Gilford field hockey beats Pelham in double OT to win D3 title

BEDFORD – Kellie Ryan saw the ball get behind the defense and knew this might be the best chance the Gilford High School field hockey team was going to get.

It turned out to be the only one the Golden Eagles would need.

With under five minutes to play Sunday in double overtime of the Division III championship game, Ryan outran everyone to a loose ball and beat Pelham goalie Ryan Atkins to give No. 2 Gilford a 1-0 victory over the No. 4 Pythons in the final at Bedford High School.

It’s the first title for Gilford since winning back-to-back Class M-S titles in 1997-98, and came after the Eagles fell to Berlin in last year’s final. This one was a big more of a surprise.

“We never would have thought this team would have done this,” Gilford coach David Rogacki said. “We only start two seniors and two juniors. The other kids are all freshmen and sophomores, and to play at this level for this long is really good.

“You get to this time of the season, and this is a reward for you. Of course, with freshmen, you wonder if the moment is going to be bigger than it really is. I think the seniors helped with that. During our last few practices, we didn’t talk about anything special. We just said we know what kind of team they are, let’s go do this.”

Brianna Salanitro got an assist on the game’s only goal, which came with 4:48 left in the second extra session, and goalie Jenna Delucca earned the shutout.

While Gilford (15-1-1) had the better of the chances in regulation – there were three penalty corners in the first 60 minutes, and the Eagles had all of them – it was Pelham (15-3) that controlled most of the overtime.

The Pythons had five corners in the two OTs, with their best chance coming moments before the goal. Delucca came out to challenge Pelham’s Amy Granfield after she got the ball near the goal line on a corner. Granfield was able to get a shot off, but it hit the side of the cage.

“Our whole focus all season was to be mentally tough, dig deep and give everything we had,” Pelham co-coach Michaela Galvin said. “As we played longer and longer into the overtime, every time we had a timeout or the ball stopped, we’d say we feel more confident as the game goes on.

“They give everything they have until they can’t move their legs any more. We’re proud of them and they should be proud of themselves because they left everything out on the field.”

Pelham got a strong game from Atkins in goal, along with the defense of Sarah Ratcliffe, Abby Gagnon and Abby Joncas. The Pythons were quick to get back throughout the overtimes, until Ryan’s goal.

“The girl who was supposed to stay back had gone to get that ball,” the Gilford junior said. “Since I cut in front of her, I knew there were no defenders, so I had a clear shot at the goal.

“I had the ball and was like ‘OK, if I don’t get this, Bri (Salanitro) has to get it, because it’s one of our only chances to shoot.’ I just knew it had to be good.”