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Hornets Never Had a Chance to Take Care of Unfinished Business

The returning athletes on the Branford girls’ lacrosse team felt like they had some unfinished business to attend to heading into 2020. After the Hornets won Class M state titles during each of the two previous seasons, they finished with a record of 8-10 and were eliminated in the opening round of both the SCC and State tournaments last year. Head Coach Jackie Ceccolini’s players were determined to get Branford back into the championship conversation and worked throughout the offseason in order to make that goal become a reality. Unfortunately, the reality is that the Hornets never got the opportunity to contend for a title or even play a single game as a result of COVID-19.

“The girls that were part of the back-to-back state championships were hungry to do that again. They trained all the way until the week before the season was supposed to start,” Coach Ceccolini said. “We had a large amount of seniors who pushed each other to compete and get stronger from the previous year, and their leadership trickled down to the underclassmen. It’s hard to project, but the goal every year is to compete for a championship, and I definitely think that we would have had a strong season.”

Coach Ceccolini said she appreciates how the CIAC waited a few weeks to cancel the season as it held out hope that even a handful of games could potentially be played this spring. When word finally came that there would be no games, Ceccolini felt devastated for all the athletes on her squad, especially the seniors who missed out on their chance to have the final farewell they wanted.

“These seniors worked hard for three years and were looking to go out with a bang. They feel like they’ve been left out on something, and there is nothing that can really fix that. It’s definitely a disappointment,” said Ceccolini. “It’s not only lacrosse season, but proms, senior trips, and parts of the school year that they’ve been working toward for their whole high school careers. You reflect on memories of what you do as a senior. They’re pretty heartbroken about it.”

Despite her disappointment, Coach Ceccolini wants Branford’s seniors to know much they mean to the program. The Hornets’ featured 11 athletes and two managers in their senior class this year. This includes senior captains Karly King and Brianna Shaw, who are both midfielders; along with attacker Isabel Mannle and fellow captain Brooke O’Leary, a goalkeeper. All four players were returning starters, and Ceccolini said that they “would have excelled” with their responsibilities of leading the team.

King was going to lead Branford after having previously served as a senior captain for the Hornets’ field hockey and girls’ basketball teams. On the lacrosse field, King delivered one of the best performances of her career when she turned in a stifling defensive effort during the Hornets’ 11-8 victory against Hand in the Class M state final as a sophomore. Last spring, King earned All-SCC First Team, All-State First Team, and All-Area honors for Branford. She will play lacrosse at Stonehill College in Massachusetts next year.

“Karly is a three-season captain, because she’s just a coach’s dream. You give Karly a direction, and she never gives you an excuse. She looks you in the eye, goes out on the field, and performs,” Ceccolini said. “It’s really hard to outwork Karly. She may not be the fastest on the team or have the best stick skills, but you can’t outwork her. Karly was always that missing piece for us on the field. Whenever we needed something, she made it happen.”

Like King, Shaw solidified spots on the All-SCC First Team and All-State First Team by virtue of her performance last season. Shaw, who was also a field hockey standout at Branford, will continue her lacrosse career at Southern Connecticut State University.

“Brianna has really evolved over her three seasons at Branford High School. She became a student of the game,” said Ceccolini. “Brianna learned from some strong mentors at the beginning of her career and, as she learned, she became better. Brianna really worked on her draw abilities as a center mid and also spent time working on her shot inside the eight [yard line] to become a strong offensive threat for us. Brianna was definitely more of a goal scorer, but she wanted to be on the draw and get more time on the field, and became a strong midfielder.”

Mannle is another player who has a knack for finding the back of the net. On the flipside, Coach Ceccolini was eager to see how goalkeeper O’Leary was going to come along in her second season defending the Hornets’ net.

“Mannle has the right energy and aggressive attitude that coaches hope for in athletes. Isabele brought that energy to the field and used her speed to be a very successful player for us inside the eight. She’s a goal scorer and has a quick first step to get around opponents,” Ceccolini said. “Brooke put in a lot of time in the offseason to gain a starting spot last year. She really leads the defense and continued to improve her game from last season. I was looking forward to Brooke being the best that she’s been in her lacrosse career.”

Ceccolini was anticipating some nice strides from all of Branford’s seniors this year. The other athletes in the Hornets’ senior class are attackers Gabby Gillis and Olivia Vitale; midfielder Hailey Brunner; and defenders Camdyn Dunn, Mikayla Brown, and Ainsley Betzig; as well as Molly Zaffino, who was joining the team this year on the heels of an outstanding field hockey career. Fellow seniors Delaney Baughman and Rachel Grabowiecki were the team’s managers.

Coach Ceccolini knows that Branford never would have reached the heights that it did in recent seasons without a first-class effort from every senior on the squad.

“They are all phenomenal people. They are superior students who are involved in their community and well-rounded people who are involved with many clubs and activities. It’s a great group of young ladies that I was really looking forward to spending more time with,” Ceccolini said. “I just want to thank all the seniors and their families for their contributions to our program and for what they’ve done for the school and the lacrosse community in town the last four years.”

While she’s sad to say good-bye to her seniors, Ceccolini still feels optimistic about the fact that Branford will bring back a cast of talented athletes for next season. The Hornets’ current junior corps features attackers Nicola Colossale, McClain Cassello, Alexandra Pombo, and Andrea Amarante; in addition to defenders Jocelyn Smestad and Jennifer Antell. Some of the team’s key sophomores are attackers Isla Lionetti and Ava Brunner, midfielders Bella Finta and Julia Duffy, and defender Nina Shamas.

“My outlook for next season is positive. We have another fairly large junior class coming up who will help lead the freshmen who didn’t get that high school experience this season. And then we also have some sophomores who already had varsity experience and are ready to contribute,” Coach Ceccolini said. “I think this speaks to our youth program. Our youth program is very well-organized, and the participation is great with feeding into the high school program, so that helps. Girls’ lacrosse is definitely on the rise in town. We have great parental involvement and, with all the winning, the numbers have grown.”

This would have marked Ceccolini’s 12th season as head coach of Branford girls’ lacrosse. Ceccolini’s coaching staff includes her brother Billy Alessi and father Joe Alessi, along with Melissa Carney, who is head coach of the JV team.

Ceccolini still has several months to wait until she can begin year No. 13 at the helm of the Hornets. For Ceccolini and her team, the 2021 campaign can’t get here fast enough.

“We’re already thinking about the possibility of being on the field again. There is nothing like the optimism of spring sports,” said Ceccolini. “You get through the dog days of winter, see your team get better day by day, and it’s a special feeling when that leads to postseason play. I know that sitting out this year will make everyone even hungrier for those practices next year.”