Card shows all A’s
Austin Prep, Algonquin win titles
When it comes to dominant high school programs in the commonwealth, you’d be hard-pressed to find a team with the level of success that the Austin Prep girls hockey squad has enjoyed in recent years.
girls hockey
However, the last few seasons had followed a similar script for the Cougars, one where they would come close to the pinnacle, only to fall short due to forces mostly outside of their control.
After watching their undefeated campaign end in the state finals in 2019, only to witness their chance at redemption ripped away at the beginning of a pandemic in 2020, Austin Prep finally finished the job Sunday. McKenzie Cerrato buried a critical goal late, and also tacked on an assist, as the top-seeded Cougars clinched the Div. 1 title, and completed the perfect season with a 4-1 victory over No. 2 Arlington.
It only took 1:23 for Austin Prep (27-0) to draw first blood, as freshman Bree Anderson tallied a goal to put the Cougars ahead immediately. Senior captain Kathryn Karo buried a shot shortly thereafter, making it a 2-0 contest with 6:03 to go in the opening period.
Arlington (22-1-1) had an answer of its own as freshman Libby Corsetti registered a goal to cut it to a 2-1 game entering the second period.
That score held until the late stages of the third. Cerrato searched for a shooting lane and the junior picked her mark, firing a wrister through traffic and into the Arlington net with 2:14 left in regulation, as Austin Prep seized a 3-1 edge.
Senior captain Isabel Hulse notched an open-net goal to put things away for the Cougars with 52.9 left.
“I really never thought I would make it here and win a state championship,” Cerrato said afterward. “I’m happy that it’s with this team. I wouldn’t pick a different team to do it with.”
If there was ever a Div. 2 girls hockey tournament MVP award, Algonquin’s Mallory Farrell would be the runaway winner.
Farrell scored the gamewinning goal for the No. 10 Titans in a 2-1 overtime victory over defending cochampion, No. 9 Canton, going from the middle of the neutral zone, down the right boards and turning on the jets to slide across the crease
Algonquin 3, Canton 2 —
for the untouched and unassisted tally.
The goal was Farrell’s sixth goal in the last four tournament games as Algonquin (19-3-2) closed the postseason with three consecutive overtime victories. Farrell’s final trip into the net 6:02 into the extra period handed Algonquin its first girls state hockey championship in school history.
“It was great. It was a team effort all around these whole playoffs,” said Farrell. “We’ve been really fighting, legs have been tired, and we’ve all been pushing really hard. This is just a team win.”
Canton was on the scoreboard first as Maya Battista gave her team the 1-0 lead with a goal off an assist from Ellie Bohane at 14:58 of the first period, which stood until the third period.
Canton turned up the heat on offense and had a 6-1 shot advantage in the first 3:30 of play in the third, but Mallory Farrell was able to get a quick backhand out in front of the crease and Bryn Domolky was in perfect position to put home the rebound off the glove of Canton goalie Carolyn Durand who played excellent throughout the tournament, tying things up five minutes into the third to set up Farrell’s sudden death heroics.