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09/30/2018 12:00 AMBoys’ Soccer
The Branford boys’ soccer team continued its excellent start to the 2018 season by recording a trio of victories in last week’s action, while qualifying for the Class L State Tournament in the process. The Hornets posted home shutouts over both East Haven and Guilford, after which Paul Hunter’s club earned a road win versus Career-Hillhouse. Branford, which outscored its opponents by a combined total of 16-1 last week, improved its overall record to 6-0-2 on the year with the three wins.
The Hornets kicked off their week by hosting East Haven and notched an 8-0 shutout versus the Yellowjackets in an Oronoque Division contest on Sept. 24. Branford moved to 2-1-1 in SCC Oronoque Division play with this win.
Two days later, Branford hosted Guilford and blanked the rival Indians by the final score of 2-0. Head Coach Paul Hunter said that the Hornets turned in their best all-around effort of the season in the victory. Senior Marzio Mastroianni scored Branford’s first goal on an assist from fellow senior Juan Leon-Munoz. Later in the game, Leon-Munoz found the back of the net for the Hornets with junior Andrew Wirtz getting the assist.
Branford finished its week with a road game against Career-Hillhouse on Sept. 28. The Hornets netted a 6-1 victory at Bowen Field in New Haven to stay undefeated on the year.
Coach Hunter said that his attacking unit of Mastroianni, fellow seniors Ben DeMaio, Juan Leon-Munoz, and Marvin Hernandez, and junior Andrew Wirtz are developing a nice chemistry on the pitch this season. The scoring was spread out nicely for the Hornets last week, led by seven goals from Mastroianni, three goals and three assists by Hernandez, and three goals with two assists from Leon-Munoz. Senior Derek Tratnyek had a goal with three assists on the week, while Wirtz dished out three assists. DeMaio had two assists, sophomore Ralf Ciarleglio added a goal, and senior Abdalla Syed and sophomore Matt Cordero both contributed an assist for Branford during its perfect week.
Hunter added that Ciarleglio and junior Tahj Sutherland are doing a fabulous job of anchoring the central midfield and controlling the tempo of play. The coach went on to say that Branford’s defense continues to be rock solid, led by senior Kosta Gionteris, Cordero, Syed, and junior Cody McCarns, who are consistently establishing a formidable wall in front of senior goalkeeper Praneeth Ganedi.
Girls’ Soccer
Branford was on the field for one game last week when the Hornets hosted Hamden on Sept. 28. Head Coach Jen Kohut’s club dropped a 5-1 decision against the Green Dragons at Branford High School. With the loss, the Hornets moved to 1-4-1 on the season.
Branford trailed Hamden 1-0 when junior Rose Lockery scored on a penalty kick to tie it up with five minutes remaining in the first half. The game stayed tied 1-1 at halftime, but Hamden scored four goals in the second half on its way to the win. Head Coach Jen Kohut said that junior Sydney Panczak played a solid game at the center back position by taking numerous free kicks to move the Hornets’ offense forward.
Field Hockey
The Hornets hit the road to square off against Mercy on Sept. 28 and netted a 1-0 shutout versus the Tigers in Middletown. Head Coach Pete Frye’s team improved its record to 4-1-1 on the season with the victory.
Senior Carly Shea scored the lone goal of the game on an assist from junior Molly Zaffino in the second half to lift the Hornets to the win. Junior Gianna Messina made two saves in goal to get the shutout for Branford. Coach Frye said that juniors Brianna Shaw, Alexis Pepe, and Karly King, sophomore Jocelyn Smestad, and freshman Katie Laska had a heavy hand in win versus Mercy.
Volleyball
Branford earned its second victory of the year by winning a five-set marathon against Lyman Hall in a recent SCC Hammonasset Division contest. The Hornets also took defeats versus Cheshire and East Haven in last week’s action. For the season, Head Coach Cody Michaels’s team has an overall record of 2-7 to go with a record of 2-2 in the Hammonasset Division.
On Sept. 24, Branford hosted Lyman Hall and earned a 3-2 victory versus the Trojans. The Hornets took the divisional win behind scores of 25-19, 25-22, 14-25, 21-25, and 15-10. Diana Karosas had a big match for Branford by recording 10 kills to go with seven assists, six digs, and eight aces. Sophomore Kaitlyn Dugan had 12 digs with five aces, while freshman Marzia Johnson contributed eight digs, three aces, and two kills in the victory.
Two night later, Branford was on the road to face Cheshire for another Hammonasset matchup and took a 3-0 defeat by the score of 25-16, 25-8, 25-18. Senior Taryn Broughal had six kills and two digs, and Dugan added 10 digs for the Hornets.
