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06/03/2018 12:00 AMThe North Branford girls’ lacrosse team made history when it captured its first Shoreline Conference Tournament title with a 10-7 victory against Old Lyme in the championship game at Indian River Complex in Clinton on May 24.
The last time North Branford had won a Shoreline title was back in 2010, when the championship was decided based on the top record in the conference. The tournament began in 2015 and, last year, North Branford lost to Old Lyme in the conference final. However, the T-Birds flipped the script this time around by defeating the Wildcats to bring the Shoreline crown to North Branford.
The Thunderbirds went on to earn a 17-2 win against St. Paul in the quarterfinals of the Class S State Tournament. North Branford, which went 14-2 for the regular season, now has an overall record of 17-2 on the year.
“14-2 is my best record ever,” Head Coach Lori Connelly said. “This is my best season yet. The conference championship is just icing on the cake.”
North Branford fell behind early against the Wildcats as Old Lyme scored the first two goals of the game, before the T-Birds came back with a pair of goals to even the score. After Old Lyme took a 3-2 lead, North Branford scored three straight goals to go into halftime with a 5-3 advantage.
For the Thunderbirds, the victory avenged their 11-9 loss against Old Lyme in last year’s Shoreline Conference final. During the recent regular season, North Branford defeated the Wildcats 17-12 on April 24 and 7-6 in its regular-season finale on May 19.
“We were in the final last year and Old Lyme was a great team. We played them as hard as we could, but came up a little short. This year, we believed we could do it,” Connelly said. “We never took them lightly, but knew if we played our game and did what we’re supposed to do, we’d have success. The girls never gave up, went hard, and once we got the lead we continued to play tough.”
Junior captain Jessie Kilburn scored four goals and assisted on a goal for North Branford in the victory. Senior captain Emmy Norton scored three goals and finished with a pair of assists. Sophomore Ali Barrett had two goals with an assist, senior Emilie Wilkinson finished with one goal and one assist, and junior Cayleen Defaranos added an assist for the T-Birds. Sophomore goalie Carly Sorrentino made 11 saves in net to preserve the victory.
“When the buzzer rang and we were champs, it was so exciting. Even though I had a conference title, this is my first Shoreline Tournament win,” Coach Connelly said. “I was so excited and just happy for the girls. They’re the ones that work hard and have to go out and leave it all on the field. I’m so proud they never give up and work hard every day. They trust in me and do all the things I ask them to do. It was a full team effort from coaching to the players. It was a full team accomplishment.”
Coach Connelly said that the 2018 edition of the Thunderbirds is one of the most unified teams she’s ever coached. She added that every athlete on the squad has bought in and wants to win for one another.
“It’s like a family. They support each other like I’ve never seen,” she said. “Everybody is out there having fun, growing together, and we all have the same goals. They’re all out there just trying to win the game.”
A few days after winning the Shoreline title, the T-Birds opened action in the Class S State Tournament as the top seed. North Branford received a first-round bye and then hosted No. 9 seed St. Paul for a quarterfinal game on May 31. North Branford prevailed by the final score of 18-4 to advance to face No. 4 seed New Fairfield in the quarterfinals at Bunnell High School at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5. Should the T-Birds win that game, they will face the winner of No. 2 seed Canton and No. 3 East Catholic in the Class S State Tournament final on Saturday, June 9 at Law High School.
North Branford’s roster consists of senior captains Emmy Norton and Jasmine Coleman, junior captain Jessie Kilburn, seniors Mackenzie MacGowan, Emilie Wilkinson, and Adriana Ingarra; juniors Mary-Kate Torgerson, Joanna Phabmixay, Emily Neubig, Sarah Cook, Jordan Regan, Adriana Perez, Morgan Ryan, and Cayleen Defaranos; sophomores Jetta Powers, Izabella Mott, Melanie Norton, Ali Barrett, Calley Marcarelli, Sally Cucinotta, Emma Sheehan, Karlee Bureau, Alyssa Waligroski, Bianca D’Onofrio, Avonlea LeBeau, Carly Sorrentino, Sabrina Mone, and Lily Blomster; and freshmen Sofia Votto, Karina Jassil, Kaila Manner, Zoe Hughes, Briana Donofrio, Landon Melillo, Alyssa Kendrick, Gabby Gibilisco, Ava Raymond, and Amanda Nuzzo.
Head Coach Lori Connelly is assisted by Ryan Connelly, Danielle Pannone, Todd Ingarra, and Tom Wilkinson.