Page 189 - WHS FH 2014

Defense Rules as Rams Blank Top-seeded

Wilton 1-0 in Field Hockey Semis

By Dave Stewart on October 29, 2014

There were plenty of wide smiles to go around for
the New Canaan Rams as they celebrated their
win over top-seeded Wilton in the FCIAC field
hockey semifinals on Tuesday night.

The biggest smile of all may have belonged to
head Coach Erin Gildea. “There’s nothing better
than a coach seeing your players rewarded,”
Gildea said. “They deserve everything. It was all
them and I’m just so proud.”

The Rams got a goal from sophomore Ellery
Baran just 1:11 into the game, and the defense
made it stand up with a superior performance as
New Canaan stunned the Warriors, 1-0, at Brien McMahon’s Jack Casagrande Field. The fourth-seeded Rams
(12-4-2-0) will take on rival Darien (14-4-0-0), the No. 2 seed, for the FCIAC championship at 7 p.m.,
Thursday, at Brien McMahon High School. It will be New Canaan’s first trip to the conference final since 2009
and just their second title game appearance in the past 12 years. The Rams last FCIAC championship was in
2000, when Gildea was a part of coach Sue Schewerdtle’s team. Darien won last year’s championship over
Wilton and shared the title with Greenwich in 2012.

While Baran’s quick goal was the difference on the scoreboard, it was the defense which played the starring
role. New Canaan held up against a relentless Warrior team, which generated 18 penalty corners, including 16
in the second half. Led by the back line of juniors Rhian Ball and Claire Conley, and sophomore Grace Manges,
along with midfielder Elizabeth Miller, and goalie Sarah Klearman (8 saves), the Rams were an unbreakable
wall, allowing just eight shots overall and only two off the corners. Ball said the key was communication.
“We’ve been working on communication all season and it kind of all fit together tonight,” she said. “We just
kept the sticks down, kept the clears strong, and kept going out. Sarah had a great game tonight and I feel like,
this evening, everyone just clicked. It was great knowing that even if you did make a mistake, there was always
someone there to back you up.”

“They were unbelievable,” Gildea said. “They played a 60-minute game and we haven’t had a game where
they’ve been pressured like that. The entire corner defense won that game for us today, they just wouldn’t back
down. It was shear heart and will and they were not going to let that ball go in the cage. They don’t get the
recognition they deserve, and they have been phenomenal all season. They’re the reason we’re here.” New
Canaan was staked to a one-goal lead early, after a long hit from Miller, a senior co-captain. Miller’s strike was
controlled by Baran in the circle, and she spun to the cage and sent a low shot past goalie Amanda Hendry (2
saves) for the score. “It was a great shot and it’s what we work on in practice,” Gildea said. “That goalie is
phenomenal, and you can’t shoot at her. You’ve got to make her move and take quick shots. Ellery is such a
great kid; she always has a smile on her face and it’s wonderful to see her coming in to her own as a player.”
Having the lead gave the Rams something to work with.