Granby Memorial Girls Lax Earns Class S Title Appearance, Redemption With Victory over Weston

The No. 2 girls lacrosse team earned its second consecutive trip to the state Class S title game - and earned a measure of revenge in the process - by defeating No. 3 Weston 9-4 in a semifinal game played Wednesday at Fairfield Warde.

Weston narrowly defeated the Bears last year in the state title game 8-7, something that Granby Memorial High head coach Terri Ziemnicki said that her players had on their minds as they entered their contest yesterday.

“We wanted redemption with Weston,” Ziemnicki said.

Perhaps too much, according to Ziemnicki, as the Bears’ offense played “tight” in the first half in taking just a 2-1 lead into the intermission on goals by Olivia Johnson and Megan Griffin.

But the defense, led by Kristen Endorf, Kate Mooney, Krista Karlson and goalie Emily Bernard (seven saves), was magnificent, Ziemnicki said.

In the second half, ”we came out and played our game,” Ziemnicki said. “I told the players to take chances and not be afraid. We were still thinking about [last year’s] loss. … The first half we were playing in fear a little bit.”

Not so in the second half, as Cailene Gunn scored all four of her goals in the final 20 minutes, while Olivia Johnson had two more and Mia Olsen also found the back of the cage to lead the Bears (14-4) to victory.

Lindsay Koch scored three goals for Weston (14-5), while Stephanie Thomson added another in the loss.

With the victory, Granby Memorial will face No. 6 Northwest Catholic (13-4-1) in the final game at Bunnell in Stratford on June 6 at 12 p.m. The Bears defeated the Indians in the regular season at home 15-10 at home on April 26.

The appearance in the final game is something that Ziemnicki said she felt was possible as the regular season progressed.

“We were gaining momentum and improving a lot,” Ziemnicki said. “It’s a great group. It’s a team, not just one or two people doing the work. Everyone has a role and everyone is doing her job.”