Indians' Soccer Upsets South Windsor in Class LL
Following their loss in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals to Branford on Nov. 2, the Indians' boys' soccer team found itself at 6-6-5 and the No. 27 seed in the Class LL State Tournament. The spot earned them a first round road game at South Windsor, the No. 6 seed in the tournament. The seeds didn't matter, though, as Guilford pushed through with a 1-0 win in double overtime on Nov. 9.
The goal came from Senan Lonergan off a Matt Brockett assist in the 94th minute of play. The Indians had their one goal on three shots while goalkeeper CJ Anthony had eight saves in the shutout win.
Girls' Soccer
The No. 28-seeded Indians traveled to No. 5 Watertown for its first round Class L State Tournament game. The girls lost a tough 2-1 decision Nov. 9 to end their season with a record of 6-10-2. While being down 2-0 at the half, Guilford came out in the second and won the shot battle 9-7 and the corner count 5-2.
"While the overall result was disappointing, the dominance of the second half gave the girls some pride," Head Coach Scott McMahon said. "The game followed the arc of our season with quality play in many facets of game, but with the difficulty of getting an early goal and scoring in general undermining the team effort. It was a tale of two halves with them getting a 2-0 lead in first half before we totally dominated the second half but without equalizing."
Field Hockey
Guilford began the week with a tough 2-1 SCC Tournament semifinal loss to Hand, a team it defeated in the same round a year earlier, on Nov. 5. As the No. 10 seed in the Class M State Tournament, the Indians had a first round matchup at No. 7-seeded New Fairfield. The Indians took down the Rebels 3-2 in extra time when they earned a 2-0 edge in penalty strokes on Nov. 9.
Guilford took a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of goals from Smith (first at 21:48 from Katy Jankura and Caroline Napoli then at 21:26 from Natalie Bruneau and Marnie Jacobs). Jill Kerner cut the Indians' lead to one with a tally at 11:10.
New Fairfield then tied the score at the 14:48 mark on an unassisted goal. In the extra session of penalty strokes, Smith and Napoli both earned shots to clinch the first round win for the Indians. The Indians were outshot 23-12, yet goalie Nicole Snow had 21 saves in net. The Indians advanced to take on No. 2 Nonnewaug in a game that was played earlier this week.