BEDFORD – The Gilford Golden Eagles carried a 1-0 lead from the first into the fourth quarter, despite Bishop Brady earning 12 penalty corners in the second half. With nine minutes left in the game, the Golden Eagles’ senior forward, Grace Kelly, scored off her own rebound to seal the game, a 2-0 victory which secured Gilford’s third consecutive Division III championship.

Bishop Brady’s fairy tale playoff run came to an end against the most dominant team of the past few years, and left it all on the field. For a team that graduated seven seniors last year, the Giants proved their quality.

“The girls earned it, they’ve worked so hard since Day 1 and they have learned that nothing worth having comes easy and they know every team that we play is going to be out to get us,” Gilford head coach Joy Southworth. “They just have to be ready to answer back and play Gilford field hockey until the last second, and that's what we do."

Bishop Brady headed into their fifth D-III field hockey state championship game since 2019 as underdogs. The sixth-seeded Giants (12-5-1) were tasked with taking down the two-time defending champions, undefeated, and No. 1 Gilford (17-0).

Two years ago, Bishop Brady fell in the championship to the Golden Eagles, 2-0. Last year, Bishop Brady was the fourth seed but was upset in the quarterfinal by Newfound, meanwhile, Gilford breezed through the competition and became champions once again.

“Gilford comes every single year prepared,” said Bishop Brady head coach Kelly Owen. “For a small school like ourselves to be here, the way we are as the sixth seed tonight is a pretty big accomplishment.”

Bishop Brady learned from last year’s experience and beat Newfound in this year’s semifinal, 1-0. The Giants are not a senior-heavy team, but the team still carries their championship experience on all sides of the field, and Owen, who has been head coach for 30 years, has proven she can lead her team to victory.

Still, the Golden Eagles were the clear favorites in the championship tie. The two teams faced each other early in the season and Gilford had won, 3-1. The Golden Eagles remained unchallenged going into the game and had shined especially bright on the defensive side, only allowing five goals all season.

Offensively, Gilford got on the board early, with senior midfielder Liv Keenan give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead at 6:26 in the first quarter.

Bishop Brady senior midfielder, Camdyn Despres, and forward, Kimble Rose, gave the Golden Eagles trouble all game long like they had in Brady’s previous playoff encounters. Senior forward Olivia Lazear also found opportunities to score but was stopped by defensive sticks, and Gilford’s freshman goalkeeper, Madi Breton, held it down.

“They played defense really well,” said Owen. “They scrambled in front of the goalie, and then someone from Gilford stick-cleared it right out. We had our opportunities.”

Gilford’s defense was able to shut down Bishop Brady in the circle, although it did allow multiple penalty corner opportunities that the Giants only managed to get a handful of clear shots from.

 Owen reflected upon her program’s success and said it is huge accomplishment for Bishop Brady to have made it to five out of the last six D-III championships. Owen hopes the younger players on the team learn from the experience and understand that it’s possible to make a successful run in the playoffs against tough, big teams.

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com