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06/27/2019 12:00 AMThe Guilford girls’ lacrosse team had some pretty big expectations heading into the 2019 season. The Indians wound up achieving many of their goals and then some on their way to putting together the best campaign in program history. When all was said and done, Guilford finished the year with 18 victories and a Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) title in its grasp.
One year after making the state semifinals for the first time, Head Coach Wendy Epke’s club posted a mark of 14-2 during the regular season this spring, resulting in the Indians’ best all-time record for regular-season play. As the No. 6 seed in the SCC Tournament, Guilford claimed a 17-6 semifinal win over Sheehan and then won its first outright SCC title by earning an 11-10 overtime victory against top-seeded Cheshire in the championship game. The Indians captured the crown when junior attacker Catherine Larrow scored the winning goal with just 11.8 seconds left in the instant-victory OT period.
In the Class M State Tournament, No. 1 seed Guilford defeated No. 17 Hand by a 13-10 score in the first round and then netted a 12-11 win in overtime against No. 8 Barlow in the quarterfinals. The Indians later took a 14-10 defeat to No. 13 St. Joseph in the semifinal round to finish the year at 18-3 overall.
Coach Epke said that her athletes really started believing in themselves as the year unfolded. The final product was a campaign that will be talked about in Guilford for years to come.
“As the season went on, the players gained more and more confidence. We have athletes in our lineup at every grade level from freshmen to seniors. It was amazing to witness, as a coach, at different moments in the season where different players stepped up,” said Epke. “This was a special group of players that was focused on trying to make Guilford the best lacrosse team in the SCC and state.”
Guilford saw many notable moments throughout its remarkable run, including the team’s first victory over SCC rival Hand in six years. Coach Epke was not only happy that the Indians made history this season, but also with the fact that their athletes a great example for the next generation of lacrosse players in town.
“The athletes in the program are seeing that years of playing and dedicating oneself to the sport ends up being a huge contributor to the high school program’s success,” Epke said. “We had a lot of youth players attending the games, and this group of athletes were great role models for them.”
Defensive midfielder Nicole Tepley was the Indians’ lone senior captain this season. Coach Epke praised Tepley for handling that responsibility with aplomb, while displaying great pride for the program.
“She was great at organizing out-of-season activities and keeping the girls on task during warmups and game-time rituals,” Epke said. “She was determined to have a successful season and brought that determination with her on the field.”
Fellow senior Nicolette Spotlow had a huge season on the attack for Guilford. Spotlow scored 64 goals this year to finish with 236 goals for her high school career. Guilford’s offense also received a big boost from attacker/midfielder Maddie Costantino and attacker Caroline Fitzgerald.
“Nicolette had another monster year in the scorebook. She’s headed to Iona in the fall to play lacrosse, and I’m sure she will do great things there,” Coach Epke said. “Maddie stepped up to be a leader on the offense side. She spent her season focusing on making good decisions with the ball and limiting turnovers. Caroline was the player on attack that was always doing the little things that aren’t found in the scorebook. She backed up every shot, she was critical on the re-defend, and had the least amount of turnovers on attack and made excellent passes with the ball.”
The Indians also featured some stellar seniors on the defensive end of the field, including Trinity Ireland, Solace Porter, and Erin Norton. Porter will continue her lacrosse career at Oberlin College in Ohio, while Norton is going to St. Michael’s College in Vermont to play lacrosse.
“Trinity has always been such a huge presence on the field. She has a wonderful ability to anticipate on defense and was constantly knocking down passes and leading the defensive unit,” said Epke, whose senior class also featured Brianna Blakeman. “Solace is our expert at close one-on-one defending. She is an excellent athlete and caused every team we played havoc trying to get by her. Erin was our zone defender expert. She honed in on her ability to play as a unit in zone defense and contribute in the help defense.”
Spotlow, Larrow, and freshman midfielder Maddie Epke made the All-SCC First Team for Guilford this year, while Costantino and junior defender Maggie Mandel were Second Team selections. Larrow finished the season with a team-best 78 goals for the season. Spotlow and Epke also garnered All-State First Team accolades with Larrow and Mandel making the Second Team. Tepley also earned U.S. Lacrosse Academic All-American status. Additionally, freshman Sydney Widlitz made had a huge impact for Guilford in her debut campaign as the team’s goalkeeper.
Coach Epke said that the Indians had a blast while winning 18 games and bringing home a conference banner this spring. She gave a lot of credit to her players, as well as her assistant coach, for cultivating a program that looks primed to be a force for years to come.
“The season has been a fun time,” Epke said. “Lou Monaco, the varsity assistant coach, has been critical in helping create a great team environment in which we continue to develop good players and athletes and a group of players that the town can be proud of. I’m excited to see what the future holds for all of them.”
From the Sidelines
The Guilford girls’ lacrosse team’s roster featured senior captain Nicole Tepley; fellow seniors Brianna Blakeman, Trinity Ireland, Solace Porter, Caroline Fitzgerald, Maddie Costantino, Erin Norton, and Nicolette Spotlow; juniors Ava Bucci, Catherine Larrow, and Maggie Mandel; sophomores Ella Kagan, Madden Cunningham, Jordan Filley, Katelyn Russell, Hannah Tillier, Izzy Gurnham, Sydney Cunningham, Kelly Calistro, and Devyn Kalama; and freshmen Maddie Epke, Taylor Farace, Olivia Skapczynski, and Sydney Widlitz.
This was Wendy Epke’s third season as head coach of the Guilford girls’ lacrosse team. The Indians’ assistant coaches were varsity assistant Lou Monaco (2nd season), JV coach Lauren Tropiano (1st season), and freshman coach Caitlin Sobolewski (1st season).
For the regular season, Guilford earned wins two wins versus Lauralton Hall (17-4 and 17-6) to go with one win apiece against East Lyme (14-6), West Haven (20-6), Branford (9-8), Sheehan (17-8), North Haven (20-5), Sacred Heart Academy (20-6), Fairfield Warde (13-9), Hand (10-7), McMahon (19-10), Mercy (19-9), Southington (11-3), and North Branford (17-5). The Indians lost to only Cheshire (16-13) and Glastonbury (10-9).
Senior captain Nicole Tepley guided the Guilford girls’ lacrosse team to its best season in program history that saw the Indians win their first outright SCC title. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier
Senior Maddie Costantino earned All-SCC Second Team honors while helping the Indians finish with a record of 18-3 this spring. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier
Junior Catherine Larrow scored the game-winning goal in overtime when Guilford posted an 11-10 win against Cheshire in the SCC Tournament final. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier