Page 253 - WHS FH 2014

play, after Hand’s outstanding defender Hannah Leckey dribbled the ball into the arc, forcing Amanda Hendry
to make save, with Kathryn Omdahl knocking in the rebound. The Tigers were right back on the attack, as a
good push up the side and pass by Cameron Ruberti resulted in a scramble in the arc. The ball rolled out to a
wide-open Sam Pavano near the top of the arc, and she blasted a rocket into the right side of the cage with
19:42 left to play. Wilton played its best hockey of the game in the final 20 minutes, after Hand made it 2-0.

The Warriors cut the lead to 2-1 on Godin’s goal with 17:16 left on a perfectly executed penalty corner. On the
play, Meg Cunningham sent the initial pass out to Jillian Mahon, who passed back to Cunningham on the end
line, where she rolled a pass into the crease that Godin knocked past goalie Mel Rennie. The Warriors picked
up their play the rest of the way, but Hand did a good job on defensive side defusing attacks.

The Warriors appeared to have tied the game with 1:59 left, after a strong push into the arc by Cunningham led
to a scramble in front, but the referee ruled the ball had gone off a player’s leg and the goal was disallowed.

Coach Deirdre Hynes felt the Warriors hurt themselves with their slow start. “If we played the first half the
way we played the second half, I think it would have been a different outcome. We just played a little bit
reactive in the first half, kind of waiting to see what Hand did, and I still think we did an okay job of
controlling the ball,” she said. “In the second half,
when they got those two goals really quick in that
minute, I think then we woke up, and then,
unfortunately, we ran out of time. “We learned the
hard way that you’ve got to play 60 minutes, and
you’ve got to finish.”

“I thought that we didn’t come out as strong as we
normally do, but I’m proud because my team picked it
up so much and they went out there and fought to the
very last second,” said Cunningham, one of the four
senior captains along with Godin, Baxendale and
Caroline Taverna. “I thought it was a very good game.
They had very good skill and it was a good fight.”

Hand finished with a 3-2 edge in shots at goal, while
Wilton had a 7-5 edge in penalty corners. Hendry and
Rennie were each credited with one save.

Coach Hynes said that lost in the success of the
Warriors’ season was the fact that this was an entirely different team than last year’s state champs, with eight
new starters and only four seniors. Making it back to the championship game was not a foregone conclusion
when the season began.

“I think some people underestimated this group because I graduated eight seniors. There were some people
who didn’t think we’d even be in this spot,” she said. “They had to grow up quickly this year.” She said
Saturday’s loss would provide motivation for the returning players next season. “This is a tough lesson these
underclassmen learned, so I’m sure it’s going to stay with them a long time, and this is just going to make us
stronger in the future,” she said.

For Cunningham, the loss ended a four-year varsity career during which the Warriors totaled an unbelievable
79 wins and four trips to the state finals. On Saturday after the game, her thoughts were on what this year’s
young squad had accomplished.
“I’m definitely upset we didn’t come out with the win, but honestly, by the way everyone played, how I feel
coming of the field, coming off the season with this team, I definitely feel like we won,” she said. “We have
improved so much, and it hasn’t been easy, and we knew it wouldn’t be easy. But I honestly couldn’t be
prouder of who I’ve been with. It would have been better if it ended with a win, but it feels like one.”