HK Beats North Branford 10-9 in Girls' Lacrosse Nail-Biter

Yesterday's girls lacrosse game between North Branford and Haddam-Killingworth came down to the last minute with the Thunderbirds one goal  away from a tie. But the Cougars won the draw control and held onto the ball,
running out the clock to preserve the 10-9 win.

"The smartest thing we could have done is get that draw control and hold the ball until the end, possesson is key," said HK Coach Heather Ferrer.

North Branford Coach Lori Connolly agreed that possession was key.

"If there had been another minute or two, it could have gone the other way," said Connolly. "We were battling draws the whole game, it was just who was going to come up with that one at the end of the game."

The last draw came with 57.8 seconds left on the clock after the T-Birds scored to make it 10-9. They'd scored another goal just 30 seconds earlier to trim the deficit to two.

The Cougars held a three-goal lead near the end of the game, thanks to a strong second half that enabled them to bounce back from a 6-5 halftime deficit that occured when the T-birds scored on a penalty shot with 1.6 seconds remaining in the first half.

"We talked about strategy and how we didn't look like a team in the first half," Ferrer said. "We were not working together as a cohesive unit. We're known for being a really strong team, but if we're not working together, it's not going to happen."

HK was also on the winning end the first time the two teams met as the Cougars topped North Branford 9-6 earlier in the season. Those two losses, though, are the only blemishes on the T-Birds' record as they now stand at 7-2.  to the Cougars are the only ones for the T-Birds this season. The Cougars are 8-1 with their loss coming at the hands of Suffield by a score of 10-9.

Both teams are looking ahead to postseason play. HK is undefeated in Shoreline
Conference play with five games to go and may win the conference crown. Both teams will qualify for the state tournament with their strong records.

"We're two evenly matched teams," said Connolly, who talked about her high hopes for the team in the . "A few calls or a draw or a patch one way or the other could have made it a different game. They're a great team, but we have a great team, too, and we'll probably see them in the states and battle them for a third time."

North Branford senior Kirsten Kilburn tallied four goals and three assists. Kilburn now holds the team's all-time scoring record with 209 career goals, including 44 this season. Emily Dulak netted a pair of goals, as well.  Leah Wilkinson recorded 12 saves for North Branford.

HK senior Emily Anderson scored six goals and her sister, Kiley, a freshman, scored two to go along with four assists. Nicole Armenia also notched two goals.