Conard defeats West Hartford rival Northwest Catholic as Ally Tousignant and Kate Shaffer combine for nine goals in an offensive outburst.

By Marlon Pitter

If Ally Tousignant wanted to put on a memorable performance in her last regular-season home game as a Chieftain, scoring six goals in a Senior Day victory was one way to accomplish that feat.

The Conard High School girls lacrosse team took down Northwest Catholic 16-5 at Robert J. McKee Stadium on Tuesday afternoon in West Hartford. Tousignant and Kate Shaffer – a junior – posted hat tricks for Conard in the winning effort.

Conard honored its 15-member graduating class before the contest, and head coach Meg Cersosimo made it a point to get all of them on the field during the game. The Chieftains’ Class of 2018 includes Alyssa Alford, Sophia Gruber, Lindsay Hammond, Gillian Haverty, Jane Lee, Clare Majewski, Maeve Maloney, Rachel Massey, Kaitlin Schulken, Nadia Son, Emma Soucy, Maggie Venora, Cameron Vines, Maggie Yezza, and Tousignant.

“I talked [to the team] about it being a very special day and leaving their home field as they want to be remembered and playing the entire game,” said Cersosimo. “I think it was really nice [that] all of our seniors got in. All of them did a really nice job. Some of them that hadn’t scored, scored. It was really nice to see that.”

Tousignant opened the scoring at the 22:47 mark in the first half. The Chieftains added three more goals over the next seven-plus minutes – including Tousignant’s second tally – before Northwest Catholic’s Claire Carew put the Lions on the board with 13:11 to play, cutting the margin to 4-1.

Conard continued to score in bursts to round out the first half. Tousignant completed her hat trick with 11:29 left before Shaffer scored consecutively to give the hosts a 7-1 lead at the 8:29 mark.

After a response by Northwest Catholic, Shaffer completed her trick, and Conard scored twice more to take a 10-2 halftime lead.

The Chieftains and Lions traded the first six goals of the second half, bringing the score to 13-5 at the 14:48 mark. Tousignant notched her sixth and Conard’s 13^th tally with 19:23 left, and the Chieftains closed the game out scoring three more goals.

Nina Singer led Northwest Catholic with two goals. Meghan O’Shea and Meghan Sisk each scored once for the Lions along with Carew.

Tousignant called playing what was likely her last home game “bittersweet,” but said she was happy for a strong performance by the team.

“This program has been part of all the seniors’ lives for such a long time, but it was so great to end on a such a great note with such a great win that really involved the whole team,” she said.

With the win, Conard finishes the regular season 10-6, while Northwest Catholic ends its 2018 campaign with a 6-10 mark.

The Chieftains have a week – which Cersosimo dubbed “a whole new preseason” – to prepare for a road game in the first round of the CIAC Class L tournament next Tuesday, May 29. Cersosimo said the experience of her senior class will be paramount in their postseason run.

“We’ve been there before in the last two years with some of these seniors, so they’ve definitely been in these positions before,” she said. “So, confidence, poise, and a calm demeanor. That’s what they bring.”

Tousignant and Maloney will have at least one more game ahead of them in a Conard uniform, but they took time to reflect on their four-year journey as it nears its conclusion.

“It’s just been such a great experience,” Tousignant said. “We definitely have grown so much as a program and as individuals through the lacrosse program. Our coaches are such influential people in our lives and really demand the most possible out of us, so they definitely helped shape us into who we are.”

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