Loomis Chaffee had to be better.
It was Feb. 22, and the Pelicans had just lost, 4-0, to Williston Northampton in a major litmus test against NEPSAC’s top team at the time. Liz Leyden knew her team had more to give.
“We played really quite poorly,” the longtime coach of the Pelicans said.
The loss ended a 14-game winning streak and a 21-game unbeaten streak that Loomis had gone on since a 1-0, season-opening loss to Nobles.
The following game, Leyden got the response she was looking for. The Pelicans took down Phillips Andover, 2-1. It was the second time they triumphed over the Big Blue after tying them, 3-3, and winning the shootout to take the Patsy K. Odden Invitational championship against Andover for the second straight season.
“We came back and that next game we played Andover, and we came to play,” Leyden said. “The resilience of being able to bounce back after the Williston loss was huge.
“At that point, it seemed like, ‘Maybe we can do this.' Then, we just kept rolling.”
