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10/22/2014 12:00 AMBoys' Soccer
The Tigers (9-0-4) posted three SCC shutouts last week, defeating Branford (3-0) on
Oct. 13, Cheshire (1-0) on Oct. 15, and then playing Guilford to a scoreless tie on Oct. 18 that also clinched Hand's third-straight SCC Hammonasset Division title with a divisional mark of 4-0-2.
Goals against Branford came from Josh Violet (from DJ Hartmann), Ian Bergere (assisted by Alex Cinicolo), and Matt Henry (from Hartmann), and Curtis Henry made two saves. In the Cheshire clash, Matt Karas off a Ryan Monico pass netted the difference maker. Henry again notched a pair of stops and also did in the Guilford decision.
Football
The Tigers traveled to Fairfield Ludlowe to take on Fairfield Prep and suffered a last-second 23-22 loss, as the Jesuits scored on a 1-yard touchdown run as time expired and kicked the game-winning extra point. Hand now holds a mark of 2-4.
Nick Van Dell finished 8-of-13 through the air for 69 yards and ran for 191 on 21 carries. Reid Sweitzer also helped the ground game with 75 yards rushing and two touchdowns on a dozen attempts. Connor McShane also had an interception on defense.
Prep (4-2) led 3-0 after a quarter of play with a 29-yard field goal and then by 10 midway through the second thanks to a 10-yard TD toss. Hand answered back, though, before halftime to trail 10-7 at the break when Tommy Wilson ran it in from two yards out with 51.9 seconds to go.
In the third, Prep took a 16-7 edge at the 5:06 juncture of the period on a 1-yard scoring scamper as the point-after kick was blocked. The Tigers (371 yards of total offense) then began their march to take the lead, starting with Reid Sweitzer rushing 25 yards to the end zone to cut Hand's deficit to two as 1:41 remained in the third prior to the Tigers going ahead 22-16 with 7:48 left to play when Sweitzer again rushed to pay dirt from three yards away and Van Dell completed the two-point conversion on a pass to Andrew Fitzgerald.
On the game's last drive, the Jesuits started with the ball at their own 20-yard line with less than three minutes to go and made it to Hand's 3-yard marker as 30 ticks were remaining. Following an illegal substitution call against the Tigers, Prep fumbled the snap on second down but recovered it at the 1 to set up the final winning play.
Hand next hosts undefeated SCC Division I West adversary Shelton (6-0) on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Surf Club.
Girls' Soccer
Hand scored two shutout wins over Foran (1-0) on Oct. 13 before a 5-0 victory against Watertown two nights later and then a 1-0 loss at Guilford on Oct. 18 to hold a record of 8-5-1 (4-2 in SCC Hammonasset Division).
In the Foran clash on Senior Night, the Tigers honored 12 seniors in Kat Allen, Emily Ashman, Lauren Brandau, Gege Catalano, Molly Citrin, Hannah Donohue, Gigi Galant, Megan LeBlanc, Kelsey Richard, Olivia Sacco, Nicole Skelly, and Emily Soboleski. Brandau scored the game's only goal off a rebound from a Sacco shot with ten minutes remaining in the first half, as Hand also outshot Foran, 16-4.
Facing Watertown, Hand scored 13 minutes into the game on a Taylor Scully goal with Gabby Egidio and Sacco earning assists. Sacco scored the second tally 12 minutes into the second half on a penalty kick. Scully netted another nine minutes after that off a rebound from a shot by Sacco to make it 3-0. Sacco made the game 4-0 less than two minutes later, and Donohue finished out the scoring following a feed from Catalano. Amy Boswell posted the shutout for Hand, which won the shots on goal battle, 14-9.
Cross Country
Both Hand squads raced for the SCC championship on Oct. 17 at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison. The girls came in sixth with 171 points, while the boys were seventh (170 points).
For the girls, Sheila Flaherty was the Tigers' top runner by way of her 12th-place finish (20:20) for the five-kilometer course. Following her were Megan Phillips (23rd; 20:53), Chloe Moulin (40th; 22:06), Colleen Caruth (46th; 22:21), Madeline Yaggi (50th; 22:30), Julianna Egidio (56th; 22:47), and Gabriella Larizza (57th; 22:50).
On the boys' side, Colin Roth led Hand (23rd; 17:17), and he was joined by Kevin Clarke (24th; 17:23), Connor Roth (34th; 17:46), Sean Collins (41st; 17:55), Adam Taylor (48th; 18:09), and Ryan Johnson (58th; 18:24).
Girls' Volleyball
The Tigers played a trio of SCC Hammonasset Division opponents last week. On Oct. 13, Hand was swept by Foran before two straight 3-0 decisions over Law on Oct. 15 and Hillhouse for Senior Night on Oct. 16 to earn a mark of 9-7 (5-2 in SCC Hammonasset Division) and a bid to the postseason.
Against Foran, the Tigers lost 18-25, 22-25, and 20-25. In the stat book for Hand were Olivia Finke (7 assists) and Kennedy Hye (5 digs).
In the Hillhouse triumph, the Tigers recorded 25-11, 25-8, and 25-10 convincing set victories. Cassidy Wygonik finished with seven kills and three aces; Maddie McDonald added four kills; and Hye had 11 aces and a trio of kills.
Girls' Swimming and Diving
While the Tigers began their year with three straight wins over Hamden, West Haven, and Lyman Hall, they recently took another pair of meets against Sheehan (by a 95-90 final) on Oct. 15 and Mercy (99-84) the next day following a 91-77 defeat to Cheshire on Oct. 13 to sit at 6-6 on the campaign.
Swimming against Sheehan, the 200 medley relay was won with the team of Alex Wagner, Callie Weiler, Case Porter, and Allie Mascia, as Porter and Mascia brought the race to a finish with a time of 2:05.87. Another exciting event followed in the 100 breaststroke with Weiler placing first. The 500 free was led by Wagner with a first-place finish, and the meet was then cinched with a win in the 400 free relay thanks to the foursome of Gigi Jensen, Wagner, Caroline Genther, and Mascia (3:59.47).
Taking on Mercy, the 200 medley relay was a victory that went to Hand with Wagner, Weiler, Emma Connolly, and Mascia. Jensen took the 200 free, while Wagner won the 50 free. Connolly then captured the 100 butterfly (1:07.47) before Mascia finished first for the 100 free. The 500 free was a clean sweep with Lawton placing first, Lexi Valentin in second, and Fay third. The 100 breaststroke was also won by Weiler.