Williston girls hockey team knocks off Phillips Academy Andover, repeats as NEPSAC champions (PHOTOS)

Nothing comes easy in the postseason, but the Williston Northampton girls hockey team made things incredibly difficult on its opponents throughout the NEPSAC Chuck Vernon (Elite) Tournament the past week.

A year removed from winning the first NEPSAC title in program history, the top-seeded Wildcats added to their impressive resume again on Sunday. Williston scored three goals in a 5 minute, 2 second span in the second period, and secured a 4-1 victory over No. 2 Phillips Academy Andover in the championship game at Odden Hockey Arena in Watertown, Conn. 

The Wildcats finished their remarkable season with a 27-0-1 record. They never trailed in three NESPAC tourney games, including a wild 1-0 overtime win over No. 5 Nobles in the semifinals on Saturday.

In Sunday’s final, the teams played a scoreless first period before Zola Piekarski staked Williston to a 1-0 lead with a goal off a feed from Emily Crovo.

Just 1:49 later, the Wildcats doubled their advantage. This time it was Crovo, who netted her 100th career point in a quarterfinal victory over Loomis last week, as she stole a puck in the PA zone and ripped a shot up high to put Williston up 2-0 with 12:51 left in the second.

Miranda Calderone blasted home the dagger goal just over three minutes later. On the power play, the senior defenseman fired the puck through traffic and into the back of the net, giving the Wildcats a commanding 3-0 advantage. Ava DeCoste and Katherine Kang were credited with assists on the tally.

Monique Lyons tacked on an empty net goal with 2:55 left in the third period to make it a 4-0 game, though Phillips Academy got a late goal to break up the shutout – just the third tally scored against Williston goalie Liv Ferebee in three NEPSAC tourney games.

Crovo was named MVP of the tournament thanks to her standout performances.

Williston never trailed in its Saturday’s semifinal win over Nobles, but fans were on the edge of their chairs for the entirety of the tilt at Lossone Rink. The two sides skated to a scoreless tie after three periods, but Crovo sent the fans home happy just 30 seconds into OT when she tallied the game-winning goal to put the ‘Cats into Sunday’s final.

St. Sebastian’s 63, Williston 48 – Trevor Mullin became the 79th basketball player in Massachusetts history (boys and girls) to score 2,000 points in their career on Saturday, as he notched 12 points to propel second-seeded St. Sebastian’s to a 61-48 win over the third-seeded Wildcats in the NEPSAC Class A semifinals in Needham.

Mullin’s last-second lay-in put him at the 2K threshold.

The Arrows (26-1) advanced to Sunday’s Class A final against No. 1 Milton Academy.

St. Sebastian’s used a 12-0 run down the stretch to put things out of reach against Williston, which had defeated No. 6 Trinity-Pawling School in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Wildcats win third straight title

The Williston Northampton boys swimming and diving team won its third straight NEPSAC Division 2 Championship on Saturday at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

It came down to the final four events, with the Wildcats pulling away for a narrow win with 371 points, just ahead of Kingswood Oxford’s 363 points. The relay team of Herrick Stevenson, Sam Fortier, Jack Coscia,and Getchell Gibbons won gold medals in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, sealing the win for the Wildcats.

The Williston girls’ team finished sixth at the NEPSAC Championships, led by senior Campbell Collins who notched a second-place finish in the 500 freestyle and a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle, earning All-NEPSAC honors in both events.