Page 143 - WHS FH 2014

The Wreckers, however, refused to fold. Shortly after the Warriors failed on a penalty corner, Staples' Xenia
Bradley carried the ball left to right through the circle finding a huge hole in the Wilton defense. She ripped a
shot on Wilton goalie Amanda Hendry, who made the point-blank stop to preserve the two-goal lead.

"That's like the best moment for me," said Hendry. "Sometimes I'll have one shot and it'll go in and that's the
worst, but when I make a good save, I just go on from there and it really lifts me up. There was no defense there
and she was in close. I was lucky she didn't shoot to the corner. It was kind of a lucky save, I guess."

Seven minutes later, on a penalty corner, Cunningham inserted the ball to Kristen Godin at the top of the circle.
Godin pushed the right a couple times, reared back and laced a screaming shot past Staples goalie Jodie Baris (4
saves) for a 3-0 lead that would hold up through halftime.

That was only after Hendry stoned Staples' Jenna McNicholas not once, but twice, on a shot-rebound-shot
scenario with 5:30 to play in the first half. In the second half, Wilton's offensive game kept clicking as
Cunningham scored one goal and assisted on tallies by Godin and Bridget Ward as the Warriors came within
one goal of matching its season high.

"We just came to play," said Cunningham, one of four seniors on the Wilton roster. "We worked really well
together tonight, which is good because we needed it. The last few games, we hadn't played up to our potential,
but I think we came in tonight with confidence."

Defensively, Hendry's four saves kept the shutout intact while Wilton's defense of Caroline Taverna, Jessica
Hendry and Meredith Rapport prevented further pressure on the Warriors cage. The fact the Wreckers kept
coming right back at Wilton impressed Hynes.

"I give Staples tremendous credit," said Hynes. "I don't think I've seen a team play for 60 minutes like that in …
well, ever. They never let down. One-nothing, two-nothing, three-nothing -- they came out hard every single
time. They literally never let down until the whistle blew. They just played their hearts out."

Late in the second half, Cunningham also played a part in the co-play of the game. On a 1-on-3 breakaway, the
Wilton senior weaved her way in
and out of three Staples defenders
via fancy stick moves and quick
thinking, finally facing Baris alone.
Baris, however, was one step ahead
of Cunningham in this case and
rushed out to kick aside the ball
before Cunningham had an
opportunity to get off a shot.

"She hadn't done that the whole
game, so I wasn't expecting that,"
Cunningham said.

Added Hendry, who watched from
afar, "That was a nice save."

It was far from enough, though, as
the Warriors rolled into their
regular season finale on
Wednesday when they host
Greenwich. Game time is 3:45 p.m.
at Fujitani Field.