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10/15/2017 12:00 AMFootball
The Hand football team scored a convincing 34-6 win over non-conference opponent Bunnell at the Surf Club on Oct. 13. The Tigers improved their record to 5-1 with the victory.
Hand led 13-0 at halftime after a touchdown pass from Phoenix Billings (9-of-21 passing, 129 yards, 1 TD; 11 carries, 80 yards, 1 TD rush) to Chris Bartosic, followed by Brian Casagrande’s 4-yard TD rush. Bunnell (3-2) returned a kickoff 92 yards for a score to make it 13-6, but then the Tigers’ Chris Iannuzzi (9 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD) brought home a 52-yard touchdown run that extended the lead to 20-6, which stood as the score heading to the fourth quarter. Hand scored on a short run from Casagrande to start the fourth quarter, after which Billings made it 34-6 on his 16-yard TD run. Jesse Lutz aided the Tigers’ offense by carrying the ball 16 times for 66 yards. As a team, Hand ran the ball 46 times for 290 yards, while its defense gave up just 80 yards against the Bulldogs
The Tigers, who are in fifth place in the Class L State Playoff rankings in which the top eight teams make it, will face SCC Tier 3 team Law (2-3) on the road on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
Girls’ Soccer
The Tigers battled a pair of division rivals, along with non-conference opponent Newtown last week, and were victorious in all three contests. The Tigers are now 11-1 on the year and have won 11 straight games.
Hand posted a 3-0 victory over East Haven on Oct. 10 to move to 4-0 in the SCC Quinnipiac Division. The Tigers then went to 5-0 in the division with 5-0 shutout of Lyman Hall on Oct. 12.
Against East Haven, Riley Kokoruda scored off a corner kick from Viv Mazzarella, Sophie Cohen scored on a strike just inside the 18-yard box, and Kayla Howard sealed the win by converting a nice finish on a breakaway. Frankie Antoni added an assist in the victory. Hand outshot the Yellowjackets 14-3 with Morgan Lipford making two saves.
Facing Lyman Hall, Hand scored five first-half goals on its way to the 5-0 triumph. Hand controlled most of the play, outshooting Lyman Hall 15-4. Gabby Egidio had two goals and an assist to lead Hand. Egidio scored her first goal on a header off of a cross from Hannah Martin. Taylor Scully, Howard, and Kokoruda also netted goals for the Tigers, who saw Lipford and Maddie Thomas each make two saves in goal.
Hand closed the week out on a strong note by knocking Newtown from the ranks of the unbeatens with a 1-0 victory on Oct. 14. Mazzarella scored the deciding goal on a shot outside the 18-yard box at 24:50 of the first half with Egidio getting the assist. Lipford made six stops as Hand outshot Newtown 12-8.
“We played one of our best games of the season, which happened to be against a team that’s ranked No. 2 in [Class LL]. I thought we did a very good job possessing the ball and we defended really well,” said Head Coach David Dikranian. “I thought our back four of Sam Riordan, Heather Baughan, Hannah Martin, and Tara Henry were outstanding. Goalkeeper Morgan Lipford had another solid performance. Our center midfielders, Viv Mazzarella and Riley Kokoruda, were great at controlling the midfield. Viv scored a great goal from outside the 18-yard box that went into the left corner of the goal. It was nice to see us play hard and play well.”
Boys’ Soccer
The Tigers had a pair of divisional duels with Amity and Law last week, winning both games to up their mark to 10-1-1 overall and 6-0 in the SCC Housatonic Division.
Hand earned a 4-0 shutout of Amity on Oct. 10. The opening goal was scored by John Ruggiero off a corner kick from Owen McShane. McShane later took another corner, placed it perfectly in the box, and Lee Wildermann put it in the back of the net. The third goal was scored by Charlie Sullivan, assisted by Trey Doktorski. Sullivan capped off the scoring with his second goal of the night that was assisted by Wildermann. Tommy Hobin and Clay Knibbs split the goaltending duties for the shutout.
The Tigers then posted a 2-0 blanking of Law on Oct. 13. Hand’s consistent pressure paid off when Doktorski put the ball in the back of the net several minutes before the first half ended on an assist by Wildermann. The Tigers kept the pressure on the in the second half and only allowed the Lawmen one shot on goal in the period. Ruggiero added the Tigers’ second goal of the game by tapping in the ball from a corner kick by Sullivan. Hobin recorded the shutout behind a strong Tiger defense.
Field Hockey
Hand notched victories over SCC opponents Lauralton Hall and North Haven last week to move to 10-0-2 this year.
The Tigers began the week with a 4-2 victory over Lauralton Hall on Oct. 10. Hand’s goals came from Jacqui Sandor, Kathryn Donahey, Anna Beccia, and Taylor Leckey. Sophie Schreck had four assists, while Izzy Kennedy handed out two assists. Kylie Gargiulo made one save in the win.
Hand then defeated North Haven 10-0 on Oct. 13.
Boys’ Cross Country
Hand took a 15-50 loss to Guilford and also earned a 21-40 win over Foran in a tri-meet at the Surf Club on Oct. 12.
Top finishes for Hand came from Jamie Calderon (9th, 17:36), Cale Gabrynowicz (10th, 17:48), Carson Hines (11th, 17:55), Dante Zucconi (12th, 18:02), Tyler Merritt (15th, 18:18), and Mike Campanelli (16th, 18:22).
Girls’ Cross Country
The Tigers dropped a 20-35 decision against Guilford in a home meet last week.
Hand’s top placers were Anna Steffen (4th, 20:09), Rachel Parthasarthy (6th, 20:16), Madison Rotermund (8th, 20:25), Jade Law (10th, 20:31), Emily Baker (12th, 20:41), and Megan Ruffo (15th, 21:08).
Girls’ Volleyball
The Tigers split a pair of matchups last week by losing to Lauralton Hall and defeating Mercy. Hand is now 6-8 overall with a record of 4-2 in SCC Oronoque Division.
Hand took a 3-1 loss to Lauralton Hall on Oct. 10. The Tigers then swept Mercy 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-19) on Oct. 13. Halle Freund had 28 digs, while Bella Vitale collected four aces and 17 assists in the victory.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
The Tigers took a 102-76 loss at Cheshire on Oct. 9 and are now 7-2 this year.
Julia Bloomfield recorded another first-place performance in the diving competition with a score of 214.20 points, while Grace Lavin finished fourth (161.70). Another key performance for Hand included the third-place finish of the 200 medley relay team of Kayla Mendonca, Gabriella Wira, Case Porter, and Allie Mascia, who posted a time of 2:00:72. Hand took the second and fifth spots in the 200 freestyle with Mendonca in second (2:00:86) and Ava Keane placing fifth (2:16:29). In the 200 individual medley, Emma Ruffo came in third place (2:26:95), and Wira finished fifth (2:28:42). Mascia took second in the 50 free (26:22) and Erin Reilly was fourth (27:33). Porter placed third in the 100 butterfly (1:05:75) and Reilly finished fifth (1:09:63). Ruby Redlich took third in the 100 free (58:55) with Kylie Scarpellino placing fifth (104:39). In the 500 freestyle, Mascia came in fourth place (5:49:25) with Keane finishing fifth (5:53:16). The 200 freestyle relay team of Scarpellino, Porter, Keane, and Mendonca secured third place at 1:52:81. Other strong showings were delivered by by Redlich in the 100 backstroke (1:05:36), Wira in the 100 breaststroke (1:16:81), and the 400 freestyle relay team of Scarpellino, Reilly, Ruffo, and Porter (4:14:08).