The Sacred Heart Greenwich lacrosse team was back on the same Greens Farms Academy turf that caused them heartbreak two weeks ago.
However, this time, with the stakes much higher, the Tigers rose to the challenge and came away with the 16-11 victory in the Fairchester Athletic Association semifinals over the Dragons.
“We’ve been waiting for this day for a long time and we are really excited to play for a championship,” Sacred Heart’s Grace Paletta said. “We’re going to work really hard leading up to the game. We need to show up and play our game. We need to stick with what we know and not try to force anything.”
With the victory, Sacred Heart will play in the FAA championship game against a familiar foe and crosstown rival Greenwich Academy Wednesday afternoon starting at 5.
“It’s awesome,” Sacred Heart head coach Tara Clough said. “We have spent three-and-a-half months together. We were down in Florida and played a lot of games. We have had tremendous successes and a few heartaches along the way. This was a big game for us. Greens Farms is a very talented team and this game was meaningful because everything we worked for over the season, was our opportunity to show them what we worked on and what we have.”
The match will take place at GA, as the Gators are the top-seeded team in the tournament.
“GA is obviously going to be a tough team to beat, but I think we need to go out there with our heart,” Sammy Clark said. “As a team we are so connected and for us to be successful we have to remain connected.”
Leading the way for the Tigers was Ryan Smith, who finished with four goals, four assists and five draw controls. Not to be outdone was Clark, who added a hat trick and two assists.
“We really came together today,” Clark said. “I think we worked really hard and support each other on this field. We work together as a team and it was a good effort on all our parts. It wasn’t just one person.”
In addition, Grace Paletta also had a standout game, grabbing three goals, one assist and four draw controls.
“This feels absolutely amazing,” Paletta said. “Last time we were here we went to practice the next day and and figured out what we needed to work on. We came out here that much stronger and knew what we wanted. We knew our goal and just worked harder for it.”
Mae Briody took home three goals, one assist and three ground balls, while Haley Horn finished with two goals three assists. Ellie Manriquez took home one goal, while Ellen Pucel finished with one assist.
On defense, Emily Micciulli was solid and finished with three ground balls. In net, Maddie McLane capped off the victory for Sacred Heart with six saves.
“I think we needed to recognize that we had to take advantage of the fast break today, so we pushed it and we were successful,” Clough said. “We didn’t do as much of that the last time we played them and I think it helped us gain that lead.”
Back on May 2, the Tigers and Dragons squared off for the first time. Although Sacred Heart held the 7-4 lead at the break, Greens Farms stormed back early in the second to tie the game at 7-7.
After a back-and-forth remainder of the half, it was the Dragons that scored the late goal to get the 13-12 victory.
“Our communication was stellar today,” Clark said. “We really talked to each other, moved the ball really well, paid attention to where everybody was and just focused on each other. We know that we are a first half team, so we recognized that. If had to do with who wanted this more and we wanted this so badly.”
“We all played to our game this time,” Paletta said. “Everybody showed up and we had a great outcome.”
Clough knew that in order for her team to be successful this time around, things had to change.
“We are familiar with some of their key players, that they like to push the fast break and they are very strong off the draw,” Clough said. “So we made some adjustments before this game and as we went along. I think we were more prepared in terms of our sense of urgency and picking up those ground balls and those possessions.”
