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04/24/2017 12:00 AMOne week after notching her 100th career win, Head Coach Lori Connelly saw her North Branford girls’ lacrosse squad pick up a few more victories to improve to 6-1 on the season. With just one more win, the Thunderbirds will lock up a spot in the Class S State Tournament. In its recent stretch of games, North Branford prevailed 13-9 at Sheehan, recorded a 20-12 victory in Ellington, and dropped a 9-7 home game against Old Lyme.
“We were hoping to [qualify for states by beating Old Lyme], but we fell a little short. I’m hoping we can at least get one more. This isn’t a fluke. We have a great group of girls that is hard to stop,” said Connelly, who earned win No. 100 with a 16-0 triumph versus Morgan on April 13. “They’re not complacent. We lost that we’re undefeated, but we want to be one of the top teams in the conference and the state. All that matters and they know that. They certainly would love to be 15-1 if they could.”
North Branford recorded a 13-9 victory over non-conference opponent Sheehan on April 15. Sophomore Jessie Kilburn and senior Tara Lauro both scored four goals, while senior captain Sydney Hogan scored twice and added three assists. Juniors Emilie Wilkinson and Adriana Ingarra scored one goal apiece, plus senior captain Stephanie Seymour added a goal. Senior Elissa Nuzzo was strong in net with 11 saves.
The T-Birds’ other senior captains are defenders MacKenzie Kaiser and Meredith Johnson. North Branford’s defense has been strong through its first seven contests, limiting the opposition to just 8.4 goals per game.
“Defensively, we have three seniors and one junior, and we’ve tried some new sets, so we have different types of defenses we play based on who we play,” Coach Connelly said. “They listen well and are an intense group that works well together. It’s a very motivated group that wants to do something this year, which has allowed me to push them hard. When you have a team that buys in and wants to elevate their game, it’s great and I’m proud of them for that.”
Another major plus for the 2017 T-Birds is their multitude of upper class athletes who’ve been playing together for years. North Branford went through a rebuild a few seasons ago, and Coach Connelly feels that now is the time for her team to strike.
“I have a strong group of upperclassmen. My seniors and juniors have been working together and have started since they were freshmen. We’ve been building for this group,” she said. “They’re starting to connect really well, and then sophomore Jessie Kilburn is killing the draw for us. Offensively, together they see each other well and are passing and catching really well.”
On April 19, North Branford netted another non-conference win by beating Ellington 20-12. Hogan scored eight goals and had four assists, while Kilburn scored five goals. Junior Emmy Norton had three goals and three assists, Ingarra scored twice, plus Mackenzie MacGowan and Lauro both scored once.
“Everybody offensively can contribute. We’re not a one-man show, so we’re hard to defend,” Connelly said. “Everybody tends to contribute with at least a goal or an assist every game. Sometimes, someone will have a lot of goals in one game and then a bunch of assists the next. It makes us hard to defend because you have to guard us all.”
North Branford features 43 athletes on this year’s roster, and Connelly said her under class players are challenging the veterans for time on the field. There is plenty of competition among the Thunderbirds, and Connelly knows that their depth stems from a solid youth program in town.
“We have 43 total which is great, but overwhelming. It’s great for the program and it’s going to help us keep getting better,” Connelly said. “Everybody is pushing each other and making everybody work harder. From a coaching standpoint, that’s a good thing.”
To close out the week, North Branford took its first defeat of the season by losing a 9-7 contest against Shoreline Conference adversary Old Lyme on April 20. Kilburn and Ingarra both scored two goals for the Thunderbirds, who also received one apiece from Hogan, Laura, and Seymour. It was anyone’s game down the stretch, and Connelly believes the T-Birds can take next month’s rematch with the Wildcats if they bring a hefty helping of confidence to the field.
“It’s about building their confidence. They have to believe they can do it. Old Lyme could’ve gone either way. It was tied 7-7 with a few minutes to go. We haven’t played with them in years and we were right there with them,” Connelly said. “Every game they win, they’re becoming more confident and believing they have a shot. It’s helping keep the positivity going. It’s easy to be united when you’re winning. When we were rebuilding, it was tough, but this is a great group of girls.”