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11/14/2020 11:00 PMThe players on the Guilford field hockey squad were unsure if they would play any games this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately for the team, Guilford was able to play every game on its schedule in a campaign that culminated with another title.
Throughout the fall season, Guilford’s athletes played each game under the assumption that it could be their last matchup of the year. Ultimately, Guilford’s final contest was the SCC Division A Tournament championship game, which Head Coach Kitty Palmer’s squad won by a 5-1 score over Cheshire at Cheshire High School on Nov. 11.
Guilford, which has won an SCC tourney title in each of the last three years, finished the unusual 2020 season with an overall record of 13-1-0-1.
“This is certainly a season we will never forget,” Coach Palmer said. “And it’s a season we were just happy to finish. Every day, we weren’t sure we’d be playing the next day.”
After starting off the SCC Division A tourney with a 7-0 win over No. 7 seed Lyman Hall in a quarterfinal home game on Nov. 7, No. 2 seed Guilford claimed a 4-1 home victory versus No. 3 Daniel Hand in a semifinal contest on Nov. 9. Junior Maddie Epke got the ball rolling by scoring three goals for Guilford within the first 15 minutes of the game. Senior captain Hannah Tillier netted Guilford’s fourth and final score during the third period. Senior goalie Eve Young earned the win in net to help Coach Palmer’s club advance to a showdown against Cheshire in the championship.
Two days later after defeating Hand, Guilford traveled to Cheshire for the Division A title game and was ready to flip the script from the teams’ regular-season meeting, which Guilford lost by a 3-1 score. Guilford accomplished exactly what it set out to do by earning a 5-1 win versus the top-seeded Rams on the strength of two goals and an assist from Epke, along with single scores by Tillier, senior Izzy Gurnham, and sophomore MJ Santa Barbara. Young picked up the victory in goal for Guilford. Tillier was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Gurnham scored the first goal of the game during the first period, after which Cheshire tied the score by converting on a corner. In the second period, Tillier scored a goal from Epke, who went on to score a goal of her own off a corner with 56 seconds left in the first half, giving Guilford a 3-1 lead at intermission.
Santa Barbara scored her goal in the third period to make the score 4-1. Epke netted her second goal of the game during the fourth period to put the final stamp on a 5-1 win and the latest in a long line of outstanding campaigns for Guilford.
In the end, Coach Palmer was pleased about how Guilford’s season turned out, particularly about how her team overcame anything that was thrown its way during the course of the year.
“I’m so proud of how all the girls played,” said Palmer. “It was a total team effort.”
Guilford’s roster includes senior captains Madden Cunningham and Hannah Tillier; fellow seniors Janna Ellman, Ella Kagan, Kathryn Amatruda, Izzy Gurnham, Kelly Calistro, and Eve Young; juniors Caroline Kane, Olivia McDonald, Allie Petonito, Maddie Epke, and Julia McDonald; sophomores Scout Climie, Gigi Meneo, Grace Barlage, MJ Santa Barbara, Ella Clarke, and Delaney Victor; and freshman Payton Root.