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09/09/2017 12:00 AMThe Branford field hockey team enters 2017 on the heels of a historic season that saw the Hornets win their first SCC Tournament title and then advance to the Class M State Tournament semifinals en route to finishing with a record of 19-3. Branford’s first test in the quest to defend its conference crown came on Sept. 8, when Head Coach Cathy McGuirk’s club hosted fellow SCC heavyweight Lauralton Hall. Historically, the Hornets and Crusaders play classic contests against each other, but this one was all Branford, which scored four goals in the first half and came away with a 4-1 victory in its season opener.
“After you practice against each other and do some scrimmages, you come to a point where you go against a team that we beat three times last year, but two were in overtime [including one in the SCC semis], and so the kids know it’s going to be a tough game. They came through and tried to do the things we’ve been working on in practice,” Coach McGuirk said. “So it was a good, positive confidence builder to start out with a nice win against a perennially good Lauralton Hall team.”
Branford started out by netting two goals in the first nine minutes of its win versus Lauralton, with both coming off the stick of LanLe Crotty, a senior captain forward. Crotty scored the first goal eight minutes into the game and found the back of net again—this time on a penalty corner—just a minute later to stake the Hornets to an early 2-0 lead. Sophomore midfielder Karly King had the assist on each of Crotty’s goals.
With 11 minutes remaining in the first half, sophomore forward Molly Zaffino scored on an assist by senior captain defender Sabrina Torcellini to make it a 3-0 game. Then with two minutes left in the half, senior captain midfielder Autumn McHenry scored on King’s third assist of the day for a 4-0 Branford advantage. Lauralton Hall scored its lone goal of the game in the second half.
The Hornets took 16 shots on goal and earned 15 penalty corners in the victory. Senior goalie Erica Klarman played most of the game in the cage and made two saves. Sophomore Gianna Messina had one save in a couple minutes of action.
Coach McGuirk detailed some of the things the Hornets did well in their convincing win over the Crusaders.
“Ball movement and player support. We had good ball movement on the field, which we’ve been working on to get where we want to go, and then having the players behind you supporting you, that is a very important part of the game,” said McGuirk, who was named the SCC Coach of the Year in 2016. “They seemed to be communicating better with each other, too. That is a key, knowing where each other is and getting the ball in their area—not necessarily to them, but their area.”
Branford graduated five athletes from last year in All-State goalie Keira Integlia and Alanna Grimm, who were the captains, along with Kiersten Bjork, Carol Frye, and Emily Sachs. However, the Hornets still return plenty of key players from their storybook season, particularly at the midfielder and defender positions. Branford features a wealth of experience at the captain’s helm as Torcellini, McHenry, and Crotty are all four-year starters, while defender Britney Bunbanlu is in her third season as a starter. McHenry was an All-SCC First Team, All-State First Team, and New Haven Register All-Area selection last year, and she also shared Branford’s Most Valuable Player Award with several of her teammates, including Torcellini, who made the All-SCC Second Team.
The rest of the Hornets’ senior class consists of forward/defender Caitlin Baker, defenders Leah Pendl-Robinson and Fiona Palmieri, and new starting goalie Erica Klarman.
Branford has three juniors on its roster in defenders Jessica Amarante and Carly Shea, plus forward/defender Aleyah Bosworth. Juniors Liante Claude and MaryBeth Nwagboli are team managers for the Hornets.
Branford’s boasts a sizable sophomore class that has 14 athletes. The Hornets’ sophomores are Zaffino and fellow forwards Madison Acquarulo, Gianna Benni, Claire Bickel, and Brianna Shaw; midfielder King; defenders Tori Howe, Celia Shanley, and Emily Taber; goalie Messina; forward/midfielder Hailey Brunner, forward/defenders Maggie Martin and Alexis Pepe, and Camdyn Dunn. Zaffino broke Branford’s freshman scoring record with 20 goals and 10 assists to earn a share of the team’s MVP Award last season. Shaw had eight goals with 13 assists.
Additionally, Branford has six freshmen in its program this year. The Hornets’ freshmen are Andrea Amarante, Nami Bolat, Lexi Brown, Delaney Cotter, Alisa Gueco, and Jocelyn Smestad.
Once again, Coach McGuirk will be assisted by her husband, John McGuirk, as well as Robin Axtell. As she begins her 41st season as head coach of the Hornets, McGuirk discussed what she’s hoping to see from her team as Branford strives to make 2017 another year to remember.
“Like most coaches, one of the things we’re looking for first is individual improvement, which leads to overall team improvement and the cohesiveness of a team as they realize how they can work together. It takes time for younger kids to figure out how they need to work, but over the years, that has worked for us. Get them confident, get them working together, and, basically, we want to see improvement,” she said. “You can’t stay stale. You can’t stay in the same place. You have to continue to get better, and that is a key. As I say to the kids, it’s a T.E.A.M.—Together Everyone Achieves More. If you have everyone working at something, you achieve a lot, and that’s what a team is.”
From the Sidelines
Branford is facing Cheshire, Hand, and Lauralton Hall twice this season. The Hornets also have home games against Sheehan, Sacred Heart Academy, North Haven, and Mercy, in addition to road contests versus Amity, Hamden, Lyman Hall, Guilford, Shelton, and non-conference opponent Stonington.
Last year, the Hornets went 14-2 during the regular season, after which they defeated Hamden 6-1 in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals, earned a 2-1 overtime win versus Lauralton Hall that was decided by a 4-1 differential in penalty strokes in the semis, and then edged Cheshire 2-1 in the championship game.
In the Class M State Tournament, Branford defeated both Pomperaug and East Lyme by 4-0 scores before taking a 1-0 loss to New Canaan in the semifinals for an overall record of 19-3.