Olsen, Johnson Lift Granby Memorial to Tie with South Windsor

By Ted Glanzer

The girls lacrosse game between Granby Memorial High and South Windsor High on Tuesday was the rare instance in which the result was a tie, but both teams felt like they walked away with a victory.

Indeed, in a match that saw South Windsor take an early 5-1 lead, only for the pendulum to swing the other way to turn into an 11-7 deficit with 7 minutes left in regulation, the Bobcats were pleased for the game to end 13-13.

Sierra Hibbs was the hero for South Windsor, as she scored with 7 seconds left in the second overtime off a feed from Angie King to bring the Bobcats level.

Just moments earlier, the Bears took a 13-12 lead with 35 seconds left on Mia Olsen’s fifth goal of the game.

When the final buzzer sounded, both benches emptied as though each side had won a state tournament game.

In the end, the coaches from both teams spoke reverently of their charges.

For Granby Memorial head coach Teri Ziemnicki, the issue was effort, particularly after the Bears (8-4-1) suffered a dispiriting loss to Haddam-Killingworth 22-10 on Saturday.

“I just told them to play for the love of the game,” Ziemnicki said. “They did exactly what I asked them to do.”

South Windsor head coach Ed Duclos had a similar message for his players, particularly after they went down four goals with just over 7 minutes left.

“From then on, they said, ‘I’m not losing this ground ball, I’m not losing this draw, I’m winning this, I’m winning that,’” Duclos said. “They just did the little things. … I’m just in awe of them. They just amaze me.”

In addition to Olsen, Olivia Johnson also had five goals for the Bears, while Hala Van Nostrand was stellar in goal for the Bears with 16 saves.

Tori Russo had five goals for the Bobcats, while Ashley Murtha had four, Becca Russo had two and Emma Richard added one.

It was a fitting end for South Windsor (7-3-2), which bade farewell to eight players on Senior Day.

There is more work to be done this season for South Windsor, however, with road games left against Conard and Glastonbury.

Granby Memorial has games left against Somers, Ellington and North Branford.