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The 2004 team had no problem with working hard, but nothing came easy. It was in position to claim at least a share of its 13th NCCC league championship, but two ties in late October against Suffield (0-0) and Stafford (1-1) spoiled those hopes.
In its first CIAC tournament game, Canton looked sharp in a 4-0 victory over Litchfield, but struggled in a 3-2 victory over Haddam-Killingworth in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Canton prevailed in a game in an epic struggle against Lewis Mills that seemed it would never begin and once play began, it seemed like it would never end. That gave the Warriors a berth in the finals against defending champion Granby, but the Bears were too fast, too strong and too opportunistic in a 3-1 victory at Trinity College.
"This team pretty much got the most of what they had," Grace said. "You couldn't ask for more. Go back to that Mills game. It was heart and soul that got them through that game."
For the second year in a row, Canton faced Mills (14-2-3) in a semifinal bout at UConn's George Sherman complex. Four years ago, Mills was 1-9-4. A year ago, Mills beat Canton in the semifinals before falling to Granby in the championship game. This year they won their first league championship since 1981, winning the Berkshire League with an 11-0-3 record.
"We definitely had some high expectations to live up to this year," Mills coach Maggie Tieman said. "There was a lot more pressure on the girls."
The two teams staged an epic contest. The game was supposed to begin at 3:30 p.m., but it was delayed until after 5 p.m. because the UConn football team decided that morning that they needed the field to practice.
Once it did begin, Canton had the better chances early but Mills took a 1-0 lead when Jen Kulas stopped a hard pass from Emily Howe and passed it over to Whitney Martin (team-high 15 goals) who blasted a shot past Canton goalie Jen Gradischer with 4:48 remaining in the first half.
Canton tied the game at 1-1 with 15:52 left when Sara Wheeler deflected in a hard shot from Carli Atkinson for her fifth goal of the tournament.
Then, it was time for Gradischer and Mills goalie Kristen Stevens. They came out to challenge shooters, make diving saves and keep the game tied.
The teams battled through four 10-minute overtime periods, each with only seven players as dictated by OT rules. Each had opportunities. Neither could score. After one OT session, Martin slumped to the turf on her knees, exhausted. For the two-minute break between periods, she tried to refuel with a sports drink.
"It was just pure heart by both teams," Grace said.
It came down to penalty strokes. In the first round, each team had five shooters. The first four shooters for both teams were stopped.
Wheeler, Canton's fifth shooter, approached the ball, gazed to her right and fired a shot to her left which slipped past Heavens (17 saves). Gradischer made a hand save on Mills' fifth shooter to give Canton its first spot in the finals since 1999.
"I didn't know if we could get a stroke past (Heavens)," Grace said. "She is so big and athletic. She fills the entire cage."
Added Tieman, "They definitely left it all on the field. My girls played their hearts out."
However, in the championship game, Granby seized control early to thwart any potential upset bid by Canton.
Granby scored only 3:41 into the game when a Canton defender tried to clear the ball across the front of the scoring circle. Granby's Brittany Smith intercepted the ball and quickly fired it past Gradischer. Granby senior Ashley Bascetta had the initial drive into the circle.
Granby made it 2-0 when Bascetta carried the ball 25 yards into the circle and scored midway through the first half.
With Canton desperately trying to mount a comeback in the second half, Bascetta took over again. On a drive into the Warrior circle, she drew the defense to her before firing over a perfect pass to a wide-open Rebecca Gamble at the far post, who tapped in the ball for the back-breaking score with 16:27 left in the game.
"She is a catalyst. She always has been. She is a big-time player," Granby coach Sandy Wickman-Mason said. Bascetta finished with a team-high of 15 goals, including three in Granby's four tournament victories. She had two in the Bears' 3-0 semifinal victory over Nonnewaug-Woodbury.
Defensively, Granby used its speed to neutralize Canton's offensive attack. Several times, junior Alissa Czasonis cleared the ball before Canton could get a shot off, including one on a crucial penalty corner early in the second half.
"The defense had to step it up today," Bascetta said. "Canton has such a hard hit so it was real important for us to stop the initial ball. We were pretty consistent doing that and our defense marked well."
Canton scored when senior Alaina Schlinker took a pass from Kelsey Rypl and scored with 1:06 left in the game.
"We didn't play our game because Granby took us out of it," Grace said. "They're a good team. I can't say we didn't try. I can't say we didn't play hard. We just weren't clicking."
Defender Molly Daniels had several strong rushes up field for the Warriors along with Sara Wheeler and Carli Atkinson.
Canton (15-2-3) finished ranked sixth in the final state coaches poll with a runner up trophy. In 19 years under Grace, Canton won eight times and finished second three times.
"After you reflect back on it after the pit in your stomach goes away, you look at how many times we got here. Most people would love to be in the finals just once in their career," Grace said. "These kids had never been to the finals. They're great kids and they've made themselves into good field hockey players."
