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11/04/2018 12:00 AMFor the second year in a row, the North Branford field hockey squad has earned the right to call itself the class of the Shoreline Conference. The 2nd-seeded Thunderbirds took on top-seeded Westbrook in the championship game of the Shoreline Conference Tournament on Nov. 1 and claimed their second straight title by notching a 2-0 win at the Indian River Complex in Clinton.
During the regular season, North Branford took a 3-0 defeat at Westbrook on Sept. 27 and later played the Knights to a 1-1 tie in a home game on Oct. 27. Playing on a neutral site for round three, the T-Birds came away with the victory to defend their crown and improve to 14-2-1-1 on the season. Head Coach Babby Nuhn’s club has now won the Shoreline Conference Tournament three times since its inception in 2014.
“I thought we turned it on a lot more today, cutting back more for the ball. We knew that Westbrook has a well-rounded, tenacious kind of team, so it was all about possession and trying to win every ball,” said Nuhn. “We’re a team that started pretty slow in the beginning of the season, and we’ve been moving on up. We have such great leadership with our six seniors, and we’re really big on the team.”
Junior Ali Barrett gave North Branford a 1-0 lead by scoring the first goal of the game with 21:31 remaining in the opening half. North Branford hung on to its one-goal edge until junior Ava Galdenzi netted an insurance marker with 17:52 to play in the game to secure the victory for the Thunderbirds.
On Barrett’s goal, there was a battle in front of the net, and North Branford managed to get a shot on the Westbrook keeper. The rebound was kicked out right onto the stick of Barrett, who buried the shot to put the T-Birds up 1-0.
“I was kind of nervous when I took that shot,” Barrett said. “I wasn’t sure it was going to make it into the net, but once it went in, we all got a sense that we would dominate the game.”
Coach Nuhn said she was happy to see Barrett break the ice in the game, especially since Barrett is such an unselfish player who’s always looking for ways to help her teammates to score goals.
“Ali has been the one setting up goals all season long, and she’s just a selfless, team player,” said Nuhn. “She has been very strong.”
North Branford dominated possession throughout the first half against Westbrook. The T-Birds put several shots on Westbrook’s goalie on their way to taking a 1-0 lead into the break. As play wore on in the second half, senior captain Amy Raucci dished off a pass to Galdenzi, who sent the ball into the cage for North Branford’s second goal of the game and a 2-0 advantage.
Senior captain Jordan Regan made two saves in goal to earn the shutout for North Branford. Regan was quick to credit her defenders for helping keep Westbrook off the board in the third meeting of the season between the rivals.
“It’s crazy to leave with a 2-0 victory considering the challenges we faced playing them the other times. It feels great to win, a little revenge,” Regan said. “We had a fresh set of defenders coming off of last year, and they worked really well and hard at practice, developing into really good defensemen.”
While Coach Nuhn felt thrilled that her team won the game, she said the entire Shoreline Conference Tournament was an emotional experience for her. One of the people who helped the tournament come to fruition in the first place was former Haddam-Killingworth field hockey Head Coach Patsy Kamercia, who passed away on Nov. 2, 2017, nearly one year to the day of the T-Birds’ victory in this year’s final.
“It’s great to win this title two straight years. There’s a lot of strength and positives, obviously, but I’m just so glad we can keep this going for Patsy,” Nuhn said. “She’s the one who wanted this tournament, and I’m super proud that we’re in it. Just a lot of legacy going on and I’m thinking a lot about her right now.”
Prior to beating Westbrook, North Branford defeated No. 3 seed Valley Regional by a 2-1 score in triple overtime in the semifinal round of Shorelines at the Indian River Complex on Oct. 29.
North Branford now enters the Class S State Tournament as the defending champions. The 6th-seeded T-Birds will open states by hosting No. 11 seed Old Saybrook on Tuesday, Nov. 6. With a victory, North Branford would face the winner of No. 3 Immaculate and No. 14 Weston in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 8. The semifinals are on either on Tuesday, Nov. 13 or Wednesday, Nov. 14 with the final set for Saturday, Nov. 17 at Wethersfield High School.
“We’re super excited to go and defend that title,” said Regan. “It’ll be hard, but it’ll be good.”
The North Branford field hockey team’s roster features senior captains Amy Raucci, Kaylee Velez, and Jordan Regan; fellow seniors Joanna Phabmixay, Hannah Augur, and Cayleen Defaranos; juniors Ava Galdenzi, Bianca D’Onofrio, Emily Olsen, Ali Barrett, Avonlea LeBeau, Alyssa Waligroski, Izabella Mott, Gianna Wulff, Jaime Matthews, Melanie Northon, and Alliyah Tropiano; sophomores Karina Jassil, Alyssa Nero, Kelli Jacobson, Sophia Anastasio, Emma Serenson, Jada Micona, Aly Kendrick, Zoe Hughes, Sofia Votto, Amanda Nuzzo, Ella Taylor, and Gabby Gibilisco; and freshmen Samantha Helwig, Meghan Montanaro, Marissa Raffone, Saoirse Burke, Madison Montanaro, Bella Hills, Olivia Toto, and Braeden LeBeau. T-Birds’ Head Coach Babby Nuhn is assisted by Evaun Boatman, Lori Connelly, and Kathy Galdenzi.