Page 236 - WHS FH 2014 Memory Book - Megan Cunningham

Lauralton Hall Loses in Field Hockey Semifinal

By Peter Vander Veer
Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The Lauralton Hall field hockey team was denied a third chance to make it to the CIAC Class M state
tournament final on Tuesday night, when the No. 4 seed Crusaders lost to No. 1 and three-time defending
champ Wilton High, 2-0, on Taft Field at Fairfield Ludlowe High School. The 17-3-1 Warriors, who defeated
Lauralton Hall, 1-0, for last year’s title and by the same score earlier in the season, got second-half goals from
Bridget Ward (at 7:08) and Katharine Campbell (4:55), earning the right to meet Daniel Hand of Madison (a 2-1
victor over Avon) in Saturday’s finale at Wethersfield High School. “I know we had our share of opportunities
out there and needed to take advantage of one of them,” said Lauralton Hall coach Kate Cavanagh. “That was
part of my post-game talk. In field hockey, you need to cash in and we didn’t tonight.”

Meg Cunningham fed Ward the ball in front of Crusader goalie Mary-Beth Rudolf (two saves) and Ward drove
it home at 7:08 to break the scoreless tie. Delaney Baxendale set the play up, moving the ball up from mid-field.
Ward earned the assist on Campbell’s goal, which sealed the win a little over three minutes later. The
Crusaders, 14-3-1, had seven shots on goal, every one of them stopped by Warrior goalie Amanda Hendry.

“They’re a vastly improved team,” said Wilton coach Deidre Hynes. “I saw a huge improvement in their over-
all play from the first time we played until now.” Prior to 2013, the Crusaders last appearance in a final came in
2011 when Lauralton Hall lost 1-0 in double overtime to Granby Memorial.