Northwest Catholic Field Hockey's Historic Run Comes to a Close

Granby Memorial High field hockey goalie Hanna Crose had rarely been tested in the scoreless state Class S semifinal match against No. 4 Northwest Catholic High in Simsbury on Wednesday evening.

Indeed, through two regulation and three overtime periods, Crose did not register a save, as No. 9 Granby Memorial’s defense stifled the Indians’ attack all evening.

Despite her inactivity, Crose, a sophomore, remained preternaturally calm going into the tie-breaking penalty stroke phase of the game.

“She came off that field after the third overtime and said, ‘We’ve got this; I’ve got this,’” Granby head coach Sandy Wickman Mason said. “She played big. I am so proud of her.”

The Bears (14-5), behind Crose’s two penalty-stroke saves, advanced to the state championship game, defeating Northwest Catholic 0-0 (3-2 penalties).

Amanda Jacobs, Kathryn Calnen and Alison Ricci converted their penalty strokes for the Bears.

Northwest Catholic’s Jessica Jordano and Sarah McLaughlin converted the Indians’ first two penalty strokes before Crose saved two of the next three, with the third shot wide of the cage.

Indians’ keeper Christina Wilson saved one penalty stroke and nearly had a second on Ricci’s shot, but the ball squirted just over the line.

Even though this is Granby’s 11th appearance in the Class S title game since 2000 (winning 7 of them), this is not a typical Granby Memorial team.

“This is a pretty special group. They have gutted it all season,” Wickman Mason said. “I couldn’t be prouder of them. I had kids cramping, my trainers working overtime. I had kids out there who normally wouldn’t be out there playing 7 on 7 [overtime]. We don’t have a superstar. We don’t have an Abby [Bascetta], we don’t have an Ashley [Bascetta], we don’t have a Haley Makuch. They’ve had to battle as a team.”

It was quite a present for Wickman Mason, who celebrated her birthday on Wednesday.

“It took a while to get it,” she quipped about the satisfying conclusion to a frustrating game that saw Granby Memorial earn 15 penalty corners to Northwest Catholic’s four. The Bears also outshot the Indians 9 - 0.

Wickman Mason credited the play of midfielders Olivia Johnson, Cynthia Jones and Krista Iwanicki for controlling the pace of play.

Despite the tough loss, Northwest Catholic head coach Bill Mullady said he was extremely proud of his team, which finished the season with a 15-3-1 record and earned its first-ever appearance in the state semifinals.

“It was an unbelievable season we had; there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. “It went down to a shootout. How much more can you ask of them? [Granby has] been here so many times. I’m proud of them. It was a great season, a great team effort. We didn’t expect to be here.”