The New Canaan Country School girls varsity hockey team won the Upland tournament.Back row from left: Phoebe Casey, Grace Consoli, Meghan Halloran, Hannah Casey, Katherine Somerby, Anna Bean, Lily von Stade, Emma Stevens and Cecilia Arntzen. Front row from left: Elizabeth Casey, Paige Lewis, Megan Schoenholtz, Claire Marshall and Brooke Lowe.
The New Canaan Country School girls varsity hockey team won the 14th annual Upland Country Day School Girls Ice Hockey Tournament.
The girls, led by team captains Megan Schoenholtz, Page Lewis and Claire Marshall along with coaches Scott Lilley, Caryn Purcell and Andrew Dole, brought the Klee Edgar Cup back to Country School for the second year in a row; they also won in 2008.
During Game 1 on Saturday, Feb. 2, Country School outshot the Lansdale Catholic School team 40-3, resulting in a resounding 3-0 shutout win.
Greenwich Country Day was a tougher opponent, with 18 shots on goal for each team. This was a one-goal game until midway through the third period, but Country School scored an insurance goal with four minutes to go, and an open-net goal in the last minute sealed the 3-0 win.
The next morning, Country School faced the Upland Country Day team, a consistently tough opponent with a vocal home-ice crowd. As the only undefeated team, Country School felt the pressure from Upland. Disciplined play and terrific offensive contributions from the defense helped to control the game, and the girls won 4-1.
Rumsey Hall was the final opponent of the weekend. The girls were relentless, and after a fairly even start, they powered ahead to a 7-1 victory by crashing the net, working in front for rebounds, using the points effectively and not slowing down.
Coach Lilley attributes the girls’ victory to “passing, breaking out of the defensive zone, working for rebounds and solidifying the defensive positioning and coverage.”
