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12/16/2014 11:00 PMThe Hornets’ field hockey team featured a nice blend of talented veterans and underclass athletes this fall and they meshed together to make the 2014 season the latest in a long line of successful ones at Branford.
Cathy McGuirk’s squad posted a record of 11-5 that included a 7-4 SCC mark in the recent campaign, after which the Hornets edged Hamden 1-0 in the conference tournament and then lost to eventual SCC and Class M champion Hand, followed by a defeat versus Barlow in the state bracket. Branford’s win in SCCs continued its streak of at least reaching the semifinals in every season of the tourney’s existence and its state bid marked the 37
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consecutive season the Hornets have competed in that tournament. All totaled, Branford concluded the campaign at 12-7—a record with which McGuirk was certainly satisfied. The coach also expressed how he happy she is that her athletes stuck by each other and grew as a group to make the season an overall enjoyable experience.
“We had so many freshmen and sophomores play and the juniors and seniors were very supportive of them, which was just a positive thing that was nice to see. Everybody wanted the team to do well and, for a team to do well, everyone has to support each other and work with one another and that’s the way high school sports should be,” said McGuirk, whose 38
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campaign featured her earning career victory No. 500 with a 3-0 win against Sacred Heart Academy. “Our captains were so inclusive of everyone and it helps to have team chemistry and camaraderie where the younger and older kids work together.”
The senior captains for McGuirk—who now has 511 wins as Hornets’ head coach—were defender Karlee Kessler, forwards Cara Broughal and Caroline Murphy, and midfielder Megan Shea. Branford’s two other seniors were Brittaney Nwagboli and Chaylea Finn, who each played the forward and midfield spots.
The Hornets’ seniors certainly claimed their fair share of hardware at season’s end. Murphy (16 goals, 7 assists) and Shea (7 goals, 11 assists) were both First Team All-SCC and All-State selections, along with making the New Haven Register’s All-Area Team. Murphy and Shea were also Branford’s co-Most Valuable Players and shared the team’s Desire and Dedication Award. Meanwhile, Shea and Kessler (5 goals, 2 assists) were both named Best Defensive Players and Most Versatile Players with Shea, Murphy, and Broughal (16 goals, 5 assists) all receiving the Best Offensive Player Award. On top of that, Kessler earned the Lauren E. Hayes Most Improved Player Award, Shea won the Chelsea Sheehan Extraordinary Effort Award, and she was also an All-State Scholar Athlete.
Coach McGuirk shared some nice parting sentiments regarding her team’s six seniors.
“As a coach, it was nice to see the overall development of the kids over the years and how they started figuring things out, worked together, and enjoyed the game,” said McGuirk, who was assisted by her husband John, along with Robin Axtell and volunteer Ray Ingraham. “Caroline and Megan started with our clinic in 4
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grade and they do so much with field hockey because they love it and that’s great for them and a positive for us. They’ve helped the other kids on the team with their knowledge and will probably both go play in college, which is great. Karlee’s improvement came more as senior and Brittaney and Chaylea both improved in their years on the team. Cara led by her example of being positive and is another kid who got better and, once she did that, she felt confident. All of our seniors got along and became part of our tradition, which was a positive thing to see.”
Another member of the Hornets’ senior class was team manager Robin Norko, who McGuirk called “the ultimate manager” and about whom said she was “responsible, had so much fun, and everyone loved having her around.”
Branford junior class was led by defender Kenya Claude, who made Second Team All-SCC, as well as claiming Best Defensive Player and Most Improved Player accolades from the squad. The Hornets’ other juniors were Maddie McGann, who was the JV team’s Most Improved Player; along with fellow midfielder Shradha Shrestha and defender Matilda Kreider; plus Samantha Coleman, Emma Dwyer, Shannon Finn, Shannon Healy, and Annie Rapini. Shelby Oliveri was a junior manager with the club.
Branford also featured a large sophomore class that included goalie Keira Integlia and defender Alanna Grimm, who each collected Best Defensive Player honors; in addition to forward Ashlee Smestad, who was named the team’s Unsung Hero. Grimm and Integlia joined midfielders Kiersten Bjork and Carol Frye as recipients of the Most Improved Sophomore Award with Frye additionally claiming the Desire and Dedication Award. The Hornets’ other sophomores were midfielder Olivia Datre, along with Alisia Gruendel and Sushraya Jay. Branford also had two sophomore managers in Therese Ziaks and Ian Bergemann, the latter who was the video manager.
Branford additionally saw some freshmen athletes make significant contributions this year. Forwards LanLe Crotty and Jackie DaRos, plus midfielder Sabrina Torcellini and defender Autumn McHenry were all chosen as the Rookies of the Year. Other rookie letter-winners were midfielder/defender Britney Bunbanlu and midfielder/goalie Leah Pendel-Robinson. The rest of Branford’s freshman class was comprised of Caitlin Baker, Emily Knapp, Fiona Palmieri, and Emma Pierson.
Coach McGuirk was thrilled that so many members of her underclass made waves this season, something that can only pay dividends for the Hornets down the road.
“We had these young kids make an impact, they learned from the older kids, and they really contributed,” said McGuirk. “If you look at our scoring, it a lot of it was from our upperclass and so we’ll look for some of these younger kids to keep getting better, which is what high school sports is all about.”