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11/10/2019 11:00 PMThe Valley Regional girls’ soccer squad made some noise in the Shoreline Conference Tournament last week. The Warriors started off with an upset of the tourney’s top seed, Portland, in the semifinal road contest to advance to the Conference final. In the final, Valley lost a hard-fought contest with Haddam-Killingworth by a 3-2 score at the Indian River Complex. The Warriors overall record on the season moved to 10-6-3 with the Shoreline results.
On Nov. 5, the Warriors came out strong against Portland by scoring in the first four minutes of the game to take a 1-0 lead. Valley maintained the lead throughout the game, and that lead grew to 2-0 before the end of the first half. Valley scored another goal in the beginning of the second half to make it 3-0. Portland wouldn’t get on the board until shortly before the end of the game to bring the final score to 3-1.
Valley received goals from Taryn Frazier, Maddie Costello, and Bitzy Klomp in the semifinal victory.
Head Coach Lauren MacDonald believed that her team had come a long way this year, and the victory over a top seed in the tourney proved that.
“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of the girls for not only making it to the finals, but beating the No. 1 seed, Portland, to get there,” MacDonald said. “From the start of the season, we always knew we had the ability to beat any team. We were just missing the mental piece of it.”
Three days later the Warriors headed to the Indian River Complex to take on Haddam-Killingworth in the Shoreline Conference final. The Warriors took a punch very early in the contest when the Cougars scored on a corner kick less than a minute into the into the match to take a 1-0 lead. Before another ten minutes had passed, H-K added another goal to make it 2-0. Coach MacDonald, appreciated that her team was in a tough spot early, but she was especially impressed with the way they carried themselves after falling into a hole in the first half.
“During the finals, we were down 2-0 in the first 15 minutes of the game,” MacDonald said. “We could have shut down and given up, but instead, the girls persevered and fought until the very last second of the game. It wasn’t the result we wanted, but I am so very proud of them.”
The Cougars seemed to control possession for a good part of the first half, but in the final stretch before the end of the period, Valley Regional scored a pivotal goal on an indirect kick. Sam Calamari made a pass to Ava Duval who put the ball into the net with 2:45 left in the first half to trim it to a 2-1 deficit.
In the second half, the Warriors were able to knot the score at 2-2 when Ellie Cost supplied an unassisted goal with less the five minutes ticked off the clock. There was fierce up-and-down action for the rest of the game. H-K eventually regained the lead with 24:08 left to play in the second half to lead to the 3-2 final.
The Warriors moved on to the Class M State Tournament, where they are the No. 16 seed. Valley’s first matchup was a first-round home game versus No. 17 seed Oxford on Nov. 12 (after press time). A victory there would advance the Warriors to the second round and a game against No. 1 seed Granby on the road at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14.
Head Coach Lauren MacDonald thinks her team is ready to go into states with the right mindset. Regardless of what happens in the near future, she believes her squad has made some big strides this year and is happy to see what tomorrow and the next day bring.
“Our season isn’t over yet. We have our states game at our home field,” MacDonald said. “I believe these girls can beat any team, and I’m excited to see how far we make it in states.”
• The Valley Regional girls’ soccer team’s varsity roster includes senior captains Caroline Baldwin and Sam Calamari; seniors Alexis DellaRocco, Jeni Caulfield, Lauren Allen, Ashley Bill, Celia Ghilani, and Ava Duval; juniors Hannah Jenkins and Maddie Costello; sophomores Taryn Frazier, Caroline Hutchinson, Alexis Massey, Ellie Cost, Sophia Surber, Erin Ward, and Bitzy Klomp; and freshmen Eileen Russell, Reagan Doyon, Olivia Baldwin, Anna Benson, Grace Abderhalden, and Elizabeth Allen.
• This is Lauren MacDonald’s first season as head coach of the Warriors. MacDonald’s assistant coach is Megan Perkins.
• The Warriors’ wins this season have come against Old Saybrook (4-1), Westbrook (6-1), Cromwell (5-1), Amistad (6-0), North Branford (2-1), East Hampton (1-0), Hale-Ray (8-3), Morgan (4-1), Portland (3-1), and Coginchaug (1-0). Valley has taken losses versus Woodstock Academy (2-0), Haddam-Killingworth (6-3, 5-2, and 3-2), and Cromwell (2-1). Valley also earned ties with Portland (3-3), Old Lyme (2-2), and Old Saybrook (3-3).