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11/25/2024 10:10 AMThere are very few better feelings in life than winning a state championship. For a high school athlete, it’s the ultimate goal that each one works so hard for all season long. For the Guilford field hockey team, this fall campaign came with many triumps, including capturing the ultimate crown in the form of a state championship.
Entering the Class M State Tournament, Guilford was the No. 2 seed. In the first round on Nov, 5, the Grizzlies blanked 15th-seeded Waterford by a score of 8-0 at home. In the quarterfinal two days later, the Grizzlies hosted No. 7 East Lyme and won 3-1. Advancing to the semifinals, Guilford took on sixth-seeded Simsbury on Nov. 12 and earned a 2-0 shutout win. Seeing the finish line within their reach, the Grizzlies met a strong Branford team on Nov. 16 for the title game. Never taking their feet off the gas, Guilford captured the crown in a 1-0 double-overtime (OT) victory.
Head Coach Kitty Palmer, who captured her sixth state title at the helm, explained that it was that winning mentality and believing they could do it that led to the girls achieving the ultimate goal this fall.
“Going into the game, we were not favored because we lost to Branford in the regular season. I felt that the game was very close during the regular season, which was about a month ago, even though we lost by three,” said Palmer. “It was back and forth for most of the [state championship] game, the main part. Our goalie made some great saves. They hit the post twice, and it was very close shot-wise, corner-wise, and play wise. We go into 7v7 in overtime, and Cassie Ward (senior, forward, captain) was able to push the ball, who dribbled around the goalie and hit the ball into the goal.”
Ward, along with Zoe Tsoukanelis (sophomore, forward) were named to the All-State First Team for their efforts, and Leanne Petonito (senior) had the game of her life in the finals, according to Palmer.
“In the last few games, Olivia Cavallaro was the sub for Abby DellaVentura. She stepped up big-time,” Palmer said. “One of our other seniors, Leanne Petonito, had the best game of her career. She is a defender, and even on the seven v. seven, she was out-racing some of these girls down the field after playing 70 minutes of play. She was intercepting passes and without question had the best game of her career.”
Early on in the Grizzlies’ postseason run, they lost a key player and had to move positions around. Luckily, Palmer had a key team leader who was willing to step up and outside of her comfort zone to do everything it took for Guilford to come out on top.
“We lost one of our defensive players, Abby DellaVentura (freshman) to an injury. Thanks to one of our captains, Cambelle Jacobson (senior, midfielder/defender), we moved her into Abby’s spot,” said Palmer. “At first, she tried to hang back because she was worried about defense, but as the games progressed, she became more and more offensive. She played great for all four state tournament games.”
In the second round, the Grizzlies defeated East Lyme 3-1. This was the second meeting of the season between the two, as Guilford won the earlier contest 5-1, and it certainly wasn’t a cakewalk to the win.
“They had gotten better; East Lyme was a tough game. They have a very good player that was up for Player of the Year,” Palmer said. “We got up to a 2-0 lead, and then they scored. They put a lot of pressure on us, and we scored with maybe with three or four minutes to go to make it 3-1. It was a close game no doubt.”
In the 2-0 semifinal victory vs. Simsbury, Ward, who was a standout captain this fall, scored both goals in the contest.
“She scored late in the second quarter and then maybe again with five minutes or so in the game off of a corner,” said Palmer. “The game was also very close. Simsbury is very good, well-coached, and they have a new young coach, which is nice to see.”
Towards the end of the regular season stretch, the Grizzlies lost three games in a row, with the last struggling defeat coming at the hands of Lauralton Hall (2-1). Ward and Jacobson rallied the team together before the final push of the regular and postseason, changing the team’s mindset completely. Guilford then went on to win nine games in a row, and the rest is history.
“I tribute it to their will and pulling the team along with them. Even when Abby got hurt, and I said to Cambelle “what would you like to do?”, she said to me “I will do whatever you need me to do, whatever it takes to win,” said Palmer. “That is how determined those two captains were. I give them a lot of credit for our run of nine-straight victories. Only three goals given up in those nine games, and everything tightened down. Our goalie had the best game of her career during that time, totaling 12 saves.”
Other key players from the state tournament run were Olivia Cavallaro (sophomore, defender) and Petonito. Palmer also noted that other players were subbed in during the tournament to see if any combination of players would be more cohesive together.
As one of the players that gave it her all in her final game, Petonito looks back and reflects on what was the final minutes playing with the Grizzlies.
“It was a lot of emotions, definitely a rush of adrenaline and shock the second that ball went into the goal,” Petonito said. “It turned into a bittersweet feeling when I realized we reached the end of everything. I was so happy and grateful that the team got what we worked so hard for. I didn’t want to let anyone on the team down by not giving it my all. There was no room for error, since it was a very neck-and-neck battle. At that moment, all that was on my mind was field hockey. Nothing else mattered. It was a go-big or go-home moment for me. I knew that was my last time playing for this team. I didn’t want to leave thinking about how much harder I could have tried. All the countless hours of conditioning and practicing that Kitty trained us for showed in the double overtime. I wanted to give all the girls what they deserved and wanted to make Kitty proud one last time.”
The Grizzlies will be losing four seniors this upcoming spring, all of which were key players in the successful nine-game run to capture both the SCC and state titles. Palmer looks back with a sense of pride, knowing her squad left no stone unturned and surpassed any and all expectations she had going into the campaign.
“To be state champions, it was great. Certainly in the beginning of the season, I had no thought, but you always aspire to get there,” said Palmer. “But I had no thoughts that we could win both the SCC and states. The girls got it done, so kudos to them.”
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 Caroline Hergan (senior, forward), Jacobson, Petonito, Ward, Colby Atwater (junior, right midfielder), Emma Clifford (junior, midfielder), Addie Oakes (junior, goalkeeper), Camila Munroe (junior, forward/midfielder), Makenzie Savage (junior, defender), Cavallaro, 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), Charlotte Rebhun (freshman, defender), and Harper Trotta (freshman, midfielder/defender).