12/18/18
by Madeline Suarez
On Sunday, November 20, the Immaculate Field Hockey team won its first Class S State Championship in school history. The Mustangs entered the state tournament as the number three seed, and started off strong with a 2-0 win over fourteenth seeded Weston, and a 3-1 win over defending state champions, North Branford. In the semifinals, the Mustangs had a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against the second seed, Stonington.
From there, the team went on to play the number one seed, Granby, in the Class S State Championship game. The game was held at Wethersfield High School in front of a great crowd of Mustang fans. It was the first ever state championship game that an IHS field hockey team had ever played in, while Granby has won thirteen state championships in their school’s history. This game meant a lot to all previous IHS field hockey players, since a state championship was something they dreamed of achieving during their time as Mustangs. Many field hockey alumni sent messages with well wishes to the coaches who then shared the messages with the team at their pre-game breakfast.
The game’s first goal was scored by senior captain Madison Halas off a penalty stroke. Then, in the second half, junior Molly Coyle scored two more goals extending their lead to 3-0. The Mustangs dominated the entire game, thanks to an especially strong defensive performance, to beat Granby 3-0 and win the Class S State Championship.
Senior captain Mackenzy Garden shared, “It was an amazing feeling to know that all of our hard work had paid off and would be remembered as a part of the school history forever.”
On Thursday, December 13, the team was honored for their accomplishments at a school-wide Fall Sports Recognition and Winter Sports Kickoff Assembly held in the gymnasium.
Mustang Minutes 