New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Triple treat
Guilford defeats East Lyme for three-peat
FAIRFIELD — There’s a weight that comes with being a defending champion.
The Guilford girls lacrosse team felt it, met it head on, learned from it and now the Grizzlies have their state championship three-peat
Guilford came out flying with the first five goals and roared to an 11-4 victory over top-seeded East Lyme in the CIAC Class M girls lacrosse final Sunday at Sacred Heart
University’s Campus Field on
Sunday.
“We knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” senior co-captain MJ Santa Barbara said. “We held ourselves accountable the entire season and we knew we had the expectations to live up to. Everyone had the target on our backs and we had so much pressure as the reigning champions.
“It’s just an amazing feeling to do it again.”
That the third-seeded Grizzlies (16-7) would finish on top is not surprising. But they did have their struggles this season, including a stretch of games where they lost four-ofsix, including a 10-9 loss to East Lyme on April 19.
Guilford coach Wendy Epke said those games and the progression of the season helped the team reach their ultimate goal.
“I think the girls have really just grown together as a team throughout this season,” Epke said. “And they obviously proved it here at the end.”
Santa Barbara and junior Payton Root were the hot hands on offense with five goals apiece, and Santa Barbara added 10 draw controls. Freshman Kadence Epke scored once and had one assist and two draw controls, and goalie Maya Stoddard collected 10 saves.
East Lyme coach Phil Schneider said Guilford’s experience in the championship spotlight helped the Grizzlies.
“They’ve got a lot of players who have been here the past two years,” Schneider said. “These (East Lyme) players were eighth graders when we
won it in 2019. This was their first opportunity, and (Guilford) has been here the last three years and I think that experience was a factor.”
The Vikings (20-2) had a two-goal effort from senior Izzy Pazzaglia, and senior goalie Gigi Franco, the MVP of the last two ECC tournaments, collected 10 saves.
But the Grizzlies delivered a powerful performance. They were strong on the draw and aggressive to the net, especially in the first half which resulted in the early lead they never relinquished.
“We talked about playing simple lacrosse,” Guilford coach Wendy Epke said. “We were making good choices, finding the best shot, not the first shot, and really just playing
together as a team. Share the ball and keep your eyes up.”
That resulted in Guilford drawing penalties and scoring its first four goals on free positions, two for Root and two for Santa Barbara, for a 4-0 lead midway through the first half.
A third goal by Santa Barbara made it 5-0 before Abby Belleville put the Vikings on the board with 5:45 remaining in the half.
The Grizzlies led 6-1 at halftime but East Lyme’s Meghan Nagle and Pazzaglia scored back-to-back to start the second half, cutting the deficit to 6-3. Guilford answered with the next three goals to end the Vikings’ run and boost the lead to six.
The Grizzlies outscored their opponents 55-15 in four state playoff games.
East Lyme is graduating 11 seniors and Schneider said they’ve built a
strong base for the Vikings.
“The last two or three years that group has really been our foundation and I asked the other players to honor them by working hard in the offseason and coming back ready to play next year,” Schneider said. “We want to keep this program moving forward and be in this situation again.”
For Epke, who has coached the Grizzlies to three state titles and two SCC crowns in the past three years, the experience is what it’s all about.
“Every year we start with a new team,” Epke said. “We talk about our goals at the beginning of the season and what we are going to do to accomplish those goals. Obviously, everyone always wants to win an SCC title, everyone wants to win a state championship and I want those things too. But what I really want is for the kids to have a great experience.”