New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Doubling down
Guilford tops St. Joseph, claims second straight state crown
FAIRFIELD — Guilford’s Maddie Epke was perfect on the draw Saturday afternoon.
And that’s a good part of why topseeded Guilford repeated as CIAC Class M girls lacrosse champions following a 12-8 victory over 15th-seeded St. Joseph at Sacred Heart University.
It was the third consecutive tournament in which the two teams have faced each other. St. Joseph won the first meeting in 2019 and Guilford took the semifinal in 2021 en route to its first state crown before winning the rubber match Saturday.
“We always match up with them in the semifinals or finals the last few years,” Epke said. “We’ve been practicing all season for this moment and to defend our title. I like ending on this note for sure.”
Guilford coach Wendy Epke said it was a stressful afternoon.
“I am the coach and I want all these kids to do well,” Guilford coach Wendy Epke said. “I’m also a mom, and I want my daughter to do well. It’s a lot of emotions here.”
It was the 21st straight victory in a row for Guilford, which lost its opening game of the season against Wilton and never lost after that.
Maddie Epke, who will play at James Madison University next fall, was able to jumpstart the Grizzlies’ offense throughout the contest by giving them possession.
“Maddie Epke is the best player I’ve seen in Class M in 10 years,” St. Joseph coach Leeland Gray said. “We didn’t win one draw today and we only lost by four goals. It’s tough to win a game when you don’t win one draw. She’s the only player I’ve seen that’s won 100 percent of draws in a game. She’s a differ
ence maker.”
However, it was Payton Root who got Guilford going with a pair of goals to open the scoring in the first 2:43. The Cadets were guarding Epke and other attackers tightly, but left Root open.
“They clustered the circle and didn't want us to get the ball low,” Root said. “They went to the girls who had the ball, which left me open, and I just dumped it as fast as I could.”
St. Joseph tied it at 3-3 with 15:06 left in the first half thanks to Meghan Hoynes, who had three goals. The teams exchanged goals for the remainder of the half with Guilford grabbing a 6-5 lead at the break.
But in the opening minutes of the second half, it was all Guilford.
The Grizzlies scored the first five goals of the half in just under nine minutes to break the contest wide open with Epke and M.J. Santa Barbara each scoring
twice.
St Joseph closed the gap to 11-8 with 5:09 to play on a goal by Casey Maygothling, but couldn't get on the board again as the Grizzlies played keep away with the ball for much of the last few minutes.
“We had a few yellow cards in the second half and were a man down for six to eight minutes,” Gray said. “That was part of the difference.”
St. Joseph fell to 13-8 with the loss.
“I think we started out slow and then we got our
heads back into it,” Gray said. “We don't have the depth they do. We didn't win, but I'm extremely proud of our girls.”