Printer Friendly Version - Hand Football Hits Bye Week at 5-0; Soccer Squads Keep Winning

Taylor Scully and Hand girls’ soccer knocked off Branford 3-1 on Oct. 5 and then beat North Haven 2-1 five days later following two Hammonasset Division contests in which the Tigers tied Guilford 1-1 and shut out Foran 2-0.

Hand hosted Hamden on Oct. 10 and came away with a 34-7 victory to enter its bye week at a perfect 5-0.

Nick Van Dell completed 16 passes on 29 attempts, while tossing for 180 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 60 yards on seven carries and a score. Ryan Kaufmann caught six balls for 94 yards and two TDs, plus Mark Hill (4 catches, 35 yards) reeled in another pair of scores through the air.

After the Green Dragons (1-4) took the early 7-0 lead, Hand tied the contest on an 11-yard connection between Van Dell and Kaufmann. The two then hooked up again from the same distance to give the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish. Van Dell and Hill made it 21-7 on a 10-yard pass to the end zone before Van Dell took one in on his own 1:22 prior to halftime with a 13-yard dash for a 27-7 score. Following a quiet third quarter offensively, Van Dell and Hill capped off the afternoon in the fourth with a short 2-yard completion.

After its week off, Hand (2-0 in its division) returns to action at home to face SCC Division I East rival Notre Dame-West Haven (3-2 overall, 0-1 in divisional play) on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.

Hand edged North Haven 2-1 on Oct. 6 before besting Branford by that same score two nights later to sit with a mark of 8-0-1.

Taking on Branford, Ethan Boileau’s goal gave the Hornets (2-5-2) a 1-0 edge that lasted just 31 seconds when Matt Mills fired a throw in front of the net as Drew Montgomery headed it past Branford goalie Nick Cordero to tie the game at 1. Hand then scored the game-winner on a set play when Alex Cinicolo sent his free kick from the right side into the box, where Jake Brown headed the ball into the net. Hand had eight shots on net, while Branford had six with Curtis Henry making five saves. The Tigers are now 20-0-5 in their last 25 regular season games.

Previously, the Tigers tied rival Guilford 1-1 on Oct. 3. Hand outshot the Indians 10-7 and had six saves on the night. Hand came out on top quickly with an unassisted goal by Brown at the 14th minute of play and Guilford tied the game at 54 minutes with a goal by Stephen Page that was assisted by Josh Violette.

“I am very happy with the team’s progress. The Guilford game was a good test for us. Guilford harassed and pressured us all over the field. I was very happy with the way we competed,” said Head Coach Stan Latkowski. “Guilford’s goalkeeper made a couple of really good saves and I thought Jonathan Gulcicek, Brian Lynch, and Jacob Brown played very well for us. I know the boys were disappointed with a tie, which is good because it shows they care. This is a good group of kids. Captains Alex Cinicolo, John Loftus, and Curtis Henry have been terrific leaders. I am looking forward to playing the majority of our next games at the Surf Club.”

Hand defeated Branford by a 3-1 final on Oct. 5 and then edged North Haven 2-1 on Oct. 10 to improve to 6-1-2.

Facing Branford, Taylor Scully scored three goals, Julie Thompson had two assists, Bradie Stryker had an assist, and Amy Boswell notched four saves with Emma Valdez also making one stop. Hand outshout the Hornets 11-4.

“I thought we played a very composed game, controlled the ball well, and had contributions from everyone,” said Head Coach David Dikranian. “Taylor Scully went to goal hard all night and it paid off. She made some nice runs and worked really hard all night.”

Taking on North Haven, Sam Mayhew scored at 34:03 of the second half to give Hand (which had 10 shots on goal) a 1-0 lead. Boswell (6 saves) made an outstanding save off a corner kick, deflecting the ball over the goal with under five minutes remaining. Addison Lanza scored the second goal that was assisted by Gabby Egidio at 2:53.

“We had a tough first half, mainly due to how well North Haven played. I thought North Haven played extremely hard and defended well as a team. They made it difficult for us,” said Dikranian. “I was very impressed with the way North Haven played. We played a better second half, as well, possessed the ball better, and generated more scoring opportunities.”

The week prior, Hand played to a 1-1 draw with Guilford on Oct. 3. Guilford opened the scoring at 30:24 off of a Hand goal kick. The ball was served in and Hand was unable to clear, which resulted in a goal for Guilford. Hand continued to play well by connecting on passes and creating scoring chances. Sophie Dickman tied the game off of a passing sequence that started on the sidelines at half field. Hand put together five passes as Scully played a nice ball behind the Guilford defenders to Dickman, who hit the ball into the right corner at 10:42. The second half saw both teams exchanging scoring opportunities, but neither could net a game-winner.

Before the draw, Hand shut out Foran 2-0 on Sept. 28. Scully (at 37:00 and 18:36) notched both tallies, while Boswell made four saves with the Tigers outshooting the Lions 12-4.

The Tigers earned a 7-1 record thanks to an 89-81 win over North Haven on Oct. 5 before a 96-87 loss to Amity on Oct. 8.

Versus North Haven, the 200 medley relay team consisting of Emma Connolly, Callie Weiler, Case Porter, and Johanna Doerr placed second with a time of 2:07:61. Lexi Valentin finished second (2:13:57), while Grace Lawton took third (2:17:74) in the 200 free. Allie Mascia swam a 25.73 for first place in the 50 free and Porter placed third with a 28.63. Porter followed with a first-place finish in the 100 butterfly (1:06:34), while Connolly posted second (1:08:03). In the 100 free, Mascia took first with a time of 57.25 and Kelly Doktorski finished second with a time of 58.38. Caroline Genther took first in the 500 free (5:35:65) and Grace Lawton was third at 5:57:98. The 200 free relay team of Doktorski, Sammi Crans, Porter, and Mascia took top honors with a time of 1:49:53. Doktorski followed with a third-place finish in the 100 backstroke (1:09:46). Caroline Genther took runner-up with a mark of 1:13:88, plus Weiler was third at 1:14:56 in the 100-yard breaststroke. The 400 free relay team of Crans, Doktorski, Genther, and Mascia finished second behind a time of 3:57:37.

Hand is led by Head Coach Jen Lyman and assistant Christina Forristall, plus co-captains Bridget Bambrick and Crans.

Hand hosted Guilford on Oct. 5 and grabbed a 3-1 win prior to a 1-1 draw with Cheshire on Oct. 8 to move to 8-1-1 overall (5-0-1 in counting SCC games).

The Tigers trailed the Indians 1-0 at the break before Sam Pavano (unassisted at 13:45), Cameron Ruberti twice (unassisted at 9:38 and then from Claire Gravina at 1:23) scored to secure the triumph. Hand outshot Guilford 16-3 with Kylie Gargiulo making two stops.

The Tigers collected their fourth-straight victory with a sweep (25-14, 25-8, 25-20) of Mercy on Oct. 4 and move to 6-4. Krissy LaSance totaled 15 digs, six kills, and five aces, plus Chika Ogbejesi handed out 15 assists.

Hand then made it five in a row with a 3-0 victory over East Haven on Oct. 7. Versus the Yellowjackets, the Tigers prevailed 25-23, 25-19, 25-14. Ryann Corniello had eight kills; Amanda Gentile added five kills and three aces and Ogbejesi passed out 20 assists and three aces.

Hand finished the week at 7-5 following a 3-2 loss to Sacred Heart Academy on Oct. 9.