As defending state champion, Stonington High School's field hockey team doesn't have to worry about ghosts anymore. The Bears can worry more about themselves.

Beaten by Haddam-Killingworth in the 2012 state championship game, for example, the Bears vanquished H-K in the quarterfinals of each of the last two state tournaments.

Today, No. 2 Stonington meets No. 3 Granby Memorial in the Class S state tournament semifinals beginning at 4 p.m. at Wethersfield High School. Stonington defeated Granby, also once a divisional nemesis, 1-0 to win last year's Class S title.

"H-K was a strong team; they have good stick skills. We just stuck to our normal game plan," Stonington coach Jenna Tucchio said of her team's 4-1 victory in the quarterfinals. "We didn't do anything differently."

Against H-K, the Bears (17-1) got two goals apiece from Meagan Dreher and Molly Crowley. Crowley, named first team all-state earlier this week, has 36 goals this season and 93 for her career, both program records. Defender Margot Calmar was also named first team all-state.

"You should've seen Molly. When they tied it, it was like the Incredible Hulk came out," Tucchio said. "It's like she was turning green. ... She took it from our 45 to the goal all by herself. She was possessed. It was awesome."

Granby split a pair of games this season against Avon, which handed Stonington its only loss this season 1-0 on Oct. 18.

Tucchio said Granby's strength is in the midfield.

"We need to match them and possess the ball," she said. "We need to execute our game plan and execute on penalty corners."

Women's field hockey

• Defending champion UConn earned the No. 3 overall seed and will play host to two rounds of the NCAA Division I tournament on Saturday and Sunday in Storrs. The Huskies (16-2), fresh off winning their 14th Big East title, will play the winner of a Wednesday play-in game between Kent State and Delaware at Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Louisville will play Stanford in the second game at 2 p.m., with Saturday's winners meeting in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 2 p.m. This year's Final Four will be played Nov. 21 and 23 at Maryland.

Women's soccer

• UConn earned its first NCAA Division I tournament bid since 2010 and will play host to New Hampshire in a first-round match on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Huskies (13-4-5) earned an automatic bid into the 64-team field by winning the American Athletic Conference title on Sunday. New Hampshire (8-8-4) is making its first trip to the national tourney after upsetting Hartford in the America East final.

H.S. cross country

• Justin Shafner of Williams School earned All-New England honors on Saturday at the NEPSTA Division IV cross country championships at Hyde School in Bay, Maine. Shafner finished 10th with a time of 18:06, leading the Blues to a ninth-place finish out of 28 teams. Will Jarrett finished second for Williams, placing 28th in 19:12. The Williams girls finished 11th. Top finishers were Hattie Grant in 24th (23:01) and Sofia diTommaso in 46th (24:25).