GRANBY – Tuesday’s girls’ lacrosse game between rivals Granby and South Hadley had all the makings of a dramatic showdown – South Hadley raced out to a quick lead, Granby clawed its way back on senior night, and when the final seconds ticked down in regulation, the game was tied with overtime needed.

It was South Hadley’s Raquel Losty who put on her cape and played hero for the Tigers in OT, scoring to give South Hadley a 9-8 victory.

The win improved South Hadley’s record to 6-5 as the ever-important postseason draws nearer, and it was a big victory for the Tigers; in the most recent Division 4 power rankings, South Hadley was ranked 33rd, one spot out of an automatic bid and behind No. 29 Granby.

Granby (9-6) had possession of the ball for the opening minutes of overtime, winning the opening draw control and putting the Tigers on their heels. South Hadley senior Emily Piligian eventually snagged a turnover and raced end to end with the ball, flanked by teammates Madelyn McArdle and Losty.

“(McArdle) cut, got open (and) I happened to try and cut to the middle. (I caught) it super low, which I was very scared about. But I was able to bring it up and then shoot it and (have it) go near the bottom posts,” Losty said of the winning goal. “It was amazing… but I think it matters more what we did today as a team, because we really pulled through at the end.” 

Losty finished with two goals while teammate Ava Asselin netted a hat trick and an assist. Rachel Yabra also had two points (1G, 1A) for the Tigers. 

Ella Laliberte led the scoring for the Rams despite the Tigers often throwing double or triple teams to try and contain the offensive star. Laliberte racked up five goals and two assists, including the helper on Kelly Lynne Kennedy’s game-tying goal with just over two minutes left to play that eventually sent things to OT. 

“They put a lot of pressure on us and I think we panicked. We’re a very young team, we're starting four eighth graders, sometimes a seventh grader on the varsity level. It will come with experience but they put a lot of pressure on us and played well,” Granby head coach Gary O’Grady said. “We turned over the ball a lot early in the game and that kind of hurt us… we had them and we just couldn't put them away.”

That pressure paid off for the Tigers early in the contest. The visitors jumped out to a 4-1 lead before a pair of goals from Laliberte cut it to 4-3 with 3:27 left in the half. South Hadley responded immediately with a couple of goals from Asselin to make it 6-3 at intermission.

The Rams came out on a mission in the second half, putting the pressure back on South Hadley. The little things that the Tigers did in the first half that brought them success – namely, winning ground balls and draw controls – suddenly swung in the Rams’ favor. Laliberte and Ava Loughman scored to make it a one-goal game with 19:30 left in the second half, and while South Hadley was able to answer back, Granby kept scoring and inching closer until Kennedy’s eventual tying tally. 

“I told the girls the two most important things about games are winning a draw control and winning the ground balls, and I think when we were down, those were the two things that they were beating us on,” South Hadley head coach Danielle Miele said. “At the end of the game when we came off, I said, ‘girls, we have to fix those things or we’re gonna lose this game.’ And then Emily picked up that ground ball down there and moved it up the field (in overtime), so that shows that those small little things can really come off with a victory.” 

Despite the loss, Granby still took time to honor its seniors Laliberte and Katherine Valle for everything they bring to the team. 

“They bring a lot of experience to a very young team. They’re leaders, constantly trying to help the younger kids out. They’re the two best seniors I’ve ever had,” O’Grady said.

Granby will quickly have another chance to get a win against the Tigers – the two teams play again at South Hadley on Friday at 4 p.m.

Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.]]>