Eighth seed Bishop Stang may have had good reason to expect an easy first rounder against #9 seed Westport but the Wildcats

soon made it clear Thursday that this game would be different.

Stang, after all, had whipped Westport 8-1 during the regular season game in Westport and followed that up with a 4-0 win on Stang’s field.

“We went in as very much the underdog,” Westport Coach Michelle Duarte said. “I told the girls we had absolutely nothing to lose, everything to gain — just play your hearts out. And that’s exactly what they did.”

That all-out effort paid off early when, eight minutes into the first half, seventh grader Laura Mendell scored first for Westport, with an assist by Amanda Matos.

Stang scored 10 minutes later to tie the game but Westport regained the lead before halftime on an unassisted goal by Sarah Duarte.

“I think Stang was a little surprised by the level of play and effort our girls were showing them,” coach Duarte said.

The second half began with more of the same as Westport kept the pressure on and the teams traded chances.

Westport protected that lead for awhile into the second half but as the half wore on the momentum swung Stang’s way. Three goals later, Stang had a 4-2 victory.

Coach Duarte said freshman goalie Elizabeth Mulroy deserved

great credit for her work throughout the year.

She had played some soccer goalie, “but field hockey — this was new to her. She really has grown into the role.”

“Our girls had nothing to be ashamed of. They saved their best game of the year, their best effort, for the playoffs and I could not be more proud of them.” Losing was a disappointment, of course, “but there were also smiles afterward. “It was a real confidence boost for them.”

The Wildcats (8-10-0 regular season) will lose three strong seniors to graduation — Casandra Abgrab, Amanda Matos and

Alison Shaw, but has loads of youth to build on.

“We actually have 14 seventh graders,” coach Duarte said. “They really have adopted the older girls as their big sisters. There is a great camaraderie in this team — “I have a team of MVPs.”

Photo gallery by Rich Dionne