By CHRISTPHER SHABAN
Eagle Times sports
LACONIA — The Lady Lakers reign supreme as they brought the championship Division IV title home to Sunapee after a battle of a game that took an overtime goal from Liz Tchudin to decide it. A very loud escort with fire trucks, police cars and a steady stream of fans greeted the team and flooded into the downtown to celebrate the win on Sunday night.
Sunapee and Newmarket split during the regular season but today was for all the marbles and it was a war from start to finish. Brynn Smith and Abbigail Pallari started things off for Sunapee with runs on net hoping to grab an early lead but the Mules were up to the challenge denying an Ellie Frederick bid as the Lakers had a slight advantage in the early going. “ They came out and marked us up very well, we had to adjust” said Sunapee coach Myles Cooney. As Sunapee was controlling tempo and harassing Newmarket’s Riley Andriski in net, the Mules were waiting to make a run. Silvie Dalton was a rock in her sweeper position for Sunapee as Newmarket began to grab more control which led to a corner kick for the Mules. That corner kick floated into the goal area as players scrambled to either clear it or shoot it when Abigail Henry’s hit wiggled past Miah Hamm to give Newmarket a 1-0 lead as their large following were going bezerk with less than 7 minutes left in the half. That score would hold up into the break as Smith couldn’t connect with Frederick while Pollari was being mark with multiple players. “I think today we were underdogs but that was fine with me, we had a confidence about us that wasn’t going to go away” said Frederick as she continued her outstanding season for Sunapee.
The second half began with a ferocious Sunapee attack as Pollari and Smith made hard charges into the corners as things began to get physical really fast. Skylar Hathorn was the immovable object with her tough play which sprung Smith loose for a bit. That little bit of daylight led to a bang bang play off the foot of Smith and all of a sudden the score was tied 1-1. “ I’m not really sure how I remember that play developing but it was lightning fast and a reaction hit” said the freshman Smith.
With the game turning into a back and forth track meet, a shot towards Hamm forced her to dive with 2 attackers standing over her to keep the score knotted midway into the second 40 minutes. Sophie Varian laid a blast on the Newmarket net as Sunapee was sluggish on offense. “ I went 15 players deep today to get some fresh legs on the pitch” said Cooney as Dalton made a huge steal with only 9 minutes showing on the clock to prevent a breakaway. Frederick took a direct kick from 30 yards out and her strike clanged off the cross bar while Hamm came way off her line to snag a breakaway from Newmarket that left the net wide open. As time expired sending the teams into the golden goal period. “ I was making mental notes for a shootout because I just didn’t think either team was going to give in to one another” said Cooney. Both teams had chances in the early going when Tchudin found some separation along the right sideline. Her blast from outside the goal area dipped as it sliced toward net. “I knew I hit it really well but when I saw it slide under the goal, I couldn’t believe it” said Tchudin as she raised her arms and headed toward Frederick with her teammates screaming and yelling toward her. Her goal would give Sunapee it’s 3rd championship in the last 4 years and the celebration was on. “ This is just an amazing feeling, I’m not even sure what to do next” said Smith.
“I can’t even begin to describe this feeling right now but it feel great said Hathorn and added “this is something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life, it’s just crazy”.
As the Sunapee team made their way across the field to their fans and to receive their prizes, the relief was etched across Cooney’s face. “ To beat a great team like Newmarket and probably the best coach in the division in Andrew Dawason is a testament to the Sunapee community and their unending support for our athletes, just look at everyone here” said Cooney.
Sunapee would finish their season with 18-1-1 record. “This team never once stopped working hard and that dedication started many months ago during the summer and well beyond that” said Dalton. “ We have MOJO”.
“ It was our day, there is no quit in this team” said Frederick she told me on her walk toward where the team had gathered to meet their families and fans after the game.
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