Branford’s final match of the week took place in East Haven, where the Hornets lost 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 26-24) against the Yellowjackets on Sept. 28.
Football
The Hornets hosted SCC Tier 1 opponent Notre Dame for a contest at Branford High School on Sept. 28. Branford took a 33-14 defeat against the Green Knights to move to 3-1 on the season.
Following a scoreless first half, Notre Dame scored on two rushing touchdowns during the first five minutes of the third quarter to take a 14-0 lead. Branford got on the board when junior quarterback Sean Kelly ran in an 11-yard touchdown run. Junior Eli Hanlon kicked the extra point, and the Hornets trailed 14-7 with 5:26 remaining in the quarter. Notre Dame scored on a 10-yard TD with 1:03 to play in the frame and led 21-7 entering the fourth.
With 8:53 to go in the game, Kelly took in a 2-yard touchdown run and Hanlon followed with the extra point to cut the deficit to 21-14. However, the Green Knights came back with a short touchdown run that made it 27-14 with 4:53 remaining. Notre Dame later connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass for a 33-14 advantage with 45 seconds left.
Kelly ran the ball 13 times for 65 yards and the two scores for Branford. The Hornets’ recorded three interceptions on defense as junior Aiden MacNeil, senior Rob Lionetti, and junior Ian McDonald all snagged a pass from the Notre Dame quarterback. MacNeil also forced a fumble, while senior captain Jackson Seward had a sack to go with 15 tackles, including four for a loss. McDonald made 14 tackles, sophomore Nick Chieffo had 11 tackles, and junior Spencer Landsbach and sophomore Kamryn Holmes both had nine tackles for Branford.
Branford has this week off and will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 12, when the Hornets will host Pomperaug for a non-conference game at 7 p.m.
Boys’ Cross Country
Branford hosted a quad-meet at the Supply Pond on Sept. 27 and came away with one win on the day. The Hornets earned a 15-50 victory over East Haven, took a 15-34 defeat against Shelton, and lost by a 21-34 score versus Lyman Hall at the meet. Branford now has a record of 3-4 this fall.
Senior Matt Daley finished in sixth place overall by crossing the finish line in 18 minutes flat for Branford. Andrew Betzig finished in 17th place (20:03), Wyatt Reynolds finished in 19th (20:12), Brennan Hynes placed 20th (20:14), and Andrew DeBenedictis finished in 21st place (20:18) for the Hornets.
Girls’ Cross Country
The Hornets ran against East Haven, Shelton, and Lyman Hall in a quad-meet at their home course at the Supply Pond last week. Head Coach Kevin Connell’s club posted a 15-50 victory over East Haven at the meet, in addition to taking losses to Shelton (21-38) and Lyman Hall (28-38). With these results, Branford’s record stands at 5-2 for the season.
Bella Finta ran a time of 22 minutes and 37 seconds to finish in fourth place for the Hornets. Branford’s pack was rounded out by Kacey Gilman (6th, 23:07), Isla Lionetti (23:18), Julianne Dillon (26:29), and Khusbu Shresta (21st, 26:53).
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
Branford dropped contests against two of the top teams in the Southern Connecticut Conference last week. The Hornets lost to Amity and Cheshire in last week’s matchups and now have a record of 2-4-1 on the campaign.
Branford competed against Amity on Sept. 25 and took a 94-81 defeat to the Spartans at the Orange Community Center Pool. Junior Gabrielle Gillis took first place in the 100 freestyle by swimming a time of 58.52 seconds for the Hornets. Freshman Erika Barone won the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:05.30, while sophomore Nicola Colossale came in first for the 100 breaststroke by timing in at 1:26.10. Branford’s 200 freestyle relay of junior Cordelia Keberle, sophomore Katherine Parsell, Colossale, and senior Chloe Parsell took first place in 2:02.20. The Hornets’ 400 freestyle relay featuring junior Adrienne Dillon, Barone, sophomore Melissa Juliano, and Gillis came in first place by posting a mark of 4:11.21.
Then on Sept. 28, the Hornets went up against Cheshire and lost to the Rams by a 95-73 final at the Cheshire Community Pool. Freshman Rory Jacobson took first in the 100 backstroke (1:19.59), and Chloe Parsell finished first in the 100 breaststroke (1:28.34) for Branford. The Hornets’ 200 freestyle relay of sophomore Carly Pierre-Louis, senior Iliana Baldillo, senior Serena Sachs, and junior Brooke O’Leary finished first in 2:20.05, while the 400 freestyle relay of Juliano, Barone, Keberle, and Gillis took first with a time of 4:00.63.