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09/18/2017 12:00 AMFootball
The Valley Regional-Old Lyme football team won its home matchup against Morgan in a decisive fashion by a 48-7 score on Sept. 15. The Warriors outscored Morgan 21-7 in the first half and then scored all 27 points of the second half.
The Warriors struck first with a 39-yard touchdown run by Ryan Santos to make the score 6-0. Morgan responded with an 84-yard kickoff return and extra point to take the lead at 7-6. Valley came back down the field and punched it into the end zone on an 8-yard run by Jake Kruszewski, after which quarterback Mike Cullina connected with Jason O’Brien on a 2-point conversion pass to make it 14-7. Late in the first quarter, Nicholas Braga scored the first of his three touchdowns on the day, and the extra point attempt by Brian Funk was good to move the score to 21-7.
In the second quarter, Santos ran in another touchdown, this time from a yard out, and Funk kicked the extra point to make the score 28-7. Cullina later tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Braga that was followed by another extra point from Funk to make it 35-7. Cullina and Braga connected against later in the frame for a 17-yard touchdown strike to make it 42-7 following Funk’s extra point. Later in the quarter, Arick Outama carried the ball into the end zone to make it 48-7.
Cullina went 8-of-9 passing for 162 yards and two touchdowns for the Warriors. Braga had two receptions for 67 yards and a pair of TDs to go with 37 yards rushing and a touchdown. Ernest Jean-Pierre hauled in three receptions for 33 yards. Santos carried the ball five times for 76 yards and two touchdowns, while Kruszewski had five carries for 45 yards and a TD. Outama had seven carries for 31 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Roan Sullivan had a big game with six tackles and three sacks. Josh Donahue had five tackles and a sack. Cullina got involved with four tackles and two passes defended. Jason O’Brien swiped an interception for Valley-Old Lyme, which also saw Christian Burgio and Ben Falivene record sacks.
The Warriors’ next matchup will be against the Coginchaug/Hale-Ray at Old Lyme High School on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m.
Girls’ Soccer
The Warriors played two games last week, winning one and tying the other to bring their record to 1-0-2 on the young season.
On Sept. 12, the Warriors were at Haddam-Killingworth, and neither team was able to muster a goal as the contest ended in a 0-0 draw. The Warriors took 23 shots on goal, while holding H-K to just three.
The next day, Valley went back home to play Fitch and was victorious by a score of 3-2. Valley’s first goal came in the first half on a 25-foot shot that went in off of the crossbar from sophomore Sam Calamari. The score was 1-0 after the intermission. In the second half, sophomore Ava Duval was awarded a penalty kick and netted it for a goal to make it 2-0. Fitch came back to score a goal off a penalty kick, but later in the half, Duval made it 3-1 with a goal from inside the box. Fitch scored on a breakaway goal to make it 3-2, although the Warriors’ defense hung on to preserve the win. Head Coach Lloyd Warren was proud of the way his team and the captains responded while playing their second game in as many days.
“The captains led the team well, giving the girls confidence that they needed,” said Warren. “Fitch is a big school and good program. For us to get that win and be unbeaten after our first three games is great.”
Boys Soccer
Valley Regional was on the field for a pair of matchups last week and came away with two wins to improve to 2-2.
On Sept. 11, the Warriors played Haddam-Killingworth on the road and lost 3-1. Charlie Ferrucci scored the lone goal for the Warriors on an assist by Dan Hearn at the 15-minute mark. The Cougars scored the next two goals and then put the game out of reach by scoring its final goal with 38 seconds remaining. Charlie Haughton made 15 saves to keep the game close for the Warriors.
Two days later, Valley went to Hale-Ray and won 4-1. The Warriors scored early when junior Michael Dilger put in the first goal, assisted by Michael Brooks. Shortly thereafter, Chris Morales scored from Dilger for a 2-0 halftime advantage. In the second half, Adrian Sperzel scored on an assist by Ferrucci, after which Hale-Ray put its only goal on the board. Ferrucci scored on an assist by junior Sean Cole with two minutes left in the game for the 4-1 score.
Closing out the week on Sept. 16, the Warriors dominated against Amistad by winning 8-0. The first goal of the game was an own goal by Amistad to put the Warriors up 1-0. Ferrucci scored the next goal from Dilger. Sperzel picked up a goal, as did freshman Cameron Ruel on an assist by junior Logan Bellos, to increase the lead to 4-0 at intermission. In the second half, Chris Sparaco took over in goal for Haughton. Sophomore Ryan Shasha scored his first varsity goal three minutes into the half, and then fellow sophomore Evan Benson netted his first goal, as well. Toward the end of the match, junior Chris Morales scored to make it 7-0, after which senior Kevin Michel put one between the posts on an assist by Cole for the 8-0 final.
Field Hockey
Valley Regional opened its season by squaring off against two opponents last week and came away with a pair of ties for an early record of 0-0-2.
On Sept. 12, Valley faced off against Morgan, and the teams played to a 1-1 tie. Freshman Tory Ryder scored the lone goal for the Warriors, assisted by senior Emily Peterson. Junior Mia Cost was in net and made four saves on the day. As a team, Valley had 14 corners in its favor.
Three days later, the Warriors played reigning Shoreline Conference champion and Class S co-champion Westbrook to a 0-0 tie.