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05/27/2017 12:00 AMWhat a difference a week makes for the Hand girls’ lacrosse squad. One week after losing to longtime rival Cheshire in their regular season finale, the Tigers turned the tables on the Rams to bring home another SCC championship.
No. 2 seed Hand battled top-ranked Cheshire in the SCC Tournament final for the second straight season at West Haven High School on May 25. Although the Rams had posted a 7-5 win over Hand in the previous week, the Tigers flipped the script and beat Cheshire when it mattered most by prevailing 7-5 to earn their third consecutive SCC Tournament title, their 10th tournament crown, and 12th conference championship overall. Hand had defeated Cheshire 11-10 in overtime in last year’s SCC final.
The Tigers are also two wins away from a Class M crown after winning their first two games in the state draw to advance to the semifinal round.
“I knew we always had it in us to beat Cheshire. They are a huge rival to us, and we knew how important this game was. After our regular season loss to Cheshire, we worked so hard not only on our physical talents, but our mental game, as well,” Hand’s senior goaltender Caitie Harvey said following the SCC final. “I knew that if we were to win the SCC finals, we had to be at the top of our game. Along with the support and determination of our team, we were able to come together and win SCCs for the third year in a row, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Junior Glenna-Kate Gies led the scoring attack for Tigers by netting three goals. Nora McCarthy buried a pair of goals, and fellow juniors Taylor Scully and Emma Sullivan added one apiece for Hand. Scully also assisted on two scores. Harvey came up with a dozen saves in net and was named the SCC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
“This was awesome. We had a rough week last week with losses against Branford and Cheshire, so coming back and winning was awesome,” said Scully. “We have won it the past two years, so it is cool to keep the streak going. This win is a great confidence booster going into states. When we all play to our best, we are a tough team to beat.”
The Tigers began the night by grabbing a quick two-goal advantage. McCarthy found the back of the net at the 18:24 and 15:34 junctures of the opening half for a 2-0 lead. Sullivan joined the offensive fray by starting a charge to the goal before feeding the ball to Gies, who finished it off for the score with 5:19 to go before intermission. Cheshire made it 3-1 with 2:32 remaining in the frame, but with just 30 seconds left before halftime, Gies scored to make it 4-1 at the break.
“In the regular season, it’s about making game-to-game adjustments and, going into the regular season game against Cheshire, we wanted to slow down on offense and take advantage of the open people. Cheshire wanted to slow us down and they did,” said Head Coach Kevin Siedlecki. “We tried to then find a balance between fast and slow, and we did that [in a 22-9 win versus Lauralton Hall in the SCC semifinals]. Cheshire’s defense is phenomenal, and they were able to slow us down, but we went after taking and placing many shots.”
The Rams cut into Hand’s advantage with a goal that made it 4-2 at 21:47 of the second half, but the Tigers responded with a three-score rush from Sullivan (at 20:12), Scully (19:52), and Gies (16:28) that widened the margin to 7-2. Cheshire countered with three goals, but the deficit was too much to overcome, and the Tigers walked off the field with the SCC trophy in their hands for the third year in a row.
“We went after them aggressively. It was a matter of everyone stepping up a little bit. Our message was to be aggressive, and we needed all of those shots to put seven goals in, because [Cheshire goaltender Carolynn Pechmann] had an amazing game,” Coach Siedlecki said. “We won a lot of the draws in the first half, but they won almost all of them in the second, so it was just a matter of time before they got going. They stepped up and made that last surge at the end, but we were able to hold them off.”
Hand’s quest for a state title began on May 30, when the No. 3 seed Tigers hosted No. 14 Barlow and prevailed 13-5. The Tigers then hosted No. 11 Brookfield in the quarterfinals on June 1 and scored a 16-9 win to improve to 16-4 overall. Hand will next compete in the semis at Guilford High School at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6 against No. 2 seed Pomperaug (16-2). With a win, would advance to the final at Law High School on Saturday, June 10 against either No. 1 East Lyme (16-2) or No. 4 Branford (15-5).
For the All-SCC Team, junior Riley Kokoruda, Scully, and junior Emma Valdez were First Team selections for the Tigers, while Gies, Sullivan, junior Dory Howard, and Harvey made the Second Team.
Hand’s complete roster is comprised of seniors Reilly Thornbury, Amanda Gentile, Harvey, Caroline Jenkins, and Isabella Reynolds; juniors Grace Craven, McCarthy, Scully, Brinley Engel, Sullivan, Valdez, Claire Giles, Howard, Kokoruda, Hilary Houghton, Abigail Barry, Gies, and Mackenzie Larson; sophomores Caroline White, Sophia Dickman, and Lena Conway; and freshmen Margot Doraz, Tessie Sheehan, Regan Larson, Chloe Silva, Kate Levis, Janet Howard, and Lauren Valluzzi.