Page 99 - WHS FH 2014

The Warriors took charge in the second half, with relentless play to keep the Darien defense on its heels,
Midfielders Godin, Delaney Baxendale and Jillian Mahon, and the forward contingent of Cunningham, Ward,
Delaney Chase, Maddie Duffy and Gwen Hall, worked well together to win possession and earn corners (nine
in the second half), leading to nine second-half shots on goal.

After missing on some good chances, the Warriors broke through with 17:09 left to play when Mahon blasted a
hit from the right sidelines that Ward stopped in front of the goal and quickly shot past Morrill for a 1-0 lead.
Wilton continued to pressure, and made it 2-0 with 13:14 left, off a corner when Godin one-timed a pass from
Baxendale into the cage.

The Blue Wave answered with its best chance of the half, with a strong run by Cassidy ending in a scramble in
front that resulting in a shot off the post an a big save by Hendry. For most of the half, the Wilton back line of
Meredith Rappaport, Carline Taverna and Jess Hendry kept Dairen’s dangerous scorers in check and defused
threats impressively.

The Warriors had plenty of chances to pad the lead, Morrill made a save on the shot by Hall, off a nice setup by
Duffy, with eight minutes left, and stopped Baxendale in front of the goal, after a feed by Hall, three minutes
later. Morrill made seven second half saves to keep Darien close.

“It was a great win. Not only did we work great together, but our minds were set on winning and we pulled
together,” said Godin. “Darien’s definitely a very special team. We love to play them every year. We had to
come together and really pound it out (in the second half) and put our heads to it.”

“We started to really connect. Coach said at halftime that we had to start playing as a team. When you play as a
team you play so much better, so we tried to do more passing down, it was just trying to get corners and trying
to keep possession.” Said Baxendale.