Top-seeded Suffield upset by No. 8 Sacred Heart
SUFFIELD — The Sacred Heart field hockey team lost five of its first seven games. The Sharks lost the seventh game by six goals, to Cheshire.
But they have made a remarkable turnaround since then. Sacred Heart, the eighth seed in the Class Mtournament, won seven of its last nine regular season games. On Thursday afternoon, the Sharks upset No. 1 Suffield, 1-0, in a Class Mquarterfinal.
Sacred Heart (11-7-1) will face fourthseeded Avon, a 3-1 winner over East Lyme Thursday, in a Class M semifinal game either Tuesday or Wednesday, at a time and place to be determined.
Sophomore Mia Celentano scored the game's only goal off a penalty corner less than two minutes into the first half. Sacred Heart goalkeeper Kyleen Crowe made six saves.
Suffield ended its season at 15-2-0-1. The Wildcats had lost only to Granby, the top seed in Class S, once in regulation and once in overtime during the regular season.
The Wildcats outshot Sacred Heart, 6-2. “I think they're a very strong team,” Suffield coach Heather Casinghino said. “They were great at passing, communication. They came out ready to play.”
Sacred Heart plays in the SCC, against teams such as Cheshire (the top seed in Class L), Guilford (which handed Cheshire its only loss, in the SCC championship game) and last year's Class M champion Hand. The Sharks also played North Branford, last year's Class S champion.
“It all boils down to your schedule and the teams you're playing,” Casinghino said. “They were prepared. We really didn't see a team like that except for Granby.”
Sacred Heart had to try to contain Anna Casinghino, the coach's daughter, who will play for UConn next year.
“We knew she was a phenomenal player and she played outstanding today, we knew that going in,” Sacred Heart coach Jackie DeFrancesco said. “We said, ‘Keep the ball wide, try not to play the middle of the field and keep it away from her.' We were trying to do our best to do that.”
Suffield had a couple of chances in the last seven minutes – including a few shots on goal and a penalty corner with three minutes left – but couldn't capitalize and Sacred Heart played tough defense.
“The momentum, and just being in that situation – we're in those kind of situations playing in the SCC, like, against Branford, we went overtime [and tied 2-2],” DeFrancesco said.
“So that not panicking, settling ourselves down, playing our game – that's something in our timeouts we were constantly telling them – just play our game. Don't get frazzled.”