After a sensational season last spring that saw the Haddam-Killingworth girls’ lacrosse team earn berths to both the Shoreline Conference and Class S State Tournaments, the Cougars have the determination, will, and veteran leadership to prove the run was no fluke.

The Cougars finished 8-11 overall last spring after reaching the semifinals of the Shoreline Conference Tournament and later recording a victory in states. In Shorelines, the 4th-seeded Cougars suffered a 16-4 loss to top-ranked Old Saybrook before rebounding in states with a qualifying-round triumph at No. 15 Montville by an 8-7 final in overtime.

H-K saw its 2022 season come to a close when the Cougars took a defeat against those same Rams in the Class S State Tournament. No. 18 seed H-K played at second-ranked Old Saybrook in the first round of states and lost to the Rams by the score of 17-7.

Head Coach Sheila Reilly explained that the strides made a season ago just further exhibit the recognition and respect the Cougars are gaining amongst their Shoreline brethren.

“This team has come very far in the last two years,” said Reilly. “Last year, we made it to the Shoreline Conference Tournament semifinal, which we had not made in years. In addition, making it to states with enough wins to get us there was also a milestone.”

Thus far in 2023, the Cougars played their way to a 7-5 record entering the final week of the regular season. Last week, H-K first lost a close contest, 7-6, as host to Morgan on May 15. The next day back home against Valley Regional, the Cougars rebounded with a 14-4 win. At Old Lyme two days later, H-K fell by an 11-6 final. The Cougars concluded the regular season with a record of 8-8 after a 16-9 loss against Suffield at home on May 20.

4th-seeded H-K will next travel to face No. 1 North Branford in a Shoreline Conference Tournament semifinal matchup on Tuesday, May 23 at 5 p.m. No. 3 Old Lyme will travel to face No. 2 Old Saybrook that same day in the other semifinal. The final will take place on Thursday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Indian River Complex in Clinton.

The Cougars are corralled by four senior captains in Audrey Wrinn, Jenna Whitmer, Sophia Romino, and Georgia Cancroft.

Reilly noted that additional key pieces for the squad, in addition to the defensive team and sophomore goaltender Gabrielle Williams, this spring have been a terrific trio of juniors in Aly Campbell, Jaimey DiNapoli, and Sammy Ruimerman. An added sophomore duo of Seanna Ruimerman and Ava Ramino have played solid dividends for the Cougars.

H-K had a very key set of contests for the stretch run of the regular season with those clashes against Shoreline rivals Morgan, Cromwell, Old Lyme, and Valley Regional, plus competitive non-conference contests against Avon and Suffield.

The Cougars stormed out to a 3-0 start this year with consecutive victories over Cromwell (17-4 on April 6), North Branford by a 15-14 count at home on April 11, and then securing a road win at Morgan on April 13 by an 11-8 decision.

Following back-to-back defeats at home against Old Lyme (9-5 on April 18) and Old Saybrook (14-8 two days later), H-K rebounded with three more triumphs in the next five games versus SCC school Mercy (14-3 on April 22 at home), at Valley Regional (17-5 on April 25), and then came back to defeat Mercy again with an away 14-7 win.

No matter what each day or practice may yield, or regardless if each game brings a victory or defeat, Reilly and the Cougars are locked in on increasing their individual abilities from the prior 24 hours. She added that optimism all around the program is key, along with making sure they recall the true essence of team sports at the high school level and why young student athletes take to the field: camaraderie and physical, mental, and emotional ecstasy.

“Our goals for the team on and off the field this year are to always work towards improving skills and maintaining a positive attitude on and off the field,” said Reilly. “We want to have them remember why you play and to have fun. We also want to work as a team on and off the field.”

Now, as a by-product of last year’s progress for H-K, the Cougars have certainly set the bar higher for themselves moving forward. Yet they do not run away from that challenge, they run to it and face it head on with a piecemeal approach to each moment within the confines of the club.

“This season, we are more hopeful and have set our sights higher,” said Reilly. “But we always remember to play one game at a time, one minute at a time, and be present in the journey.”

This is Reilly’s second year as the head coach for the Cougars after she spent the prior 11 campaigns as one of their assistant coaches. Christine Cassidy, now in her second season with the program, is Reilly’s assistant coach.

The Cougars’ 2023 team roster is made up of seniors in Wrinn, Whitmer, Romino, Cancroft, Brooklyn Bailey, Julia Favalora, Ellie Frith, Juliana Gagliardi, Kelsie Piela; juniors of Brigitte Battistoni, Campbell, Ella Connelly, Layla Hayward, Caroline Ignatuk, Tea Norman, Peyton Tyler; sophomores with Julia Bermingham, Trinity Bystrek, Madalynn Catalano, Sonya Luneau, Ava Ramino, Seanna Ruimerman, Gabrielle Williams; and finally freshmen in Chloe Engler, Dina Kilroy, Alexis Maher, Peyton McDonald, Chloe Oboma, and Sydney Wrinn.

2023 Haddam-Killingworth Girls’ Lacrosse Regular Season Results

April 6: H-K 17, Cromwell 4

April 11: H-K 15, North Branford 14

April 13: H-K 11, Morgan 8

April 18: Old Lyme 9, H-K 5

April 20: Old Saybrook 14, H-K 8

April 22: H-K 14, Mercy 3

April 25: H-K 17, Valley Regional 5

April 27: North Branford 17, H-K 12

May 5: H-K 14, Mercy 7

May 9: Old Saybrook 20, H-K 10

May 11: H-K 20, Cromwell 9

May 13: Avon 13, H-K 6

May 15: Morgan 7, H-K 6

May 16: H-K 14, Valley Regional 4

May 18: Old Lyme 11, H-K 6

May 20: Suffield 16, H-K 9