FIELD HOCKEY

New Canaan Dominates Everywhere But On Scoreboard In Class M Overtime Loss

By The Ruden Report

November 18, 2023

By Dave Ruden
Reporting from Wethersfield

One win away from authoring one of the most improbable state championship stories in CIAC history, the New Canaan field hockey team ran into a wall this afternoon in the Class M final.

Not literally, though the Rams were willing to argue differently at the end of a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to unbeaten Daniel Hand at Wethersfield High School.

New Canaan (13-7-0-1) could not have dominated play any more during regulation time as the Tigers seldom had the ball on the other side of the field. The Rams enjoyed a 31-3 edge in shots and it is not hyperbole to assert against another team they easily could have come away with a four- or five-goal win.

Make that against another goaltender. Faith Minickene, arguably the state’s best player at her position, made a memorable final performance with Hand, finishing with 20 saves. Several were acrobatic and most left the Rams wondering what they had to do to sneak a ball past her.

“I think we played really, really well, we’ve come so far this season,” said the Rams’ Izzy Schuh, who took the loss the hardest, perhaps because she was the player most thwarted by Minickene. “It’s a bummer because we took far more shots than they did but it only took one to go in and they have such a good goalie. I play against a ton of good goalies but I’ve never played against a better goalie than this goalie. She was insane and her defense worked hard to protect her. She was great.”

During the seven on seven overtime, Schuh drove down the field and had her first shot stopped. Minickene made two more saves before Hand countered and got a penalty corner. Lexi Guerette’s initial attempt was deflected by Jane Holland, who was outstanding all day for the New Canaan defense. Hand’s Jacqueline Kennedy was able to score off the ensuing scramble, the sound of the ball hitting the back of the cage never sounding so cold.

“It’s, I won’t say frustrating,” New Canaan coach Megan Cunningham said, before pausing. “Actually, you know, I would say it’s frustrating. They’re a fantastic team and their goalie was so good. We just couldn’t get around her. But this season has all been about growth and we made it here and very few teams do so it’s a fantastic job that we’ve done.”

Cunningham understated the accomplishment significantly. The Rams opened the season with five straight losses, outscored 18-6. Opponents included Staples and Darien, today’s Class LL finalists, two other FCIAC playoff teams and Branford, which lost to Hand, 2-0, last week in the second round.

Cunningham did a quick-pause before the season spiraled out of control. The main problem was the early strength of schedule and, the coach said, communication issues.

“We have a lot of seniors on this team and a lot of new people who stepped up,” said Izzy Appelt, one of the 16 seniors on the roster. “It took a long time during the season for everyone to feel comfortable and we kind of finally found that little edge. Today it just came down to the little things. Getting the ball over that line, we had a lot of trouble with that. We started the season 0-5 and almost went 5-0 in the tournament.”

Top-seeded Hand won its first state title since defeating No. 6 New Canaan in the final in 2015. It did not allow a goal in its five playoff games. The Rams are now 6-7 in state finals. Their last title came 20 years ago.

New Canaan nearly got what would have been the winning goal in the opening seconds, but Hadley Walker put her shot wide. Schuh later in the quarter hit the post. Mostly, it was Minickene’s pads, body or another piece of equipment.

“Even a loss like this is still a win in my book,” Cunningham said. “We worked together, we worked really hard for each other and that’s really all I ever ask for.”

Added Schuh, “I’m really proud of how far we’ve come.”