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10/16/2017 12:00 AMGirls’ Soccer
The Valley Regional girls’ soccer team went undefeated last week by notching two wins and a tie to qualify for the Class M State Tournament with a record of 4-2-5.
On Oct. 10, the Warriors played Portland to a 0-0 tie at home. The two teams had their chances in front of the net, although neither could put the ball past either keeper. Valley suffered a significant blow when the team lost Alexis Finnerty to season-ending injury in this game.
Two days later, Valley went up against Coginchaug and claimed a 3-2 victory. After losing Finnerty in the previous game, the Warriors had to come up with a different plan of attack for the rest of the season. Isabel Hosley scored her first goal of the year in the first half, but Coginchaug scored two goals in quick succession to take the lead before intermission.
The Warriors played aggressively in the second half and, with 10 minutes to go in the game, senior captain Sydney Suedmeier scored a one-on-one goal from the striker position to equalize the game at 2-2. Just a minute later, Ava Duval put one by the Blue Devils’ keeper on a chance outside the box to score the go-ahead goal in the Warriors’ 3-2 win.
“We changed things around a little bit. We gave some players an opportunity to start the game, and we hoped a change in personnel might give us a boost,” said Head Coach Lloyd Warren. “We were pushing in the second half. It was one of our better performances. The girls showed the passion we’re looking for.”
Then on Oct. 14, Valley faced off against non-conference foe Plainfield, which is ranked as one of the top teams in the state among Class M schools. The Warriors went with Suedmeier at striker again in this game, because of the success they had in the Coginchaug win. Plainfield got out to the early 1-0 lead by converting a penalty kick in the first half, but Suedmeier evened the score at 1-1 before the end of the half.
The teams played to a stalemate in the second half, and so the game moved to overtime. Kelly Schaefer stood tall in net for the Warriors by making save after save. In a sequence that started with an outstanding stop by Schaefer a foot outside the box, Suedmeier wound up putting the ball in the net five minutes into the extra session to give Valley a 2-1 win that solidified its spot in states.
Boys’ Soccer
The Warriors played two games last week and won them both without allowing a goal to extend their win streak to seven games and move to 9-3 on the year.
On Oct. 10, Valley went up against Portland at home and won in dominant fashion by the score of 4-0. Adrian Sperzel scored the first goal off an assist from Ryan Shasha 15 minutes into the first half. Sperzel later grabbed a second goal on a penalty kick before the end of the period. Two minutes into the second half, Sean Cole flipped the ball to Charlie Ferrucci, who put it past the keeper, making it 3-0. Finally, Sperzel secured a hat trick by scoring on a give-and-go from Michael Dilger to make it 4-0.
Head Coach Mick Fearon liked the way his team played in the second half against Portland.
“The last two goals was the way you want to play, dishing it off to each other and being unselfish. It’s tough to get kids to realize it doesn’t matter who scores the goals,” said Coach Fearon. “The kids have to make the final decision of whether to shoot or pass. The more you see the better decisions, then you know that they are taking the instruction to heart; likewise, defensively with communication and not everyone going for the same ball.”
On Oct. 13, Valley hosted Coginchaug and won a tight 1-0 game against the Blue Devils. The Warriors scored their lone goal just before the 30-minute mark with a ricochet off the keeper on a free kick by Sperzel and a put-back by Ferrucci, who netted his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Coach Fearon felt pleased to get the victory against Coginchaug, which typically provides a tough matchup for Valley.
“They always give us a tough time. They are a young team, but they have good, technical players,” said Fearon. “We had the better chances, but statistically, it was pretty even”
Valley out shot the Blue Devils 12-11, and each team had four corner kicks.
Field Hockey
The Warriors played three recent games and came away with a tie and a win to improve to 6-2-3 on the season. Valley has qualified for the Class S State Tournament.
On Oct. 11, Valley Regional headed to Westbrook to face the Knights and the game ended in a 0-0 tie. Then on Oct. 13, the Warriors were at Old Saybrook and won 1-0 against the Rams to clinch their spot in states. The next day, Valley continued its road trip against Waterford and triumphed by a 2-1 score.
Volleyball
Valley Regional won two of its three matchups last week to bring its record to 12-2 on the season.
On Oct. 10, the Warriors were on the road against Creed and prevailed 25-5, 25-6, and 25-4. Senior captain Jessica Paholski had six kills, two aces, and a dig for Valley. Hannah Clark was dominant on the service stripe to go with 18 aces, 14 assists, and a kill. Rachel Dona added eight aces in the win.
“This was a good opportunity for some of our younger players to get some match experience, and they did a great job overall, especially in their serving game,” said Head Coach Kathy Scott. “Hannah Clark had some really nice service runs in this match.”
The next day, the Warriors lost 3-1 to Hale-Ray. Valley took the first set 25-21, but Hale Ray won the next three, 25-15, 25-18, and 25-21, to get the victory. Paholski notched 13 kills and three digs, while Electra Cassells had eight kills and eight digs for Valley. Maddy Just had six kills with four digs, and Alex Figuenick had 14 digs and went 12-for-12 on the serve.
“This wasn’t a good night for us,” said Coach Scott. “Hale-Ray had a solid team effort, and they were definitely ready to even the score after we had beaten them in their gym earlier in the season.”
Then on Oct. 13, Valley was ready to get back on track after the loss and won by a 3-1 margin versus Morgan. Valley lost the first set 23-25, but took the next three by scores 25-12, 25-19, and 25-21. Figuenick had 27 digs and four aces, while Paholski supplied 14 kills, 18 digs, three aces, and a block. Cassells added 17 digs, 12 kills, four aces, and three blocks. Heidi Clark collected 23 digs with four aces and a block. Maddy Just had 19 digs, eight kills and two aces, and Hannah Clark handed off 33 assists while adding two aces.
Football
The Warriors’ football team traveled to Woodbury to battle Nonnewaug and demolished the Chiefs by a 48-0 final on Oct. 14. It was a versatile scoring attack with seven different players visiting the end zone for Valley-Old Lyme, which improved to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in Pequot League Sassacus Division.
The Warriors got the scoring started in the first quarter with a touchdown pass from Mike Cullina to Ernest Jean-Pierre, after which Brian Funk kicked the extra point to make it 7-0. Later in the period, Jason O’Brien gave the offense a break with a 55-yard punt return for a score to make it 14-0 following another successful PAT from Funk.
Nick Braga reeled off a huge 81-yard TD run in the second quarter to make the score 20-0. Josh Donahue continued the scoring by taking in a touchdown from 10 yards out, making it 27-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Cullina connected with Jake Kruszewski for a 20-yard touchdown strike for a 34-0 lead. After that, Blair Allen caught a 29-yard TD pass from Cullina for the final score of the quarter and a 41-0 advantage.
Colin Stalls ran in a touchdown from 48 yards out for final TD of the game, and Funk’s last extra point put a bow on the Warriors’ 48-0 victory.
Cullina went 9-for-16 for 189 yards with three touchdown passes. Nick Braga had another big game with 137 yards rushing on five carries. On defense, Allen made seven tackles, Garhett Watrous had five tackles, and Alex Swanski and Donahue each had four. Jean-Pierre had three tackles and an interception, as did Kruszewski.
The Warriors’ next game will be at Sassacus Division opponent North Branford (4-1, 3-1) on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.