Conard girls lacrosse hosted Southington in a postseason match Tuesday evening in West Hartford and punched their ticket to the next round in a 12-11 victory. 

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Bridget Bronsdon 

The No. 7 seed Conard girl’s lacrosse squad is hotter than ever as they advance into their fourth post-season game after knocking out No. 10 Southington in a close 12-11 fight in the CIAC Class LL playoffs. With a fantastic record, that included earning the CCC championship title last week, and a strong squad of sharp-shooters on their side, the Red Wolves enjoyed an essential win, but Southington didn’t go down without a fight. 

The match began in a stalemate. Although Conard was able to win the opening draw, the duo danced around each other’s net with dynamic passing sequences and fast footwork. Thanks to the help of senior-junior duo Maddy Sweeney and Courtney McPhee, the Red Wolves saw lots of movement in the middle of the field and up the sidelines. 

The Red Wolves first advantage of the match came just eight minutes into the first quarter as junior Olivia Hole netted her first goal of the contest. Even with an early lead, the Red Wolves made sure not to get too comfortable, the game was just beginning. 

Conard gave the Blue Knights no time to respond as they won the draw and once again made a swift beeline to the Southington goaltender. The Blue Knights’ defensive line was immediately put to work as Conard wove in, out and around the net. 

Although Southington was beginning to show signs of struggle, they found a pocket of momentum and capitalized. With just over six minutes remaining in the first, Southington’s Noelle Castonguay capitalized on an offensive surge to bring the contest to a tie, 1-1. 

Despite their slow start, Southington was showing some signs of a battle.

Their advantage, however, was quickly put to rest as Conard relentlessly pressured Southinton’s defensive end. After several minutes of well-orchestrated passing and seamless offensive connections, Conard secured the advantage. Thanks to offensive pressure from junior Nicole Gorman, Conard kept their opponents off balance to override Southington 2-1. 

As the quarter continued with fluid ball movement from Conard, Southington found their second pocket of success. Castonguay grabbed her second point of the day as her shot found the top of Conard’s net. Once again, the duo found themselves even, 2-2. 

The second quarter highlighted both the offensive skill of the Red Wolves and the patches of weakness for the Blue Knights. 

Although Southington struggled during the second, they began with a bang and earned their first and only lead. Castonguay nailed a hattrick as Southington advanced 3-2. This success, however, could not go unanswered, especially for Conard freshman Caroline Cersosimo. 

Cersosimo had the Southington bench on the edge of their seats as she nailed back-to-back shots and gave Conard their healthiest lead of the day, 4-2. 

With Castonguay leading the Blue Knights and Cersosimo leading the Red Wolves like well-oiled offensive machines, both scored again. Cersosimo now caught up to Castonguay and also secured a hattrick. 

Exceptional movement can also be credited to McPhee, Hole, and Sweeney as the Conard attackers had an offensive stronghold. Before long, Conard’s goaltender was practically given a break as the Red Wolves were so relentless with their offensive pressure. As the quarter winded down, Hole, Sweeney and Cersosimo found the net again to close out the half 8-4. 

While Conard was enjoying the lead, Southington was challenged. What would their next move be?

Unfortunately for Southington, they did not find an answer in the early moments of the third quarter. Conard once again dominated and relentlessly put the Blue Knights’ defense to work. Hole found the net two more times, the second Conard player to go above and beyond a hattrick, and sisters Ashley and Nicole Gorman assisted each other in a goal. 

Despite their healthy 11-5 lead, Southington upped the ante with just under 40 seconds left in the third. With sudden and game-changing momentum, the Blue Knights found their rhythm and after almost getting shutout in the third quarter, they nailed 2 more points. 

It appeared good things were worth waiting for for Southington as they entered the fourth and final quarter with a new appetite for victory. The Blue Knights’ advancements quickly unraveled the Red Wolves as they struggled to maintain the lead they had fought so hard for. 

Southington’s Rocklyn Carillo was a key player in the final quarter as she nailed the back of the net on several occasions. With just several minutes left, the win no longer felt within reach for the Red Wolves as the Blue Knights brought the game down to the wire. 

Southington quickly closed in on Conard and gained momentum. With just over two minutes left, Conard was just barely holding on to their lead, now 12-11. 

In a nail-biting finish, Conard clinched the victory by maintaining possession for the final two minutes of the match. Despite Southington’s last-second offensive surge and late momentum, Conard made a narrow escape to the next round of the postseason. 

Despite their loss, Southington head coach Megan Wallace never lost faith in her team. “At halftime, it was just that message of believe in yourselves, believe that you guys can do this, and believe that you can beat them and I think that they started to believe that,” she said. 

“We left it all on the field and I couldn’t ask for more,” she added. 

As for Conard, the fight was well worth it. 

“I think that Southington is a great game. It’s always a battle and I was really proud that they continued to play like a team and they found a way to dig it out in a hard-fought game,” said head coach Megan Cersosimo. 

After knocking out the Blue Knights, Conard will look ahead to their next postseason matchup. They will travel to New Canaan to meet the No. 2 seed Rams, Thursday at 4 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

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