The NVL girls soccer tournament didn’t exactly play out the way everyone expected, but that is why they play the games.
The No. 1 Woodland Hawks (15-1-1) lost their chance to defend their NVL title Tuesday at Watertown High in the semifinals when they were knocked off by No. 4 Holy Cross 1-0 (2-1 PK).
The scoring opportunities weren’t there for the Hawks against Katherine Flaherty of Holy Cross (12-3-3), who made seven saves in the net. Woodland goalie Jenna Pannone made eight stops in the net for the game as the teams battled to a scoreless tie after regulation.
No shots broke the plane of the goal in the two overtime periods. Then came the part that no one wanted to have happen. The right to play for the NVL championship would come down to penalty kicks.
Hayley Gilmore and Kiley Harnish of Holy Cross put shots in the back of the net. Sam Plasky scored the only goal for Woodland, and on the Hawks’ final attempt to tie the game the shot sailed over the top of the cross bar.
In the quarterfinal round on Saturday, the Hawks ran roughshod over No. 8 Seymour (6-9) by a wide 8-0 margin.
Hailey Boris and Julia Casimiro scored two goals each to lead the Hawks. Gillian Hotchkiss scored a goal and added two assists. Plasky, Megen Sirowich, and Jillian Barbarito scored goals. Haley Andrews had two assists and Julia Accetura added one. Pannone and Alanna Carasone combined for two saves in the net for the Hawks.
The No. 7 Greyhounds (6-9) were knocked out in the quarterfinals by No. 2 Watertown (13-1-1) and saw their season come to an end. The Greyhounds lost 6-0 to Watertown
The Greyhounds had the toughest road for head coach Lisa Mariano going down the stretch of the season needing a win or a tie to qualify for the state tournament. Naugy ran into some tough luck and fell to Oxford, 2-1, Woodland, 3-1, and Watertown, 3-2, to end the regular season. Naugatuck missed out on the state tournament.
In the final regular season game against the Indians, the Greyhounds battled back from a 3-0 deficit with goals from Hailey Boulanger and Kyla Magalhaes. Naugatuck couldn’t get the offense on track in the quarterfinals.
Woodland will now head into state tournament play, which beings Saturday with qualifying rounds. The pairings will be announced late this week.
