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11/15/2017 11:00 PMField Hockey
The Branford field hockey team saw its exceptional 2017 season come to a finish in the Class M State Tournament semifinals as the Hornets took a 2-1 loss against New Canaan at Trumbull High School on Nov. 14.
No. 8 seed New Canaan (12-7), which defeated Branford in last year’s Class M semis, scored the game’s first goal in the opening half and then added an insurance goal in the second half. The Rams needed that second goal, because sophomore Brianna Shaw scored for Branford with 2:49 left in the game to cut the deficit to 2-1. However, New Canaan was able to stave off the Hornets’ comeback effort and come away with a win that sent the Rams to face Hand in the final. No. 4 seed Branford finished the season with a record of 17-3-0-2.
Head Coach Cathy McGuirk praised the way her team played against New Canaan. Branford outshot the Rams 11-3 and earned 10 penalty corners to New Canaan’s two. Although it was a difficult defeat to take, McGuirk felt the Hornets put together one of their best performances of the season.
“We would just get the ball and go. [New Canaan] would get it, make a pass, and we’d steal it. The kids were just great. They were all over the place. We were in there taking hard shots, and our kids were on top of the ball. We had three corners in a row at one point,” McGuirk said. “When you’re involved in a game like that and you see how hard they’re working and how consistent they can be, you can’t be anything but super proud of their effort. To me, that says a lot.”
New Canaan notched the first goal of the game when Meghan Mitchell scored on a penalty stroke with 12 minutes left in the first half. The game stayed that way until there were 22 minutes remaining in the second half, when Marlee Smith tipped in a shot for a 2-0 advantage. With about three minutes to play, the Hornets earned a corner, Shaw found the ball in a scramble, and then sent it into the back of the cage to make it a 2-1 game. Coach McGuirk said that Branford kept pressing through the final seconds, but New Canaan prevented the Hornets from getting any quality scoring opportunities the rest of the way, and hung on for the one-goal win.
Even with the loss, Coach McGuirk complimented her squad for recording the latest in a long line of quality campaigns for Branford field hockey. In addition to their 17 victories, the Hornets also won the SCC regular-season title, advanced to their second straight SCC final, and then made the state semifinals for the 29th time in program history.
“It was a wonderful season. The kids just didn’t back down in any game,” said McGuirk. “They were consistent and improved all during the season, and that is what you want from a team. You have to keep going, and that’s what they did in this semifinal game, where they played their hearts out.”
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
Senior Gabija Karosas earned All-State honors in the 100-yard backstroke for the third straight year by finishing third in the event for Branford at the Class M Girls’ Swimming State Championship. The Hornets scored 293 points and finished in eighth place out of 22 squads in the Class M meet, which was held at Southern Connecticut State University on Nov. 16.
Karosas swam a time of 1:01.76 on her way to taking third and making All-State in the backstroke. She also finished eighth in the 500 freestyle (5:27.79) and swam on a pair of relays. Branford’s 400 freestyle relay of freshman Melissa Juliano, Karosas, sophomore Gabrielle Gillis, and senior Sally Nardella finished in third place with a time of 3:42.98. In the 200 medley relay, Juliano, Karosas, Nardella, and Gillis placed ninth at 1:57.59.
Nardella and Gillis both finished in the top 10 of two events. Nardella came in fifth place for the 200 freestyle (2:00.61) and was ninth in the 100 freestyle (55.92). Gillis finished fifth in the 100 free (55.27) and took ninth place in the 50 freestyle with a mark of 25.64 seconds.
Juliano finished ninth in the 100 backstroke at 1:05.07, while sophomore Adrienne Dillon was 11th with a 1:05.73. Juliano also placed 18th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.26.
In the 200 freestyle relay, the Hornets’ quartet of Dillon, freshman Nicola Colossale, senior Ryan Bohan, and sophomore Cordelia Keberle finished in 13th place behind a time of 1:50.19.