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10/01/2017 12:00 AMField Hockey
The Branford field hockey team picked up a pair of victories last week to raise its record to 4-1-0-1 this season. The Hornets won a game at Amity and then defeated Sacred Heart Academy at home in last week’s action.
Branford opened up last week with a matchup at SCC opponent Amity and posted a 4-2 victory versus the Spartans on Sept. 26. The Hornets netted three goals in a six-minute span in the first half to take a 3-0 lead. Brianna Shaw scored from Autumn McHenry, LanLe Crotty scored an unassisted goal, and then Shaw scored on an assist by Molly Zaffino. With the Hornets up 3-1 early in the second half, Shaw scored another goal to give Branford more insurance. Erica Klarman made two saves in goal for the Hornets, who took 15 shots on Amity’s goalkeeper. Branford had 11 corners to the Spartans’ six.
Two days after defeating Amity, the Hornets hosted Sacred Heart Academy for another SCC clash and won a 5-2 contest against the Sharks. Once again, Branford scored three goals in the first half. This time, Zaffino scored from Crotty off a corner, scored a goal from Karly King on a corner, and then scored on assists by King and Sabrina Torcellini on a corner play in the first half. In the second half. Shaw scored from McHenry, who later assisted Zaffino’s fourth score of the game.
Girls’ Soccer
After losing to Foran, Branford bounced back by earning a 1-0 victory at East Haven last week. The Hornets stand with a record of 2-4-2 on the season.
Branford hosted SCC Hammonasset Division opponent Foran and took a 4-2 loss on Sept. 25. Junior Melissa Beatty and senior Taylor Brown netted goals for the Hornets.
Four days later, the Hornets edged out rival East Haven by a 1-0 final on the road. Brown scored the game’s lone goal in the first half. Senior goalie Nina Grabowiecki earned the shutout in net for the Hornets. Head Coach Jen Kohut credited senior sweeper Suzanne Prota for showing great leadership on the field in the win against the Yellowjackets.
Boys’ Soccer
The Hornets lost one game and tied another last week to stand with a record of 5-1-1 for the year.
On Sept, 25, Branford faced SCC Housatonic opponent Hand on the road and took a 6-0 loss to move to 2-2 in divisional play.
Then on Sept. 29, the Hornets hosted Cheshire and rallied for a 1-1 tie to earn a point. Ethan Boileau converted a penalty kick in the waning minutes of regulation to tie the game for Branford.
Volleyball
The Hornets split a pair of matchups last week to stand with a record of 4-5 for the season.
On Sept. 25, Branford hosted SCC Quinnipiac opponent Foran and took a 3-1 loss to drop to 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21) in divisional play. Two days later, Branford was on the road to face Sheehan and claimed a 3-2 win over the Titans.
Boys’ Cross Country
Branford ran in a quad-meet at Shelton High School on Sept. 26 and picked up a 21-33 win against Oronoque Division opponent North Haven. The Hornets, who improved to 2-1 in the division, also lost decisions to Shelton (15-49) and Lyman Hall (21-38) and are now 3-6 overall.
Harry Troidle ran a time of 19 minutes and 9 seconds to finish in 10th place for Branford. Ryan McCarthy took 12th place in 19:19, while Matt Daley placed 13th by running a time of 19:25. Andrew DeBenedictis finished in 24th place (20:29), and Andrew Betzig finished 33rd (21:21) for the Hornets.
Girls’ Cross Country
The Hornets took three defeats in a quad-meet at Shelton last week. Branford lost to North Haven (17-41), Lyman Hall (19-36), and the host Gaels (15-50) at the meet on Sept. 26.
Emily Borst finished in 15th place behind a time of 26 minutes and 17 seconds for Branford. Borst was followed by Caroline Erickson (25th, 28:50), Violet Smiarowski (27th, 31:10), Maddy Steinman (29th, 32:00), and Julianne Dillon (30th, 32:22).
Football
Branford faced SCC Tier 1 opponent Notre Dame-West Haven at Veteran’s Stadium and took a 40-13 loss against the Green Knights on Sept. 28. The Hornets are now 0-4 following the defeat.
Sean Kelly threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Mills in the third quarter and later ran for a 1-yard TD in the fourth for the Hornets. Danny Thomas had four catches for 60 yards. Spencer Landsbach made 10 tackles on defense, while Dalton Carden had eight tackles.
Branford will next host Law for a SCC Tier 3 showdown at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6. Law is 2-2 overall and 1-1 in SCC Tier 3 contests.