Immaculate rallies to beat Granby for Class S championship

Immaculate’s Emma Scheckner (4) drives to the goal during Saturday’s Class S championship game in Wethersfield. More game photos

WETHERSFIELD, Nov. 15, 2025 – Seldom does a goal in high school field hockey come above the waist. It happens but it’s not normal.

In a battle of the top two seeds in the Class S tournament, No. 2 Immaculate of Danbury senior Emma Scheckner hit a reverse pass that teammate Abby Hall deflected into the net with 5:39 remaining in the game to lift the Mustangs to a 3-2 victory and their first state championship since 2018.

What is a reverse pass? Scheckner, a four-time All-State player with Immaculate, flicked the ball backwards toward the goal. Hall was standing by the near post and had her stick at chest level. The ball deflected off her stick and past Granby goalie Abigail Heller.

“Emma had an amazing shot and I didn’t know it was coming until it was,” Hall said. “I was definitely in the right place at the right time. I was trying to get my stick in there and hoped it would hit and it worked out.”

Scheckner, who had an assist on all three Immaculate goals, praised Hall and her teammates.

“Abby had such a great touch on it. She was right there. She is a relentless player. It was a full team effort. It was a team goal. A team game. It is such a good feeling to win on that type of goal,” Scheckner said.

Granby, the two-time NCCC champions, were playing in their 24th championship game. They’ve won 14 titles with their last one coming in 2019.

They will have to wait another year for another shot.

“I told them to keep their heads up. You’ve got next year. You’ve played hard. You’ve worked hard the whole season for this,” Granby coach Sarah Pliszka said. “We’re super proud of them.”

The Bears (16-4) have just one senior on their roster.

“Two really good teams fighting for a championship, fighting on every play, fighting for the ball,” Pliszka said.

Immaculate coach Shannon Horosky talked about her three seniors who have started for the Mustangs since they were freshmen — Scheckner, Mikayla Hanel and defender Maya Tedawes. Horosky said they have been mentors and drivers for this team that lost in the Class S semifinals in 2022 and 2023. “They’ve relied on their faith in each other and what they’ve learned,” Horosky said. “Our big thing in this tournament was finishing the job and they did.”

Granby’s Cam Santa had two goals in Saturday’s Class S championship game in Wethersfield. More game photos

Granby took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Cam Santa off an assist from Jaden Clark with 2:41 left in the first quarter. Immaculate tied in the second quarter on a goal from Mikayla Hanel with an assist from Scheckner.

Granby led 2-1 at halftime thanks to Santa’s goal with 5:37 remaining in the first half.

Immaculate tied the game at 2-2 off a corner with 34 seconds left in the third quarter. Hanel scored off a pass from Scheckner, who will attend John Hopkins in the fall.

The Mustangs lost just once in their last 15 games – a loss to Pomperaug in the SouthWest Conference championship game. Granby came into the game on an 11-game winning streak.

FIELD HOCKEY
Immaculate 3, Granby 2
At Wethersfield
Immaculate (19-3-1)       1  0  1  1  — 3
Granby (16-4)                      1  1  0  0  — 2
Goals: Cameryn Santa (G) 2, Mikayla Hanel (Imm) 2, Abby Hall (Imm); Assists: Jaden Clark (G), Lauren Kaczka (G), Emma Scheckner (Imm) 3, Saves: Lily Scheckner (Imm) 6, Abigail Heller (G) 4: Of note: Game-winning goal from Hall came with 5:39 left in regulation.