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10/14/2019 12:00 AMGirls’ Soccer
The Hornets’ girls’ soccer squad earned a tie versus North Haven and then notched a win against Hamden in last week’s matchups. Branford now stands with a record of 3-3-2 on the campaign.
On Oct. 10, Branford had a home game against North Haven and battled the Indians to a 3-3 tie. Junior Alayna Boileau, senior Rose Lockery, and freshman Ava Ferrie scored Branford’s goals in the game. Senior Melanie Sachs had two assists for the Hornets.
Two days later, the Hornets hosted Hamden and defeated the Green Dragons by a 2-1 score in their annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness. Boileau netted a goal for Branford on a direct kick from 30 yards out. In the second half, Ferrie scored a goal on an assist from Lockery. Sophomore goalie Macey Girard played a great game in net to get the win for Head Coach Jen Kohut’s club.
Boys’ Soccer
Branford hit the pitch for two games last week and came away with a split of the set. The Hornets earned a win versus Bassick before taking a defeat against Hand later in the week. Branford has an overall record of 5-4-1 this year.
The Hornets hosted Bassick for a non-conference game on Oct. 7 and claimed a 5-2 victory. Branford took a 3-2 lead into halftime and then salted the game way by netting a pair of goals during the second stanza.
Bassick grabbed a quick 2-0 lead by scoring two goals in the first eight minutes of the game. The Hornets cut it to 2-1 when senior Cody McCarns scored a goal from junior Din Durmic in the 12th minute. Junior Ralf Ciarleglio tied the game by netting a goal for Branford in the 25th minute. Then with eight minutes to play until halftime, Ciarleglio converted a penalty kick to give Branford a 3-2 advantage at the break.
Five minutes into the second half, Durmic scored a goal on an assist from Ciarleglio to increase Branford’s lead to 4-2. Junior Matt Cordero scored a goal from sophomore Sebastian Verdesoto in the 53rd minute to put a bow on the Hornets’ 5-2 victory.
Then on Oct. 10, Branford was on the road to face Hand and took a 2-1 loss to the Tigers at the Surf Club.
Boys’ Cross Country
The Hornets took on Cross and North Haven in a matchup of SCC Oronoque Division rivals in their final meet of the regular season last week. Branford claimed a 20-40 victory against Cross and lost a 28-29 decision versus North Haven at East Rock Park in New Haven on Oct. 7.
Branford and North Haven were locked in a 28-28 tie at the conclusion of the race, but the Indians got an extra point on a tiebreaker for having the fastest time among the two runners who finished sixth in the pack for each respective team. Head Coach Kevin Connell’s squad went 4-5 overall for the regular season with a mark of 3-1 in divisional play.
Senior Nolan Scott took first place overall for the race by clocking in with a time of 18:21 for Branford. Sophomore Pat Zdunek came in second place behind a time of 18:30. Sophomore Cheng Wu placed seventh (19:08), sophomore Ben Watson finished 10th (19:26), and senior Andrew Betzig came in 13th place (19:37) for the Hornets.
Girls’ Cross Country
Branford finished up its regular season by competing against Cross and North Haven in an SCC Oronoque tri-meet at East Rock Park in New Haven on Oct. 7. The Hornets took a 25-30 defeat versus the host Governors and notched a 23-36 win against North Haven at the meet. Branford completed the regular season with an overall record of 4-5 and a mark of 3-1 in the Oronoque Division.
Freshman Hannah Jackson ran a time of 22:41 to take fourth place overall. Sophomore Isla Lionetti came in sixth place with a time of 24:26, sophomore Bella Finta finished eighth in 24:51, junior Steph Toste came in ninth place at 25:04, and freshman Marina Smiarowski finished in 11th place with a mark of 25:50 for Branford.
Field Hockey
Branford traveled to Woodbridge to take on Amity for its lone game of the week on Oct.7. The Hornets took a 2-1 loss against the Spartans and now have a record of 5-3 on the season.
Amity scored the first goal of the game and held a 1-0 lead at halftime. Senior Brianna Shaw scored a goal for the Hornets to tie the game at 1-1 during the second half. The Spartans scored the go-ahead goal with two minutes remaining in the game and held on for the victory.
Senior goalie Gianna Messina made three saves in net for Braford. Head Coach Pete Frye said that senior Karly King, senior Maggie Martin, senior Alexis Pepe, junior Jocelyn Smestad, and sophomore Katie Laska made excellent defensive contributions in the contest.
Volleyball
The Hornets took three defeats last week and are now 2-9 on the year.
Branford hosted North Haven on Oct. 7 and dropped a 3-0 (25-16, 26-16, 25-19) decision to the Indians. Freshman Allie Bietz had 13 assists and five digs for Branford. Junior Breanna Botte posted four kills with two blocks, while fellow junior Anastasia LaFogg added six kills.
On Oct. 9, the Hornets had a home meet against East Haven and were edged out by a 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 20-25, 25-8, 15-8) score. Botte recorded four kills with seven blocks, LaFogg had seven kills with four digs and three aces, and sophomore Marzia Johnson punched up 15 digs to go with two kills and two aces.
Two days later, Branford took a 3-0 loss at divisional opponent Law to move to 1-4 in SCC Oronoque Division play.
Football
Branford was on the bye week for Week 5. The Hornets, who are 1-3, will return to the gridiron when they face Bethel for a non-conference game on Friday, Oct. 18. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. at Bethel High School.