Page 246 - WHS FH 2014 Memory Book - Megan Cunningham

goal and Wilton’s rally fell short in a 2- 1 decision for Hand in the Class M state championship game on a cold
Saturday afternoon at Wethersfield High’s Cottone Field. It’s the first state title in the history of the program for
the Tigers (20- 2- 1- 0) while seeded Warriors (17- 4- 1-0) were denied their sixth CIAC championship.

Just to get as far as they did, Wilton head coach Deirdre Hynes said, showed the determination and resiliency of
her players. “Ironically, I think some people underestimated this group because I graduated eight seniors,” said
Hynes, who has been on the wrong end of the title game before in 2003 and 2008. “There are some people who
didn’t even think we’d be in this spot and the fact that we’re in this spot and No. 1 gave them a little bit of
confidence they needed, believe it or not, because this is such a young group and I only have four seniors. This
was a tough, tough lesson that these underclassmen learned but I’m sure it will stay with them for a long time
and will only make them stronger for the future.”

One of the things that proved costly for the Warriors, according to Hynes, was the team’s slow start in the first
half. The teams played to a scoreless tie with only one solid shot at goal, coming from the Tigers’ Kate Omdahl
off a free hit with goalie Amanda Hendry ( 2 saves for the game) making the stop in the final seven seconds of
the half. Wilton certainly had its fair share of possession in the first, and was passing the ball well, yet the
Warriors couldn’t generate a lot of scoring opportunities.
“We just played a little bit reactive in the first half, waiting to see what Hand did, but I still think we did an OK
job controlling the ball,” Hynes said. Obviously the second half was wider open with both teams making
extended runs into the opposition’s end of the field and Hand head coach Sue Leckey said getting on the board
first was imperative.

“A team like Wilton brings out the best in a team,” she said. “We were capable of a lot and we went on a nice
little run with those two goals and that was enough to hold them. (Getting up two goals) is what you need to do
against a team like that because they are so good, and they don’t ever go away. I’m really proud of my girls and
everyone stepped up.” Cameron Ruberti had a 1v1 opportunity with Hendry just 1: 40 into the second but Jillian
Mahon got back in the nick of time to thwart Ruberti.

Over the next few minutes, though, the Tigers kept the
pressure on the Wilton defense. The Warriors didn’t
back down, however, and kept the ball in Hand’s end
of the field. Bridget Ward gathered up the ball and
sent a cross into the circle, but a Tiger defender
knocked it out of bounds, resulting in a penalty corner
seven minutes in. Unfortunately, Wilton couldn’t get
off a shot due to Hand’s strong defensive effort,
which was evident throughout the game.

The teams continued to go up and down the field,
each registering a penalty corner along the way
(Wilton had a 7- 5 edge in corners). Following
Wilton’s corner which resulted in a shot across the
goal mouth by Kristen Godin with no one there to
bang the ball in the cage with 21: 09 on the clock,
Hand coach Sue Leckey called time-out. The break
may have boosted the Tigers because a few seconds
later they were celebrating their first goal.

Wilton couldn’t clear the ball out of its defensive third
and the ball was sent across the cage from right to left with Hendry kicking the ball away yet it still found its
way to Omdahl, whose shot sailed into the bottom right corner to give Hand a 1-0 lead (20:34). “I just
remember getting the ball and going reverse on it and shooting in,” Omdahl said. “It felt great getting that goal
and it gave us momentum.” The Tigers kept going forward off the restart and Sam Pavano got the ball just
inside the circle, off to the right and she blasted the ball across and it settled into the bottom left corner for a 2-0