WINTHROP — Westford Academy girls hockey teammates tackled Delilah Cioffi to the ice as if her game-tying goal in the second period of Tuesday’s Div. 1 first-round matchup had pulled off something they had never done before.
Less than an hour later, they showed what that celebration actually looks like.
Behind a charged effort on special teams to kick off girls hockey state tournament season, the 20th-seeded Ghosts (8-10-3) held off No. 13 Winthrop at Larsen Rink, 3-2, for the program’s first playoff win since 2019.
Jacqueline Chace’s game-winning goal with 4:25 to play was Westford’s second power-play goal of the night, pairing well with a shorthanded score from Kiley Carmichael and a 4-on-6 defensive stand over the final 1:21 of the upset.
The Vikings finish the season at 13-4-2, while the Ghosts await the winner of No. 4 Malden Catholic versus No. 29 Barnstable.
“We’re all so excited,” said Westford junior captain Kailey Hannon. “In all my years of playing we’ve never made it past the first round. It’s just a great moment.”
“It feels so good,” added head coach Jim Geraghty. “I’m just so proud of the girls. They didn’t quit. Winthrop was really good. They were tough, they were gritty. We just hung in there, so we’re proud of the girls. It feels really great.”
While Talia Martucci scored the first of her two goals to give Winthrop a 1-0 lead at the end of the first, Westford thought they had outplayed the Vikings overall so far and built up confidence. By the end of the second, the Ghosts showed just how battle tested they were out of the MVC/DCL Large and could taste the win.
After Winthrop killed off the first two of its five penalties on the night with ease, Westford needed just 50 seconds to capitalize on the third. Lauren Alonardo’s shot from the outside was batted down into a bounce, and a scramble for the rebound in front set up Cioffi for the 1-1 tie midway through the second.
“I think it definitely gave us some momentum going into the next few periods and I think it really helped to get us the win,” Hannon said.
It wasn’t too long that Winthrop got its first power play in response, but Carmichael poked a steal near the end of it in the neutral zone for a breakaway. She had the puck on a string for much of the way, and showed that off with a fancy finish to go up 2-1.
Martucci responded with her own game-tying goal just 1:30 later, setting the stage for a strong defensive back and forth through most of the third. Vikings goalie Riley Towse (19 saves) and Ghosts goalie Kiera Tucker (15 saves) traded clutch stops, up until Chace’s goal only 22 seconds into another Westford power play put it ahead, 3-2.
The Ghosts headed to the box with 1:21 left, but comfortably withstood the 6-on-4 to finish with only four shots on goal allowed in the third period.
“It’s funny because we worked all week on special teams,” Geraghty said. “We didn’t really practice too much 6-on-4, but, yeah, they did a great job.”
