Even coming up one goal short of a state crown, the Haddam-Killingworth girls’ soccer squad outperformed its foe at the end of what has been a ground-breaking campaign for the program.

The 5

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-seeded Cougars fell to No. 3 Waterford, 1-0, on Nov. 16 in the Class M State Tournament final at Middletown, HK’s first state championship game berth. Despite outshooting the Lancers, 17-6, and dominating possession of the ball throughout the matchup, the difference ended up being a score by sophomore Claire Hurley with 2:23 left in the opening half on a ball that just made it over the head of freshman netminder Tevi Ferguson.

“We made HK girls’ soccer history in getting here,” said senior Kali DeNisi. “I’m proud of my teammates; we came so far and we’re happy just getting here, but disappointed in the loss. We all worked really hard this year; I’m proud of everyone.”

In a battle of freshmen keepers, Waterford’s Jordan Kovacs made five saves to Ferguson’s one due to the Cougars’ offensive speed and multiple opportunities. After starting 2-2-2, HK won 11 out of its last 13 contests overall to reach the final in a year that showed a true changing of the guard for the better.

“We just couldn’t finish the ball in the back of the net that one time; there’s nothing more I could have asked of them,” said Head Coach Eric Grant. “I’m just disappointed in that one moment when Hurley got it, because all week in practice we said that we would double team her when she got the ball, and the one time we didn’t, she scored.”

After both squads engaged in a battle for the ball inside the neutral zone, the Cougars (13-5-2) struck with a ton of scoring chances, as senior Rachel Artus tried on a cross pass, yet the intended target was stopped at the 35:40 mark. Senior Rachel Westerbeke then had an open kick bounce off the crossbar a minute later. Following a Waterford (13-2-2) strike that landed on the left side of the crossbar, junior Molly Madore notched a pair of potential tallies that was grabbed by Kovacs on one and sailed wide for another.

The Cougars nearly gave one away when Ferguson collided with a defender trying to play a pop-up, but the defensive unit stopped the threat. The Lancers then struck for the eventual difference maker when Hurley shot a line drive from around the 20-yard line that landed barely above Ferguson’s’ head and into the net.

The second half began much like the first with HK controlling the opening 10 minutes with offensive power. HK did miss on its lone corner kick of the matchup three minutes into the period, but then senior Jenny Martin got by her defender and Kovacs for an open-goal shot with 36 minutes to play, although it pulled left. Martin then tried a strong pass to DeNisi on which DeNisi couldn’t settle the ball down in time three minutes later.

“We kept the pressure on them already and kept running by them,” said Grant. “We were hitting the ball; it was just too much energy and excitement. I’m proud of the girls, though.”

Madore then maneuvered around a scrum in the Waterford box, and the ball went outside of the net by the slimmest of margins 13 minutes into the frame. With 20:30 remaining, the Lancers had a breakaway for a potential insurance score, until Ferguson ran to the ball for a sliding stop.

“The team chemistry brought us together this season and definitely led us to a lot of wins,” said Martin. “To get here was a great season; it was a close game, but we were the best team ever for HK.”

In the game’s final 20 minutes, the Cougars continued to persist. Martin was all alone with Kovacs, but her foot sent the ball left. Madore followed that up with 13:30 to go on a boot inside the 20-yard mark that also went left. Martin finally was in front for an equalizer as 9:20 remained, but was taken down, and the Lancers held off the HK fight for the title.

“The Shoreline Conference is tough, so we are battle-tested. We have had games where we were down 2-0 at half, then came back and won, 3-2,” said Grant, whose team also reached the conference’s tournament for the second straight year. “I’m not frustrated, but I just feel bad for the girls, because the game was right there for them and it wasn’t out of reach.”

Rounding out HK’s seven seniors this fall were Angelina Cretella, Maya Savino, and Gwendolyn Plum.

“The toughest part about it is that those seven won’t get another chance,” said Grant. “But they were seven seniors that all started and contributed to the team this season. This was a metamorphosis of a season; from the start you had that metamorphosis of them learning if I play the ball quickly, then I will get it back. As the year went along, you saw the fruits of that labor of them listening.”