Destination Dillon 2021

In August, while chatting with our AD in the school parking lot while waiting for Emily, I told her that I thought that if the girls soccer team could just get enough wins to qualify for the state tournament, they could make a run for the title. She immediately agreed with me, but thought that their schedule was going to make it a very tough road. At the end of the regular season, the girls had just enough wins and ties to squeak into the state tournament. The team plays in the toughest division of the toughest conference in the state, and they are the only small school in the conference. They played 16 games during the regular season and 15 of those were against L (more than 400 girls) and LL (more than 600 girls) schools; NWC's total enrollment is 460 students. In the state tournament, however, they would play similarly sized schools and given the difficulty of their regular season schedule, they were ready.

When the tournament started, NWC was seeded 24th and knew that it would be on the road for every game. First, they headed to Danbury to play Immaculate, the #9 seed. Immaculate also plays in a tough conference, so we knew this game would be a tough one. The refs were brutal and just about every call went for Immaculate; although, to give them credit, Immaculate scored what would have been tying goal late in the game and refs waived it off because the player scored using her hand!  NWC pulled off the huge 2-1 upset and kept dancing.

The defense survived three corner kicks and three direct kicks in the last five minutes of the game and the absolute joy when the final whistle blew was just fantastic to see.

Next, the team headed to Housatonic Valley (161 miles round trip for us) to play the #8 team. Not only was the ride brutally long (over 100 minutes on the school bus), but the opposing team boasted an All American striker that will play for Boston College next year.  The pressure on the defense was immense, but their coach was certain that they were up to the challenge.  Emily and Shannon, the two center backs, both played their best game of the season and absolutely shut down the All American, as well as the rest of Housey, and the girls put together a remarkable performance, winning 4-1. I can't even begin to express how proud we are of the strength and speed, never mind the poise, that our girl demonstrated in this game.  

I was sick to my stomach before this game and sent Emily a text, wishing her good luck and telling her that I loved her. She sent back her love from the bus.

Defenders rejoice.

When the goal scorers know what kind of show the defense put on, they rush them on the field.

Next, it was off Lebanon for the third game of the week, where they faced #17 Lyman Memorial. The game was postponed by a day just as the girls were being dismissed from school, due to violent storms.  While it was a bit harder to gear up mentally for a second time, the team worked hard and posted their first shutout of the season, beating Lyman Memorial 3-0 and punching their ticket to the semi-finals.

Although you can't see the goalie, who Emily is running toward, this is one of my favorite photos from the entire post-season.  A shut out in the quarterfinals.

Our freshman goalie was hugged by every single player.

From freshmen besties to sophomore besties - these three have picked each other up and carried each other through every varsity soccer game for two seasons.

The semi-final game against #12 Coginchaug was held at a neutral location. One of Emily's best friends from her Sporting team plays for Coginchaug and she knew almost every starter from club soccer. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but the girls set the tone with an early goal and the defense didn't give up a goal or even a corner kick as NWC won 4-0.  And so, it was off to Dillon Stadium for the championship game.

The girls were star struck by locker rooms, of all things.

A little pep talk from Coach before the game.

Emily and Shannon fine tuned their relationship as the season went on, constantly in synch and always there for one another. We are grateful for Shannon's trust in Emily, as it truly made her a better player.

#keepdancing

Emily's closest friends from Sporting came to watch her and Faith (not pictured) play, including two Mercy girls who played in their own semifinal game on the same night, also advancing to the finals, in Class M. These girls drove from one semifinal game to the other with their parents to cheer on their teammates and friends.