Millennium beat Seton Catholic, 44-42, in an Open Division quarterfinal Monday. The game was postponed after a student died in a car crash Friday.
In the pin-drop silence of Seton Catholic’s packed basketball arena, Millennium’s players stood shoulder-to-shoulder, sideline-to-sideline. Their head coach, Danny Soliman, stared straight forward. His assistants bowed their heads. His players let the tears well up in their eyes, roll down their cheeks and fall to ground, where they stood in purple Nikes, each inscribed with Gabryan Aguirre’s number ’16’ written in black Sharpie.
“We were all kinda freaking out,” senior Kayda Pierce said. Frantic texts, trying to figure out what could be going on. Eventually, still confused, the girls trickled into the gym, awaiting Soliman’s word. That’s where legendary Seton Catholic coach Karen Self comes in. As soon as Soliman reached out to her and the AIA to request a postponement, all parties were flexible. “Thankful for Karen and her character,” Soliman said.
For Millennium, part of the grieving process meant a cancelation of their weekend practices. In the first quarter Monday, that rustiness showed. The Tigers were sloppy in their passing and disorganized in a 2-3 zone that Soliman implemented to counteract potential fatigue. By the 50-second mark of the first half, they trailed, 16-2.
“It's our family at this point,” junior Elli Guiney said. Guiney, more than anyone, has helped foster that. On Sunday night, she had the team over to play Fortnite, eat pizza and rediscover as much “good juju” as they could. “Just be with each other,” Guiney said. “Be teenagers.”
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