Page 192 - WHS FH 2014

send the ball out. Klearman made one final save in the half, kicking away a shot by Delaney Baxendale during a
penalty corner with time expired. In the second half, the pressure was even more intense, as Wilton had eight
penalty corners in the first 11 minutes. A shot by Jillian Mahon in the 35th minute was blocked by Catherine
Granito, and an attempt by Kristen Godin in front was stopped on a brilliant play by Ball, who got in front of
the open cage and knocked the shot away.

New Canaan had a chance in the 43rd minute, when Mariana Ferreira worked the ball into the right corner and
sent a pass into the circle for Isabel Taben. Before Taben could get to the ball for a shot, however, she was met
by Hendry, who booted the ball away.

The Wilton offense, led by Godin, Meg Cunningham, Mahon, and Baxendale, kept coming at the Rams over the
final 15 minutes but were stopped at every turn.

The last chances came during a series of three penalty corners with just under three minutes remaining, but after
a defender blocked a Godin attempt, Klearman leapt high to knock away a scoop into the circle by Baxendale.

New Canaan cleared the zone and kept the ball at midfield and beyond in the waning moments. Klearman
finished with eight saves for the Rams, while Hendry had three saves for the Warriors, who fell to 14-3-1 with
the loss. Wilton finished with an 18-3 advantage in corners. The fourth-seeded Rams improved to 12-4-2-0.

Quarterfinals Wilton rallied from a 1-0 deficit with under eight minutes left to play to beat Greenwich 2-1, in
the FCIAC quarterfinals on Saturday night on Cunningham’s goal 1:11 into the second overtime.

The Warriors avoided their second loss in four days to the Cardinals, who handed Wilton its first instate defeat,
2-1, in the regular- season finale on Oct. 22.

On Saturday, the Warriors were in control in the first half, with a 9-0 edge in shots on goal and 6-0 edge in
penalty corners, but couldn’t get the ball past Greenwich goalie Leah Hotaling, who made nine first-half saves
— including a stop on Cunningham’s penalty stroke 10 minutes into the game.

The Cardinals came out strong in the second half and scored on their first shot on goal of the game 6:08 into the
half, as Paige Mautner tallied off an assist from Erika Hvolbeck.

Wilton tied the game with 7:12 left in regulation, when Susie Clasby scored on a penalty corner to make it 1-1.

The teams played seven-on-seven in the overtime periods, with Greenwich having some of its best pressure of
the game during the first 10-minute overtime. Baxendale had a couple of key blocks in front of the Wilton goal.
The Warriors had three great chances during one sequence late in the period, with Hotaling making a pair of big
saves.

The winning goal early in the second overtime came off a penalty corner, as Cunningham was able to beat
Hotaling — who had come out of the goal — to the ball and poked it to middle of the arc, where she put a shot
into the open cage for the win.

“There’s no way to describe it. It was such good feeling,” said Cunningham. “It took us a while to get a little
more connected. We just had to stick together and ride it out. We have to keep our minds in the game or else
we’re defeating ourselves. I think my team is very good at keeping the confidence within each other and
pumping up everyone on the team.”

For the game, Wilton had 17 shots to Greenwich’s four, and had a 15-6 edge in penalty corners. Hotaling had a
tremendous game with 15 saves. Hendry made three saves for Wilton, including a superb kick save on
Mautner’s shot with 8:15 left in regulation to keep it a 1-0 game.