Printer Friendly Version - Branford Field Hockey Starts with Split; Cross Country Squads Off and Running

Andrea Amarante and the Branford field hockey squad notched a 3-0 victory over Lyman Hall for their first win of the year. Amarante had two goals with an assist in the victory.Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The Branford field hockey came away with a split of two games to open up the 2020 campaign. The Hornets took a loss to Cheshire in their opener before bouncing back with a win over Lyman Hall for a 1-1 start to the year.

Branford dropped a 3-0 decision at Cheshire in its first game of the season on Oct 1. Head Coach Pete Frye said that goalie Nina Shamas played a great game for the Hornets by making 21 saves in net. Frye added that Scout Engstrom, Liv Salerno, and Ellie Wieland also turned in strong performances for Branford.

Two days later, the Hornets earned their first victory of 2020 by claiming a 3-0 win against Lyman Hall at Branford High School. Andrea Amarante scored two goals for the Hornets and also assisted on a goal by Engstrom. Nora Longway also contributed an assist in the win.

Shamas made three saves in goal for Coach Frye’s squad. Frye said that Lauren Kendrick, Raiyn Fries, Gianna Bozzi, Katie Laska, and Alisa Gueco and played great games to help Branford prevail.

The Hornets took two defeats in a tri-meet at Mercy High School on Oct. 2. Branford lost to Mercy a 24-33 final and dropped a 23-33 decision versus Daniel Hand at the meet.

Isla Lionetti took third place overall for Branford by crossing the finish line with a time of 16 minutes and 36 seconds. Hannah Jackson came in seventh place by timing in at 16:53, while Bella Finta finished ninth with a time of 17:22. Steph Toste finished 14th (18:33), and Marina Smiarowski came in 21st place (21:16) on the 2.4-mile course.

Branford started off its season by competing against Xavier and Daniel Hand in a tri-meet at Mercy High School last week. The Hornets took a 15-50 defeat to Xavier and also lost to Hand by that same score on Oct. 2.

Wes Raymond was Branford’s top runner by finishing in 29th place with a time of 14 minutes and 20 seconds. Cheng Wu finished in 31st place (14:23), Sam Coppola came in 33rd (14:28), Brennan Hynes placed 35th (14:32), and Pat Zdunek finished in 37th (14:38) for Head Coach Kevin Connell’s squad.

Isla Lionetti paced her way to a third-place finish when the Hornets competed against Mercy and Hand in their season opener. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound