Northwestern star Maddie Topa defends Housatonic's Olivia Brooks in the Berkshire League semifinal Feb. 21.
Photo by Riley Klein
Northwestern's Emma Maltby and Housatonic's Tessa Dekker matched up against each other Feb. 21.Photo by Riley Klein
Mackenzie Janco, No. 4, high-fives Maddie Topa as Northwestern secures its return ticket to the BL title game.Photo by Riley Klein
Emily Arel, No. 5, and Gilbert School will take on Northwestern in the Berkshire League championship Feb. 26. Photo by Riley Klein
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Under the lights in Watertown, both sides displayed defensive discipline in a hard-fought match. It was the third meeting between these two teams this season and Watertown completed the sweep in the title game.
Watertown scored first in the opening minute. Housatonic quickly evened the score when freshman Annabelle Carden tucked a shot past the goalie on a fast break. The first quarter ended 1-1.
Freshman Annabelle Carden, no. 9, scored the first two goals for HVRHS in the title game May 28.Photo by Riley Klein
HVRHS pulled ahead with another goal from Carden in the second quarter. A few minutes before half time, Watertown tied it up again at 2-2 going into intermission.
Watertown regained the lead in the second half before HVRHS answered with a goal by senior Tessa Dekker. With seconds left in the third quarter, the Warriors went up 4-3.
As the sky darkened and rain intensified in the fourth quarter, Watertown built a lead. They scored twice in a row to start the final period and entered clock-management mode to drain time. Senior Lola Clayton scored once more before time was out and the game ended 6-4.
Housatonic's defense held Watertown to six points in the championship game. Watertown, the number one team in the WCLC, averaged more than 12 goals per game this season.Photo by Riley Klein
The championship’s most valuable player award went to Malia Arline of Watertown. HVRHS had five players chosen to the 2025 all-league team: Lola Clayton, Lou Haemmerle, Mollie Ford, Neve Kline and Georgie Clayton.
“Incredible finals. Incredible game to watch,” said HVRHS Coach Laura Bushey to her team post-game. “You should all be very proud of yourselves.”
“Holding a team to six points is something to be really, really proud of. Especially a team that’s as good as these guys,” said assistant coach Erin Bushey.
HVRHS qualified for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class S lacrosse tournament. The Mountaineers got matched against Wolcott High School in round one May 30. HVRHS won 13-6 and advanced to the second round to play top ranked Lauralton Hall June 3 in Milford.
Lou Haemmerle created offensive opportunities for HVRHS in the league final.Photo by Riley Klein
John DeDonato
Class of 2027
“Some I prefer are the grilled cheese. Pizza’s okay with some sauce. Hamburger too, I guess. The least favorite that I’ve tried is probably the hot ham and cheese. I don’t like that. I’ve started to see that they’re doing French fries, which I kind of like. They should probably start doing more of that.”
Abram Kirshner
Class of 2026
“My favorite lunch is probably the mac and cheese and popcorn chicken. I’d like to see it more frequently. Grilled cheese, cheese quesadilla, french toasts sticks, and chicken fajita
can all go.”
Georgie Clayton
Class of 2027
“My favorite is beef nacho grande. My least favorite is probably the fajitas.
I wish we had chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes more often.”
Celeste Trabucco
Class of 2026
“General Tsou’s chicken is my favorite lunch. Also, the popcorn chicken and mac and cheese.
I really don’t like the French toast sticks or that we have pizza every Friday. We need some more variation.”
Photos by Ibby Sadeh and Mia DiRocco
