New Canaan comes to life to shut down Avon and earn another trip to final

New Canaan’s Samantha Stewart (18) plays tight defense on Avon’s Hannah Davey in Tuesday’s Class M semifinal game in Wallingford. The Rams won, 16-7.

WALLINGFORD – For a time, the Avon High girls lacrosse team was in Tuesday’s Class M semifinal with New Canaan, a squad that has won three straight state championships.

The Rams led by three goals midway through the first half but top-ranked Avon stood tall and rallied with four straight goals to take a one-goal lead with 4:40 remaining in the first half. 

That rattled the collective psyche of the Rams. New Canaan gave up just one goal the remainder of the contest and scored 11 of the final 12 goals in the game to earn a spot in the Class M championship game with a 16-7 win over the Falcons at Sheehan High in Wallingford. 

“They really came alive and played hard,” New Canaan coach Kristin Woods said. “We came out much more aggressive in the second half. In the first half, we were waiting for the ball to come to us. In the second half, we stepped up and got aggressive.” 

There were frequently two Ram defenders swarming around any Avon player who picked up the ball. And the Rams dominated with draws enabling them to maintain possession for much of the second half, snuffing out any Avon comeback hopes. 

Avon’s Sammy Maniatty (11) is about to slap the ball out of the stick of New Canaan’s Matty Novick.

“You have to step up,” Woods said. “We’re a little young and sometimes, we’re slow to get started. We have to try and work up to playing a full 50 minute game.” 

New Canaan (14-4) eliminated Avon in the semifinal for the second straight season. The Rams will face FCIAC rival Wilton in Saturday’s championship game. 

New Canaan co-captain Elizabeth Miller led all scorers with five goals and two assists while teammate Samantha Steward had five goals. Miller had three straight goals for the Rams to close out the first half. 

Avon, which set a school record this season for most wins in a season, was led by Sammy Maniatty with four goals. Britt Douglas had one goal and five assists. The Falcons ended the season at 17-3. 

“They were a much better team than we were in the second half,” Avon coach Sean Cole said. “They were deeper than we were and they played better than we did in the second half. They’re a great team. It kills me that they’re so young.” 

New Canaan graduated eight starters from last year’s team. This spring’s group is primarily comprised of underclassmen. Only one defender is a senior on the Ram squad. 

New Canaan took a 5-2 lead but then Douglass helped Avon rally to take the lead. Douglass had a goal and three assists as the Falcons rallied. Douglass scored with 10:40 remaining and Maniatty scored seven seconds later to cut the Ram lead to one, 5-4. 

Hannah Davey tied the game with 7:28 left in the first half and Maniatty scored on a nice feed from Douglass to give Avon its first lead of the game with 4:40 remaining, 6-5. 

But New Canaan began controlling the draws and possession of the ball. Miller scored on consecutive possessions. Her goal with 1:37 remaining in the half gave the Rams a 7-6 lead. Stewart drove through the Avon defense and scored with 54 seconds left to give the Rams an 8-6 lead at haltime. 

Goals from Miller and Stewart extended the New Canaan lead to four early in the second half. Maniatty took a nice feed from Douglass in the crease to cut the lead to three, 10-7, with 13 minutes remaining. 

But Avon seldom saw the ball the remainder of the game. Unforced errors helped shut down the Falcon offense. Avon goalie Paige Hammick made three saves in net. 

New Canaan 16, Avon 7
At Wallingford
New Canaan (14-4)            8  8 – 16
Avon (17-3)                        6  1 – 7
Goals: Sammy Maniatty (A) 4, Hannah Davey (A), Julia Cohen (A), Britt Douglass (A); Madeleine Gertsen (NC) 2, Catherine Grantio (NC) 2, Elizabeth Miller (NC) 5, Isabel Taben (NC), Samantha Stewart (NC) 5; Assists: Douglass (A) 5, Miller (NC) 2; Saves: Paige Hammick (A) 3, Bailey Pilder (NC) 3