WATERTOWN, Conn. — It was a goalie duel for the ages between No. 2 Deerfield and No. 5 Tabor with the girls Large School title at stake on Sunday.
Big Green senior Campbell Krotee (Darien, Conn.) went toe-to-toe with Seawolves senior Avery Olson (Rockport, Mass.).
In the end, Olson blinked first as Deerfield took home a tight, 2-0 win for its first NEPSAC championship since 2001.
Deerfield got on the board early in the second on the power play when senior defender Allie Corrieri’s (Devens, Mass.) seeing-eye wrister went in off the bottom-left post. From there, Krotee went to work.
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The senior goalie denied a pair of breakaways by Tabor. She turned aside Seawolves junior forward Charlotte Landau’s bid after Landau won a foot race in the neutral zone.
Moments later, Krotee made a blocker save on Jen Birolini’s (Pembroke, Mass.) breakaway after a turnover at the point. She also denied freshman forward Dawson Styles (Marblehead, Mass.) dangling into the slot, before standing tall with Tabor banging away at the rebound.
At the other end, Olson kept pace, recovering nicely after she hardly saw Corrieri’s goal. She flashed the pad to rob junior Deerfield forward Sophie Frost’s backhand in the slot, after she came through with the blocker against junior forward Peyton Wierl alone in the slot earlier.
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Tabor made a strong push in the third period, including during a lengthy 5-on-3 power play early in the frame. Krotee rose to the occasion, going on to earn tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
The Seawolves’ bid for a third-period comeback came to an end with a late penalty as Deerfield ran out the nearly all of the remaining time on the power play. Junior defender Chloe Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.) iced it with an empty-netter with 7 seconds left.
For the Big Green, the win caps off a 20-6-2 season. They won six of their last seven games en route to the title.
Quick takeaways…
- Deerfield created so many chances off of working the puck low to high. The team moved it quickly and funneled pucks to the net. It paid off on Corrieri’s goal. They had layers in front of the net, and she placed the shot perfectly. Olson had no chance.
- Tabor played well enough to win. The Seawolves generated plenty of chances around the net and in dangerous areas throughout the game, especially early on and in the third. They were quick on the forecheck and forced some turnovers. Krotee just had every answer.
