Page 11 - WHS FH 2014 Memory Book - Megan Cunningham

ledger. Both teams won their FCIAC quarterfinal games and semis to set up a much-anticipated rematch for the
FCIAC championship.

Wilton appeared to hold the upper hand throughout most of the game, but the Blue Wave managed to score the
only goal with just 3:26 left to pull out a 1-0 win and send the Warriors into the state tourney coming off
another heartbreaking loss. But as they did the previous two years when they also fell short of their first goal,
which was to win the FCIAC championship, Wilton regrouped in the state tournament. And while Darien--the
only team to beat Wilton this season--went on to win the Class L state crown, the Warriors reeled off four
straight wins to capture top honors in Class M.

"Losing in the FCIACs definitely gave us the motivation in the state tournament," Hynes said.

"I think the most effective thing Coach Hynes did was let us decide whether we wanted to go for a state
championship," Lizette Roman-Johnston, the starting goalie on each of the last three state title teams, pointed
out. "She didn't put a lot of extra pressure on us to win states because we lost in the FCIAC.

"But her confidence in us never wavered," she added. "She just had us think game by game and told us we
could win it if we wanted it, which, of course, we did."

With the loss to Darien still stinging, the second-seeded Warriors rolled past Masuk 6-0 and Bethel 7-0 in the
first two rounds. But then came a hard-fought 2-1 win over No. 3 Daniel Hand, which came into the game 16-1.

"I think the Darien game, even though we lost, helped us against Daniel Hand," Hynes said. "The Darien loss
was a hard pill to swallow because we thought we played better than them that day. But unless you put the ball
in the cage, it doesn't matter.

"Daniel Hand outplayed us for a little stretch in
our game against them. They had
opportunities. But we knew from the Darien
game when we were outplaying them that the
game can change just like that."

Which is exactly what happened as the
Warriors held on for a 2-1 win and then beat
Lauralton Hall in overtime to claim their third
straight state title.

"Coach Hynes is very businesslike and she
definitely has a vision for her team every year,"
Roman-Johnston said. "Even with all our
success, she always helped us stay grounded.

"She would also take the time to get to know
each individual on the team as a player and always knew what to say. She always stayed collected but was
energized enough to keep pushing us as a team to get to where we wanted to end up." Which was winning a
third straight state championship.

The successful formula Hynes has employed the last 14 years probably won't change much this fall. The
Warriors graduated another slew of talented players, but an eager group of underclassmen and first-year starting
seniors who patiently waited their turn while practicing against one of the best teams in the state the last couple
of years, are ready to move in and leave their mark.

But while you can expect Hynes to coach the same way as she always has, she does have to make one big
decision this season. Earlier this month she was married and now she has to decide if she's going to continue to
be known to her players as 'Coach Hynes' or by her new surname, 'Coach Ormond.'

"That's a good question," she said. "I really don't know." Then again, it doesn't really matter. Whatever she
decides, Deirdre Hynes will be known as The Hour's 2013-14 Coach of the Year.