What the Heck! Enfield Girls Advance to First-Ever Soccer Semifinal

With a roster containing eight sophomores and three freshmen, first-year Enfield girls soccer coach Kate Battista could have been given a pass this season acclimating her young players to the rigors of high school competition.

Instead, the only pass is the one the Raiders earned Friday night - a ticket to the Class M Final Four.

Enfield battled for 80 scoreless minutes with NCCC rival Ellington in their quarterfinal matchup, with each team having an apparent goal disallowed. Finally, 25 seconds into the first of two 10-minute overtime periods, freshman Stephanie Heck broke the ice, finding the back of the net to put the Raiders in front.

“I was shocked; I kicked the ball and it just went in,” Heck said.

Battista said, “I can’t say anything other than it was beautiful. We’ve been talking all game and actually for the last few weeks about taking our shots when we have the opportunity, so I’m glad she took the opportunity and even more glad it found the back of the net.”

Nineteen minutes still remained to preserve that margin, and Enfield survived an Ellington near-miss in the first extra session, then rode an incredible stop by sophomore goalkeeper Cat Fonseca in the second overtime to a 1-0 victory and the Raiders’ first-ever berth in the semifinals.

“We have a lot of young talent and we’ve had the type of season where we don’t necessarily have one or two superstars, but we have the majority of our team step up big when it counts, and this was no exception,” Battista said.

After a mostly uneventful first half, the Raiders came out flying after intermission and nearly scored in the opening minute, but the ball scooted just wide of an empty net.

After Heck’s goal, the Knights nearly tied it later in the first overtime, but a shot by Payten Walters sailed just over the crossbar.

In the second OT, Fonseca literally saved the day by diving to her right to stop a golden scoring opportunity for Walters.

“Cat is so valuable to our team; she’s athletic and she makes the saves look easy,” Battista said. “I don’t even get nervous when the ball is back there because I have such confidence in her, and she has confidence in herself. She always stays calm.”

The Raiders have another tough task ahead, taking on top-seeded Woodland in the semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at a neutral site and time to be determined. The Hawks topped Stonington 4-1 Friday to earn the matchup with Enfield, pushing their combined regular season and tournament record to 17-0-1.

Photo credits: Tim Jensen