By John Torisiello
FVT Correspondent
The Simsbury High School field hockey team had its season ended by a powerful Darien squad Tuesday night in the semifinals of the state Class L tournament, 5-0.
Simsbury, which lost nine of 11 starters from the 2012 team, far exceeded early expectations by winning 14 games and reaching the state semis.
Said head coach Brooke Bulmer of the loss to Darien, “It was a great game. Darien is definitely a powerhouse and their reputation was very accurate. We hung with them for most of the game and two of the five goals they scored were gorgeous, there was nothing our goalie and defense could do.”
Despite Darien scoring five times, Simsbury goalie Allison Renwick was stellar, with 15 saves. Added Bulmer, whose club finished 14-3-2, “On defense, Sarah Franklin, Stephanie Rosenberg, Annabelle Iler and Alex Clark all played fantastic.”
Simsbury had seven penalty corners to Darien’s 18, with the winners outshooting the Lady Trojans, 20-7.
Simsbury advanced to the semifinals by beating rival Glastonbury, 1-0, with Rosenberg scoring of a corner hit by Ali Woodruff seven minutes into the game.
“It was a very well balanced game,” said Bulmer. It’s always fun to beat Glastonbury, especially twice in one season!”
Simsbury opened the tournament by beating Ridgefield in three overtimes and penalty strokes, 1-0 (3-2 in penalty strokes).Woodruff had the first successful penalty stroke, Rosenberg the second and Cameron Molinare the third.
Ridgefield had 16 corners to Simsbury’s eight and outshot the Lady Trojans, 8-5.
Keara Andrews led the team in scoring this season with 10 goals and two assists, while Woodruff had six goals and seven assists, Christine Caldwell six goals and five assists, Rosenberg five goals and four assists, and Austin Lamothe, Molinare and Meghan Corcoran four goals and five assists apiece.
Renwick posted 11 shutouts this season, with Simsbury allowing only 12 goals, five in the final game to Darien. Renwick made 92 saves this year.
Simsbury opened the season by winning seven of its first eight games and tying the other, and had a six-game win streak snapped in the state semifinal contest against Darien.
