By Mike Buchanan

 

Defense wins championships, as they say. Garrison Forest put another check mark on that age-old theory this week, posting three straight shutouts in the playoffs.

 

Yesterday at Friends School, two second-half goals and another strong defensive performance powered Garrison to a 2-0 win over Archbishop Spalding, giving the Grizzlies the 2007 IAAM A-Conference field hockey title.

 

Led by a tough and talented core of sophomores (10 of 17 players are sophomores), Garrison held a third straight opponent scoreless in the playoffs, and capitalized on its limited scoring opportunities.

 

Garrison Forest defeated Notre Dame Prep and Severn by 1-0 scores, before adding yesterday’s 2-0 win over Spalding to the list.

 

Garrison (17-2-1) was the No. 1 seed and Spalding (11-9-1) the No. 3 seed, and the two teams had split during the regular season, so this game was anybody’s game for the taking.

 

When asked about the difference in Sunday’s finals match, Cavalier Coach Leslee Brady said, “Opportunities, and capitalizing on them. We probably had more scoring chances; they just took advantage of theirs. Having that goal called back late in the first half really took the wind out of our sails, and probably gave then some momentum. Instead of being down, 1-0, they were able to start fresh in the second half. Plus Garrison did a great job defending the corners.”

 

Just before the end of the first half, Spalding’s Abby Lynch, who had scored the late game-winning goal against Bryn Mawr in the semi-finals, punched one home for an apparent 1-0 lead.  The goal, however, was waved off by the officials.

 

Garrison put on more of an offensive attack in the second half, and it resulted in two goals. Two sophomores hooked up for the first goal, as Martha Plack scored at the 25:03 mark off a crossing pass from Catie Merrick.

 

It would be the only goal Garrison would need, but the Grizzlies gave Coach Traci Davis and staff a little breathing room when Merrick found junior forward Alex Goldstein in front with 17 minutes to go. Goldstein found the left corner for a 2-0 lead.

 

One goal is hard enough to come by when going against the Garrison defense; two goals would have been extremely difficult to muster, especially with the Grizzly defense packed in.

 

Sounding like a broken record (but from a good song) Garrison Coach Traci Davis credited her team’s overall defense – again.  “Our defense did a great job.  Christine Knauss in the middle, Bayley and Megan Mullan in the back, sweeper Ana Heinrich. Liza Blue at midfield, all played great.” Their efforts kept the pressure off the goalies (Emily Cain and Megan Farber). Cain came away with two saves, after having zero on Thursday. That’s how tough the GF defense was.

 

The Cavaliers are a very dangerous and effective group on corners; they beat Bryn Mawr in the semi’s off of a late corner. But despite a 9-3 Spalding advantage in corners, Garrison negated that edge to ensure a final zero on the scoreboard.

 

Merrick, who assisted on the game’s first goal, had scored the game-winner against Severn on Thursday. “We worked hard all year, and it paid off,” she said. “We have amazing defenders, they’ve been playing so well. We knew Spalding was a tough team and it would be a tough game, but we went out and got the job done.”

 

A number of coaches lost key players from last season. Davis was at or near the top of the list, graduating eight seniors. But the sophomore class was talented and kept improving as the season went on.

 

And the scary part for the rest of the league is that the entire Grizzly starting defense returns next year. Knauss is a junior and back-up goalie Farber is a senior. But goalie Cain, the Mullan twins and Henrich on defense and Blue at midfield, are all sophomores. Forwards Plack and Merrick are also just sophomores. Overall, eight starters return so Garrison will certainly be the early favorites next year.

 

With the parity from top to bottom in the A Conference this year, you could play this tournament four straight weeks and possibly come away with four different winners. But the week it was played – and when it counted – Garrison Forest rose to the occasion and won the title.

 

Thanks to the “Super Sophs” and their supporting cast, Garrison brings home the trophy in 2007.

 

2007 IAAM A-Conference Championship

Garrison Forest 2, Archbishop Spalding 0
Goals: GF-Goldstein, Plack. Assists: GF-Merrick, Plack. Saves: AS-Delost 5; GF-Cain 2, Farber 0.
Half: 0-0.