Granby Boys, Girls Lax Teams March to Class S Semifinals

The boys and girls teams both advanced to the semifinals of their respective state Class S tournaments on Monday, though they couldn’t have done so in more divergent fashion.

In a game marred by a combined 19 penalties and a late third-quarter scrum, the second-seeded boys eked out a 12-11 victory over No. 7 Bethel.

Zach Brown scored the game-winner for the Bears on a bounce shot with 1:19 remaining. The goal capped a miniature comeback for Granby Memorial, which gave up an early, and apparently commanding, 6-1 lead early in the second period.

“I was disappointed after a really outstanding start … we were doing everything we wanted to do … that we allowed them to climb back in,” head coach Dave Emery said. “It’s always the same thing. Penalties play a role. … We had 8 ½ minutes of penalty minutes, which is more penalty minutes than we’ve had the entire year.”

Indeed, the Wildcats, who scored five times while a man up, managed to score eight of the next 10 goals to take a surprising 9-8 lead early in the fourth quarter. Leading the way was Troy Deyo, who scored seven of Bethel’s 11 goals on the day.

Over the next seven minutes, Granby Memorial and Bethel traded goals, with Zach Quinn leveling the Bears at 9-9 with 9:14 left in regulation. Deyo put the Wildcats back up top with an impressive solo effort with 7:46 left for a 10-9 lead.

David Gollenberg then tied things up for Granby Memorial with 7:09 left only to see Deyo again put Bethel back in front with 4:27 remaining.

With the Bears’ season hanging in the balance, Brendan Leonardi once again evening the score, this time at 11-11, with Granby Memorial playing with a man up.

That set the stage for Brown’s heroics. Jesse Freedman led the Bears with four goals, all in the first half.

“The seniors showed a lot of character by coming back today,” Emery said. “Jesse had a wonderful game today.”

The victory earned the Bears (15-4) a rematch with a familiar foe - No. 6 Somers (14-4) - in the semifinals to be played at Suffield on June 6. Granby Memorial has defeated Somers, the Class S defending champion, twice already this year.

Still, despite the victory, which gave Granby Memorial its first trip to the state semifinals in the program’s 9-year history, Emery said he would like to see smarter play from his charges.

“The problem is the passion of it and the excitement of it gets to the point where we fail to play with our heads,” Emery said. “You need to bring your mental package with your body. It’s mentally staying on top of things. … We’re excited to be going to the semis, but these guys need to be reminded there’s more than just the score.”

Girls Thrash Laurelton Hall

The No. 2 Granby Memorial High girls lacrosse team had no such problems in its quarterfinal, handily defeating No. 7 Laurelton Hall 15-5 in Granby on Monday.

Mia Olsen led a balanced attack with three goals and an assist. Megan Griffin, Samantha Fairman, Kelsey Iwanicki, Krista Iwanicki and Megan Hebert each had two goals, while Olivia Johnson and Cailene Gunn had one goal apiece.

The victory earned the Bears a rematch with No. 3 Weston (14-4), who defeated Granby Memorial 8-7 in the state Class S title game last year.