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11/10/2019 11:00 PMThe Westbrook field hockey team returned to the Shoreline Conference Tournament final to face the reigning Shoreline Champions, North Branford. The two teams met up in the same round in 2018, and the Thunderbirds were able to defeat the Knights by a score of 2-0 last year. This postseason, the Knights put up a valiant fight in a 2-1 battle against North Branford. Earlier in the tourney, Westbrook defeated Old Saybrook in the semifinal 1-0. After this week’s results the Westbrook’s overall record moved to 13-2-3 on the year.
Though the result of the final didn’t go the Knights’ way, Westbrook Head Coach Janet Dickey felt proud of her team’s effort on a field. The will to win was always present, but the game came down to the Knights going away from their strategy at a couple of points.
“I thought we played very hard. North Branford is a tough team, it’s hard to play someone three times in one season,” Dickey said. “I thought we had a good game plan that we executed really well. When they scored, they got us to go against our game plan. I’m very happy with the way the girls played overall, though.”
North Branford came into the tournament undefeated at 15-0-1 for the regular season and thus earned the top seed. Westbrook were 12-1-3 heading into Shorelines and had a No. 2 seed. The two squads had met twice during the regular season, and the Knights lost that first contest by a score 1-0. Later in the year, Westbrook tied with the Thunderbirds, 2-2, to end their perfect season hopes. To many observers, these two teams seemed on a crash course to meet in the Conference final, but Coach Dickey said that her team didn’t take anything for granted and continued to play its best field hockey.
“It didn’t feel inevitable. It’s always our goal to get to that final,” said Dickey. “As the season was going on, if we both kept true to how we were playing then it would be a good possibility. It’s been two of the last three finals, but the rest of the conference had played well this season.”
North Branford scored first with 17:28 remaining in the first half, but it wouldn’t be long before the Knights answered. Westbrook saw junior Megan Greaves put the ball in the net less than a minute later to knot the score at 1-1 before halftime. North Branford retook the lead a little more than 30 seconds into the second half, and the 2-1 score would stick until the final whistle.
Coach Dickey believes that it was unfortunate that the Knights were unable to topple the Thunderbirds from their perch atop the Shoreline Conference, but she believes it will just make her team battle that much harder in the coming Class S State Tournament. The two teams could potentially meet again in a state-final scenario.
“I think we’re looking hungry. I think that they don’t like the taste losing leaves in their mouths,” said Coach Dickey. “They don’t want to give up until the final destination. If we were to get another shot at North Branford, we would not meet until the final.”
In the semifinals, Westbrook defeated Old Saybrook by a score of 1-0 on Nov. 4. Both teams played a scoreless game through the first half, but Westbrook took the advantage in the second half when Alex Young scored off of an assist from Lexi Koplas. The goal put the Knights up for good. Westbrook’s defense didn’t allow for many shots by Old Saybrook, and Lauren Horne made three saves in the cage for the Knights.
Despite beating Old Saybrook on two occasions during the regular season, Coach Dickey knew that getting a third victory over a team in one season is a tough task. The Knights were able to get a narrow 1-0 victory, and Dickey believed that playing the Rams was a good way to get ready for the final.
“It was a great primer for what was to come. They played just as hard, but a bit differently in that game. It was a good eye-opener for them that the game could go either way,” said Coach Dickey. “We had to really step up our game to get past them. After halftime we did that. We talked about that going forward into the North Branford game.”
As for the coming State Tournament, the Knights will be the No. 4 seed and host No. 13 seed Weston in a first-round contest on Tuesday, Nov. 12. A victory there moves Westbrook into a quarterfinal matchup against the winner between No. 5 seed Stonington and No. 12 seed Old Saybrook on Thursday, Nov. 14. Coach Dickey knows that states are a different beast, but she feels some comfort in the fact that the higher seeds of the tourney are all familiar foes from the regular season.
“We’re the 4 seed. Ahead of us is Immaculate, Granby and North Branford. We played Granby already, and we had a scrimmage with Immaculate at a Jamboree before the season so no surprises on any of those teams,” Dickey said. “We just have to stay on the ball in the preliminary rounds and hope for the best in the later rounds. I’m really happy with the way we played last week. I think we’re in good shape going into the next two weeks.”
• The Westbrook field hockey team’s roster features senior captains Olivia Hartzell, Lexi Koplas, Kendall Orlowski, and Alex Young; juniors Marguerite Bartlett, Cierra Brundage, Megan Greaves, Lauren Horne, Brooke Neri, Bailey Roberts, and Karen Sicha; sophomores Marina Amenta, Juliana Gerena, Gabriella Koplas, and Samantha Nunez; freshmen Delaney Belcourt, Mayte Calle, Caroline Dias, Lisa Litevich, Brooke Millburne, Myan Nguyen, and Halley Pierson. The team’s scorekeeper is freshman Carley Thompson.
• Janet Dickey is in the midst of her 30th season as head coach of the Knights. Dickey’s coaching staff includes assistant coach Emily McCabe-Algers.
• Westbrook’s wins this year have come against Haddam-Killingworth (8-0 and 4-0), Valley Regional (1-0 and 1-0), Killingly (4-2), Morgan (1-0 and 2-1), Fitch (2-0), Old Saybrook (1-0, 2-0, and 1-0), Somers (9-0), and Stafford (1-0).
• The Knights have taken two defeats to North Branford (1-0 and 2-1). Westbrook also earned ties versus Granby (0-0), North Branford (2-2), and Canton (1-1).