There’s something really special about every member of a team coming together to reach a common goal. For the Guilford field hockey team, that goal was to hoist some championship hardware and experience pure joy, and that’s exactly what this special group of girls did.

For the fifth time in program history, the Grizzlies claimed the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) Championship trophy after defeating Hamden on Oct. 29 by a final score of 3-1. Head Coach Kitty Palmer, who has been with the team for 43 years, also made it her fifth SCC title. She explained that her team was able to keep its composure despite all the pressure coming its way, and everyone stepped up when it mattered the most.

“I think everyone was excited. We had a tough last couple of games to end the regular season. In our semifinal against Hand, I think the team was just outstanding; they could not have played any better,” said Palmer. “They were more confident going into this final game than they would have been if we didn’t play Hand before. Hand gave us the push and the confidence so that we would play better and not be too nervous in the big spots.”

Scoring the three goals for the Grizzlies were Emma Clifford (junior, midfielder) unassisted off of the goalie’s pads, Cassie Ward (forward, senior, captain) off of a corner kick, and Leann Petonito (senior, defender) assisted by Ward. All of the goals scored by both teams came during the first half of the game.

As the Grizzlies grinded through their tough schedule, that didn’t come with a lack of strong leadership. Senior captains Cambelle Jacobson (midfielder/defender) and Ward kept everyone focused and confident all season long.

“When we felt we had the bad loss against Lauralton Hall because we did not play well, they brought everyone together and said, ‘This is the beginning of our stretch run to win SCCs and hopefully win states,’” said Palmer. “They have been terrific, great leaders on and off the field this year.”

Jacobson echoes the sentiment that it took a true team effort to make it to the top, and they had to figure out a way to navigate their struggles as a collective group.

“It was so amazing being able to lead the team to win the SCC Championship. I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, and we would have to play as a team,” said Jacobson. “Towards the end of the regular season, we had a little rough patch, where we lost to Branford and SHA and then Lauralton Hall all in two weeks. I knew that our team wasn’t playing to our full potential, as we have lots of talent. Part of being a captain is being able to pull your team together to be able to fight adversity together, and that’s what we needed to do in order to make a run in the postseason. We had to find our way back to each other, and play as the great team we are.”

Jacobson additionally added that it took a true motivational speech to her teammates to remind everyone of their potential and overall goals, ensuring that the whole squad was on the same page with championship aspirations. It was a special feeling for her seeing the team take her words and run with them.

“I remember after the third loss in a row telling my teammates that it was our last loss of the season, and it was time to go far in the postseason and come out as SCC and state champs,” Jacobson said. “So we got the first part done of the SCC title, now it’s time to fight for hopefully four more games and get the state title too. We have been working for this since Aug. 19, putting in crazy hours of practice to get to where we are now. It’s just so rewarding when all the hard work pays off. No words can describe how proud I am of the team and being able to rally together to win that tournament and leaving it all out on the field. It was also a big moment for me and my co-captain Cassie Ward, as it was kind of a full circle moment. When we were just freshmen, we were the ball girls when the team had won back in 2021. So being able to see that firsthand, setting goals for our future and then getting to follow in their footsteps and represent Guilford High School and win our senior year was just exhilarating.”

On the forward line, Caroline Hergan (senior), Ward, and Zoe Tsoukanelis (sophomore) stepped up to the plate and contributed in many different ways during the title journey. Clifford provided a much needed spark on offense.

“Emma had two goals in our SCC run, scoring the goal to win against Amity and then one goal against Hand. Zoe had four assists in the three games for the SCC Tournament. The forward line has really stepped up, and they had an amazing game vs. Hand, as did the entire team.”

In the SCC for field hockey, there are 13 teams that all play one game against each conference opponent for a total of 12 games. Each team gets two points for a win and one point for a tie or overtime loss. The teams with the top eight scores then get a chance to earn a playoff berth for the SCC Tournament.

The starting 11 for Guilford included Hergan, Ward, Tsoukanelis, Clifford, Colby Atwater (junior, right midfielder), Abbey DellaVentura (freshman, center midfielder), Jacobson, Petonito, Makenzie Savage (junior, defender), Charlotte Rebhun (freshman, defender), and Addie Oakes (junior, goalkeeper). The Grizzlies finished the regular season with an overall record of 11-5, with three of the five losses in overtime.

“In overtime, it is seven vs. seven. In the quarterfinals against Amity, we scored in the first 23 seconds of overtime, moving forward as it is sudden death. We defeated Stonington in the beginning of the season in the first overtime game,” said Palmer. “We lost the next three and then we won against Amity. We have a lot of them during the season. It is something that we incorporate into practice pretty much every day.”

Four players were named to the All-SCC First and Second Teams for their standout performances on the field. These players included Ward (First Team), DellaVentura (Second Team), Jacobson (Second Team), and Tsoukanelis (Second Team). Ward was also named the SCC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

The grind of a season can often give a team struggles, and the Grizzlies certainly found themselves hitting a bit of a wall. They were defeated by Branford by a final score of 3-1 about midway through the schedule. They additionally lost their next two games to Sacred Heart Academy and Lauralton Hall in overtime. With the strong leadership of Palmer and the captains, the team was able to get itself back on track, proving the mental stamina and toughness that the athletes possessed.

“That’s when the captains got everybody together with me, and we vowed that we were going to be better, which we have been,” said Palmer. “After that Lauralton Hall game, that was a turning point in our season. We had two games to go after that. Although it was towards the end of our season, with two games to go, we were able to turn it around. It was nice to play well against our out-of-league teams: Norwalk, Stonington, East Lyme, and Glastonbury, which we lost in overtime to. I knew that playing in overtime against Glastonbury was going to pose as a huge challenge for us. They have a player who will be attending UConn next season for field hockey. We lost 1-0 in overtime to them, but it was nice to win against the other teams.”

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, the No. 2 seed Grizzlies will open up the Class M State Tournament at home against the 15th-seeded Waterford (after press time). Palmer hopes to see her team keep the same level of energy as it has all season long, and not take any opponent lightly.

“It helps us so much to play in such a tough conference because it prepares us for the state tournament. The SCC is very deep, and every year it just shows that our conference is getting better and better,” Palmer said. “I try to schedule some tough out-of-league games to help us in the state tournament. We hope that all of this and the way that we are playing now will help us in the long run, but you just never know until game day.”

Palmer is assisted by Katy Jankura (junior varsity coach), Sara Duggan (freshman coach), Kiernan Willis (goalie coach), and Hillary DeCataldo (volunteer coach).

The Grizzlies team roster is comprised of Hergan, Jacobson, Petonito, Ward, Atwater, Clifford, Oakes, Camila Munroe (junior, forward/midfielder), Savage, Olivia Cavallaro (sophomore, defender), Gabrielle Chen (sophomore, defender), Neave Coyne (sophomore, forward), Avery DeGenaro (sophomore, forward), Erin Randall (sophomore, midfielder/forward), Tsoukanelis, Maddie Welch (sophomore, forward), DellaVentura, Grace Piagentini (freshman, forward), Lucy Rapkin (freshman, goalkeeper), Rebhun, and Harper Trotta (freshman, midfielder/defender).