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10/29/2014 12:00 AMBoys' Soccer
After a 3-1 win over Amity on Oct. 20 and winning a 2-0 decision against Notre Dame-West Haven, the Tigers defeated Cheshire on Senior Night by a 4-2 final on Oct. 23 to finish the regular season an unbeaten 12-0-4-the first time a Tigers' squad has gone through the regular season unblemished. The Tigers then won a 1-0 decision over Guilford in the quarterfinals of the SCC Tournament on Oct. 25.
In the Amity game, goals were earned by Alex Cinicolo at 16:46 left in the first half (assisted by DJ Hartmann), Ian Bergere at 28:51 to go in the contest (from Gianluca Perrotti), and again by Bergere with 6:25 left in game (assist by Austin Doktorski).
Facing ND-WH, Hartmann and Bergere scored with John Gulcicek and Josh Violette earning assists.
Against Cheshire, Hand was down 2-0 with 26 minutes left to play and scored four unanswered goals to take the victory. Cole McArdle scored the first goal off a corner kick from Matt Karas. The second score was score on a penalty kick by McArdle. The game winner was scored by Doktorski and assisted by Karas with 5:35 to play. Bergere scored the final tally with the assist by Dom Scarpellino.
Battling Guilford, Violette scored the only goal of the game at 32:11 remaining in the first half.
"Typical game. It was very physical and intense," said Head Coach Stan Latkowski on the Guilford clash. "Curtis Henry had a big save on a penalty kick. Overall, the boys have shown great character and heart. Hopefully, we keep it going and seasons like this do not come around too often."
Hand hosted Shelton in a SCC Tournament semifinal on Oct. 27 and a win there would put the Tigers in the final on Oct. 29 against either Fairfield Prep or Lyman Hall at East Haven.
Girls' Volleyball
The Tigers completed a season sweep of rival Guilford after a 3-1 win on Oct. 20 before a 3-0 victory at Cross on Oct. 22 to earn a final mark of 11-7 for the regular season (6-2 in SCC Hammonasset Division action). As the No. 7 seed in the SCC Tournament, Hand swept 10th-seeded West Haven (25-20, 25-15, 25-23) in the first round on Oct. 25
Against Guilford, Hand dropped the opening set 22-25, but took the next three (25-14, 25-18, 25-18). Krissy LaSance had 14 digs and five aces; Cassidy Wygonik added 11 kills, eight digs, and two blocks; plus Maddie McDonald tallied 11 kills and eight digs.
Battling Cross, Hand prevailed 25-9, 25-13, and 25-22. Wygonik had five kills, four aces, and two blocks; in addition to Ryann Corniello's five kills, four digs, and two aces; along with nine digs and four aces from Kennedy Hye.
The Tigers next faced No. 2 seed Amity in the SCC quarterfinals on Oct. 27 and a victory there and in the semifinal round would put Hand in the conference final on Saturday, Nov. 1 at North Haven at 6 p.m.
Field Hockey
Hand concluded the regular season 13-2-1 following a 3-0 victory over Branford on Oct. 20 and playing Lauralton Hall to a scoreless draw on Oct. 22. In the SCC Tournament as the top seed, the Tigers defeated No. 8 ranked Amity 7-1 in the quarterfinal round on Oct. 26.
Hand next hosted No. 5 seed Branford on Oct. 27 in the semifinals and a win there would put the Tigers in their third straight conference final on Oct. 29 at home at 7 p.m. against either No. 2 Lauralton Hall or No.3 Cheshire.
Football
The Tigers hosted unbeaten Shelton on Oct. 24 at the Surf Club and suffered a 33-20 loss to sit at 2-5 on the year.
Nick Van Dell was 19-of-32 for 196 yards through the air and also rushed 16 times for 66 yards. Additionally on the ground for Hand was Reid Sweitzer (11 attempts, 45 yards, 1 TD) and he reeled in a touchdown reception, as well. Mark Hill also grabbed six catches for 73 yards.
The Gaels (7-0) ran to a 7-0 lead with a 1-yard touchdown rush prior to Hand responding later in the first when Sweitzer caught a 41-yard TD toss from Van Dell and then Van Dell ran one in on his own from a yard out to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead that held until the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Shelton nearly evened the score after a 4-yard toss to the end zone, but missed the point after. The visitors retook the lead at 19-14 following a 55-yard pass. Sweitzer gave Hand the edge back with his 5-yard dash for a score, yet Shelton closed out the contest on TD sprints of 68 and 47 yards.
The Tigers next travel to SCC Division I West adversary Xavier (6-1) on Friday, Oct. 31 with a kickoff set for 7 p.m.
Cross Country
At the Class L State Championship at Wickham Park on Oct. 25, the Hand boys' team came in sixth (191 points) and girls' squad was seventh (240 points).
Competing on the boys' side were Colin Roth (23rd; 17:49), Kevin Clarke (30th; 17:57), Connor Roth (40th; 18:16), Garrett Noonan (43rd; 18:21), Sean Collins (55th; 18:41), Adam Taylor (60th; 18:45), and Mike Healey (87th; 19:26).
Running for the girls were Sheila Flaherty (16th; 21:13), Megan Phillips (40th; 22:12), Madeleine Yaggi (59th; 23:05), Gabrielle Martin (61st; 23:09), Colleen Caruth (64th; 23:14), Emily Baker (66th; 23:15), and Chloe Moulin (68th; 23:19).
Girls' Swimming and Diving
Hand competed against Branford on Oct. 20 at Walsh Intermediate School and took a close 97-86 defeat to conclude the regular season with a mark of 7-6.
The meet began with the 200 medley relay team of Emma Connolly, Case Porter, Callie Weiler, and Grace Lawton with a runner-up time of 2:08.39. Following that was the 200 free with second and third-place showings by Alex Wagner and Caroline Genther, respectively. The divers, Lauren LaChapelle and Nelle Bergere, placed first and second. Allie Mascia was also second in the 100 free with a time of 58:34. Wagner (1st) and Lawton (3rd) placed in the 500 free as Lawton had her personal-best time of 5:44.40 and qualified for the Class L State Championship. In the 100 breaststroke, Weiler and Genther were second and third, respectively. The meet ended with a win in the 400 free relay with the team of Gigi Jensen, Wagner, Genther, and Mascia.