OT), Branford (13-12), and Cheshire (12-11). Hand’s two losses came against Wilton (12-1) and Greenwich (15-12).
Kevin Siedlecki completed his 10th season as the head coach of the Hand girls’ lacrosse squad.
Siedlecki’s coaching staff featured varsity assistant Lindsey Carroll, JV coach Jack Siedlecki, and freshman coach Anthony Mancini.