East Granby Girls 'Unlucky' in 1-0 Loss to Windsor Locks

Unlucky.

That’s the best word to use regarding the girls soccer team’s 1-0 loss to North Central Connecticut Conference rival Windsor Locks under the lights in East Granby Saturday evening.

Indeed, the Crusaders attacked the Raiders’ final third in waves, only to see their shots misfire wide of goal or turned aside by the hot hand of Windsor Locks’ goalkeeper Chelsea Santos, who made 13 saves on the evening.

The end result was a hard-fought, but frustrating, 1-0 loss that dropped East Granby’s record to 2-9, while Windsor Locks improved to 4-7.

“They have an outstanding keeper,” said East Granby head coach Jill DeVane. “[Santos] kept them in the game. She’s pretty phenomenal. The last opportunities we had, she was right there; other keepers wouldn’t have been there. We would have capitalized on it. Kind of the theme of the season: unlucky.”

East Granby had several chances, particularly in the early going, as both Kara Dumas and forward Becca Eisch saw their opening salvos go wide left and wide right, respectively, in the fifth and 19th minutes.

Windsor Locks made East Granby pay, scoring the game’s only goal when freshman Jamie McGloin threw a picturesque cross into the box from the far left corner that Maggie Sayers connected with her left foot into the back of the Crusaders’ net for a 1-0 lead.

“That was a great goal,” said Windsor Locks head coach Jim O’Brien in an understatement. “Jamie hit a perfect cross and Maggie, who isn’t left footed, just guided it perfectly lefty, side panel. We say, ‘You have the work rate, you have the work rate,’ but soccer players have to make soccer plays. And that was the one.”

Both teams spent the remainder of the game fighting for field position.

“Our defense was very, very solid,” O’Brien said. “In the first half, their midfielders had a bit of their way with us. They moved forward a lot. Our midfielders did a much better job quashing that attack in the second half.”

Carlynne DeVane nearly equalized in the 68th minute on a hard shot that Santos reached high to punch over the crossbar to preserve the Raiders’ lead.

Despite the best efforts of the Crusaders, including Caroline Eastman and Missy Kulik, who threw everything they had at Windsor Locks, the one goal stood up.

“I think it was an evenly matched game,” DeVane said. “I just think that they had a lucky break and we just didn’t capitalize.”

The loss did nothing to take away the legacy of the East Granby seniors - Brianna Ayers, Carlynn DeVane, Eastman, Kulik, Eisch, Valerie Price, Brianna Raymes and Katelynn Vanags.

“They’ve contributed greatly to the team,” Jill DeVane said. "This season doesn’t say so much about who they are and what they do."

East Granby is scheduled to face Ellington on the road at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, while Windsor Locks has Stafford at home, also at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday.

Were you at the game? Post your photos here!