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11/16/2019 11:00 PMField Hockey
One week after winning its third-straight Shoreline Conference title, the North Branford field hockey squad claimed victory in its first two games of the Class S State Tournament to move on to the semifinal round. The Thunderbirds notched a 7-0 win over Wamogo in a first-round game before claiming a 3-1 victory versus Canton in the quarterfinals to advance to a matchup with Immaculate in the semifinals. North Branford has an overall record of 19-0-1 this year.
No. 2 seed North Branford started off the Class S draw by taking on No. 15 Wamogo for a first-round home game on Nov. 11. The T-Birds recorded a 7-0 shutout over the Warriors in the contest.
Senior captain Ava Galdenzi opened the scoring by netting one of her three goals about seven minutes into the game. Fellow senior captain Ali Barrett extended North Branford’s lead to 2-0 when she scored a goal about a minute later. Sophomore Olivia Toto and Galdenzi scored back-to-back goals off assists from junior Aly Kendrick, after which Barrett scored her second goal of the game to put the T-Birds ahead 5-0 at the half. Toto and Galdenzi added goals in the second half.
Senior goalie Jaime Matthews recorded her 15th shutout of the season for North Branford. Head Coach Babby Nuhn said that Kendrick and junior Emma Serenson consistently stopped many attacks from Wamogo’s midfielders.
Three days later, North Branford hosted No. 7 seed Canton in the Class S quarterfinals. The T-Birds defeated Canton by the score of 3-1 to make their way into the semis.
Barrett and Galdenzi started the game with two quick goals to put North Branford up 2-0 in the first six minutes. Toto scored North Branford’s final goal of the game as the T-Birds secured the victory to advance.
North Branford played No. 3 seed Immaculate in the semifinals of the Class S State Tournament at Cheshire High School on Nov. 19 (after press time). If the T-Birds defeat the Mustangs, they will face the winner of No. 1 Granby and No. 4 Westbrook in the Class S state final at Wethersfield High School on Saturday, Nov. 23.
North Branford qualified for the Class S State Tournament by notching a mark of 15-0-1-0 during regular-season play. Prior to states, the T-Birds competed in the Shoreline Tournament as the No. 1 seed. North Branford earned a 3-1 win against No. 4 seed Valley Regional in the semifinals before beating No. 2 Westbrook by a 2-1 score in the final to win the tournament for the third year in a row.
Girls’ Soccer
The Thunderbirds’ girls’ soccer squad hit the road to square off against Lewis Mills for a first-round game in the Class M State Tournament last week. North Branford dropped an 8-2 decision to finish its season with a record of 5-9-3.
North Branford entered the Class M bracket as the No. 27 seed after going on a second-half surge to qualify for the tournament. In the first round, the T-Birds faced 6th-seeded Lewis Mills and took an 8-2 defeat on Nov. 12.
North Branford trailed Lewis Mills by a 6-0 score at halftime. The T-Birds scored both of their goals in the game during the second half. Junior Adrianna Lucibello scored the first goal when she tapped in a rebound of a shot by senior captain Lexi Rosado. Later in the half, Rosado took a pass from junior Alessia Valentino and buried a shot from beyond the 18-yard box for North Branford’s second goal.
North Branford had made states by posting a record of 5-8-3 during the regular season. The Thunderbirds bounced back from a 0-7-2 start to go 5-1-1 down the stretch to qualify.
Football
North Branford went up against Morgan for a Pequot Conference Sassacus Division road game and routed the Huskies by the score of 72-32 at the Peters Complex on Nov. 15. With the victory, the Thunderbirds improved to 6-2 overall and 5-0 in the division as they gear up for their final two games of the campaign.
North Branford’s offense racked up 761 yards in its win over Morgan. Junior Tyler DiNapoli had a huge night on the ground by rushing for 217 yards and four touchdowns on just eight carriers to go with two receptions for 43 yards and a score. Junior quarterback Brandon Fratta went 11-of-16 passing for 293 yards with four touchdowns. Fellow junior Alex Clinton caught three passes for 135 yards and a pair of TDs.
The T-Birds jumped out to an early lead against Morgan by scoring four touchdowns in the first quarter. Clinton hauled in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Fratta and then DiNapoli kicked the extra point to make it 7-0. On North Branford’s next possession, DiNapoli sprinted 54 yards for a score and connected on the PAT to give the T-Birds a 14-0 lead. After Morgan cut the lead in half, DiNapoli caught a 29-yard touchdown from Fratta and later ran home a 23-yard touchdown to extend North Branford’s lead to 26-7.
The Huskies scored a TD in the second quarter to make it 26-13, but North Branford responded when senior Aiden Ferrucci broke off a 47-yard touchdown run. DiNapoli ran for the 2-point conversion to push North Branford’s lead to 34-13. DiNapoli scored on a 23-yard touchdown run to make to make it 40-13 later in the period. Following a touchdown by Morgan, Fratta found senior Nate Raymond on a 47-yard scoring strike to give the Thunderbirds a 46-19 advantage at halftime.
Morgan scored the first points of the third quarter before North Branford busted the game open. Senior Cameron Afanador ran for a 33-yard TD, Clinton caught an 88-yard touchdown pass from Fratta, and then DiNapoli rushed for a 60-yard touchdown for a 66-25 command through three.
After Morgan scored a touchdown to make it 66-32, Ferrucci returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to the house to put a bow on North Branford’s 72-32 victory.
North Branford ran for 333 yards as a team while averaging 19.6 yards per carry on the night. Along with DiNapoli’s big performance, Ferrucci had two carries for 65 yards and a touchdown, while Afanador added 39 yards and a TD on three rushes. Raymond had three catches for 63 yards and a touchdown to aid the T-Birds’ air attack.
On the defensive end, junior Marquis McFadden had an interception for the Thunderbirds, who recorded four sacks in the victory. Junior Efstathios Gianniotis had two sacks with senior Xavior Cognata and sophomore Ryan Vaspasiano getting one sack apiece. Senior Ronnie Longo blocked a pair of kicks on special teams.
North Branford is hosting Windsor Locks-Suffield-East Granby (6-2) on Friday, Nov. 22 at 6:30 p.m. After that, the T-Birds will conclude the regular season with a home game against divisional rival Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 27. The Blue Devils are 5-3 overall and tied with North Branford for first place in the Pequot Sassacus standings with their divisional record of 5-0.
The Thunderbirds are also currently in 13th place in the Class S State Playoff rankings, in which the top eight squads qualify.