Aspetuck defeated the Charlotte Cardinals to win the very competitive girls bracket at this past weekend's Gonzaga Classic.
Aspetuck entered the tournament having rolled through most of their opponents.
Aspetuck Girls on Hot Streak as Gonzaga Classic Looms
They looked good in the early going, too, beating Belmont HS 54-7 and a very dynamic Raleigh Cobras side 24-14.
That set up the semifinals where Aspetuck matched up with the Cobras once more, this time beating them 38-0.
The Cardinals, for their part, shut out Vienna 27-0 and held off Knightmare Rugby 19-12.
That set up a semifinal with Morris. And that's where the drama really started.
This game saw both teams inch their way close to try-scoring position only to be stopped. The defenses were very good and both attacks were challenged to handle themselves with less space and time.
Finally a snappy offload to Caroline Cook saw her break out of a tackle and gallop on to score the only try of the game. 5-0 Charlotte Cardinals and a place in the final.
Morris ended up taking 3rd place 22-12 over Raleigh.
04.23.2024HS Girls
In the final Charlotte was on the front foot for most of the first half. They had a couple of breakthroughs but the Aspetuck goalline defense and tenacity under pressure outstanding. They hauled down Cook on one break and stymied a well-contructed maul to take the game into halftime 0-0.
That was bad news for Charlotte. They really needed to come away with points from all that pressure. Moments into the second half Jaden Smith broke away to score a try out wide and give her side a 5-0 lead.
Despite a yellow card against Charlotte, the Cardinals battled on and Cook find a seam up the middle and charged in under the posts. Per tournament rules a try under the sticks is automatically converted and Charlotte led 7-5.
Back came Aspetuck. They won the ball off the restart and quickly shipped it wide for Smith to race in. The conversion from Molly Kennedy was good and it was 12-7.
The game continued to be a massive battle, but Charlotte couldn't find the space they needed. With time almost up the Cardinals got a penalty and went for the lineout. However, they tried to bite off too much yardage; the kick didn't make touch and Aspetuck caught it, and then after a knock-on, the game was over.
Ultimately this was a coronation for an Aspetuck team that could quite possibly be the best girls HS club in the country. Certainly they have been tested by both Morris and Charlotte, but they keep winning.
