On the strength of a deep roster and some seamless synergy on the pitch, the Guilford girls’ soccer team is riding a wave of momentum at the end of regular season that the Indians hope will help carry them back to the top of the SCC and the state.

Head Coach Scott McMahon’s club entered last week with eight victories, including five inside the SCC Hammonasset Division. The Indians scored another division win by a 1-0 final over Branford on Oct. 17, then took a 2-0 defeat against Cheshire on Oct. 19. However, the Indians promptly bounced back and clinched their fourth-straight SCC Hammonasset Division title with a 2-1 victory over Mercy on Oct. 21. The Indians currently sport a mark of 10-4-1 and finished with a divisional record of 7-1.

When looking at the sources of his team’s success in 2016, Coach McMahon attributed it to a mixture of the Indians’ balanced lineup and their concrete chemistry.

“We have a pretty complete, well-rounded team, along with great senior leadership and very talented underclassmen. They’ve all been committed from the start towards having a year to remember. Our record is probably a little worse than we could’ve been, but the losses have added a lot to our experience, and we’ve learned a lot from them. Yet we have the right chemistry to want to win,” Coach McMahon said. “This was a very solid win [versus Mercy]. The SCC format of playing each opponent home-and-home usually means the second meeting is revenge for one team. Having handled Mercy in the first meeting, a 3-1 win, we expected them to come out hungry. Andrea Basilicato again proved why she is such a dangerous player and the team effort was justly rewarded with our fourth-straight Hammonasset Division title. We’ve been in every game so far this year with arguably the better of the play, so it was important that we won a big game like this heading towards the postseason.”

Basilicato scored one goal in each half against Mercy to give Guilford a 2-0 lead in the 2-1 win. Faren Roth made five saves in net for the Indians. Roth and Lindsey Hiltz both made two saves against Branford as Caroline Basil scored the game’s lone goal in the opening half.

While the Indians welcomed back several starters from last year, Guilford’s depth chart has been bolstered by contributions from athletes in multiple grades. The young upstarts have grabbed plenty of time in the varsity spotlight and that’s helped keep the veterans fresh.

“We have nine returning starters from last year and we have a great starting goalkeeper in Faren Roth. The depth has allowed the people behind the starters step up and learn as they go,” said McMahon. “It’s created a good situation where our bench has gotten stronger as the year has gone on. The underclassmen have also taken the pressure off those senior leaders.”

The new SCC Hammonasset Division actually gave way to some familiarity for the Indians this year. Guilford stayed paired up with division rival Foran and also picked up West Haven, Branford, and Mercy—three teams that have had memorable encounters with the Indians in recent years.

“The division is not a whole lot different. We’ve essentially replaced Hand with Mercy, a team we’ve played for several years, and so a similar rival to Hand,” Coach McMahon said. “With the rest of the schedule, it’s a tough end-to-end schedule. We are playing first-place teams in the other divisions, but we have the right team to face these opponents.”

As usual, the SCC Tournament will once again an open book when it comes to establishing the title contenders in a competitive field. However, the Indians are facing some elite teams in the closing stages of regular season to help put themselves in a good position to once again reign atop the league.

“Hand has maintained a level of play all year. They are getting stronger and stronger as the year goes. There are also a strong string of contenders with Shelton, Mercy, and Cheshire. There are some teams like West Haven and Sheehan with dangerous players and Amity is a solid team. Potentially, we can play at a really high level and have a shot at the SCC title,” said McMahon. “The league is strong overall with good parity at the top. We just need to play well in these last few games. Our schedule sets up well with playing Cheshire again, which prepared us well for our final division game with Mercy for the division title.”

From the Sidelines

Prior to Oct. 17, Guilford’s lone losses came against Shelton (2-1), Cheshire (2-1), and West Haven (3-2). The Indians also tied Hand 0-0 to open the season.

Within the SCC Hammonasset Division, the Indians defeated West Haven (2-0), Foran (1-0 and 4-1), Branford (7-1), and Mercy (3-1) before last week’s action.

Guilford’s SCC Tournament titles have come in 2014, 2013, 2002, 2001, and 2000.