Hand Boys’ Soccer, Field Hockey Seal Their Spots in States
Boys’ Soccer
The Hand boys’ soccer team had another productive week that saw the Tigers get a win versus Guilford and then earn a tie against Cheshire. With these results, Hand stands with a record of 7-1-1 for the 2018 campaign and has qualified for the Class L State Tournament.
Hand earned a 2-1 victory over rival Guilford on Oct. 3. Guilford jumped to an early lead by scoring a goal after a free kick was half cleared by Hand. The ball came out to Guilford’s Evan Lemon, who crossed it into the box to Anthony Ippolito, who powered a header past Tigers’ keeper Clayton Knibbs. Hand upped the tempo after falling behind and then tied the game just a few minutes later when Chris Porte crossed the ball into the box for Scott Testori to head it home at the back post. The game continued at a fast pace with both teams trading blows.
Hand started the second half by creating a slew of chances off corner kicks, and the Tigers’ constant pressure ultimately yielded a goal. In the 58th minute, a corner kick was mis-cleared back into the box by a Guilford defender, and Testori’s fast reaction helped him get a goal to give Hand a 2-1 advantage. The game ended with a flurry of chances for both sides, but Guilford was unable to find the equalizer. Hand outshot Guilford 15-7 and had 17 corner kicks to the Indians’ 11. Knibbs made five saves in net for the Tigers.
“I thought our reaction to going 1-0 down was really good. Chris Porte dominated the game from his position at fullback and delivered a sublime ball for Scott Testori’s first goal. Scott was brilliant today and capped off a great performance with the game-winner,” said Head Coach Greg Cumpstone. “[Brothers Lee and Jack Wildermann] did a fantastic job creating space and delivering service for our front two to attack. Trey Doktorski and Spencer Hartmann also did a great job knitting the play together in the buildup. I also thought that Clayton Knibbs, Jack Greene, and Ethan Gulcicek were excellent defensively, and Matt Luongo did really well when he came on for the injured Cole Finke.”
On Oct. 5, Hand hosted Cheshire and battled the Rams to a 1-1 draw.
Girls’ Soccer
The Tigers are sporting a record of 4-2-3 after grabbing a win in three matches last week. Hand took a 3-0 loss to Cheshire on Oct. 3, before defeating Norwich Free Academy by a 4-2 score the following day. The Tigers fell 4-1 to Amity on Oct. 6.
Field Hockey
Hand won two of its three games last week to improve to 6-3-2 on the campaign. The Tigers lost to Cheshire, but then recorded wins over Shelton and Lyman Hall later in the week to seal their spot in the Class M State Tournament.
On Oct. 1, Hand lost a 2-1 decision against Cheshire. Hand took a 1-0 lead when Anna Beccia and Kathryn Donahey assisted Erickson Richard for a goal with 28:08 remaining in regulation. However, the Rams responded by scoring two goals in the final 16 minutes and then held on for the win. Cheshire outshot Hand 6-5 with Karen Newton making four saves in goal for the Tigers.
Hand bounced back convincingly by posting 10-0 rout over Shelton on Oct. 3. Maeve Connors and Beccia scored two goals for Hand, which also received goals from Lucy Cutler, Jacqui Sandor, Tessie Sheehan, Jacqui McKeown, Isabelle Fenn, and Grace Goddard. Hattie Burt, Beccia, Katherine Barnett, and Donahey all had an assist in the win.
The Tigers concluded the week with a 5-0 shutout of Lyman Hall on Oct. 5. Woods notched two goals, while Burt, Maggie Kallinich, and Connors also had goals for Hand. Sandor had a huge day by handing out five assists, and Sheehan had two assists for the Tigers. Shea Docker, Burt, and Richard added one assist apiece. Hand outshot the Trojans 20-1 and saw Newton turn aside that shot to get the shutout.
Girls’ Volleyball
The Tigers picked up their second win of the season versus Branford last week. Hand, which also took three defeats in last week’s action, has an overall record of 6-7 to go with a mark of 3-2 in the SCC Hammonasset Division this year.
Hand took a 3-0 loss to Shelton on Oct. 1. The next day, the Tigers dropped a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 17-25, 16-25) contest against Lyman Hall in a divisional matchup. Allie Nelson had 20 kills and five aces, while Mikayla Vitale added 10 digs for Hand.
On Oct. 3, the Tigers lost to Guilford by the score of 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-17).
Hand then notched a 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-22) against Branford on Oct. 5. Nelson had 10 kills and four aces for the Tigers in the victory.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
Hand scored a 91-87 victory versus Foran on Oct. 2, before taking a 104-80 defeat against North Haven on Oct. 5. The Tigers now have a record of 4-1 on the year.
In the win over Foran, the Tigers’ 200 medley relay team of Alexa Betts, Ava Dougherty, Erin Reilly, and Ava Keane took first place with a time of 2:06.28 at the meet. Ruby Redlich finished second in the 200 freestyle (2:05.04) and Sammy Tuveson placed fourth (2:16.34). In the 200 individual medley, Gabby Wira came in second place (2:29.96), while Dougherty finished third (2:36.22). In the 50 freestyle, Hand captured the top three places with Reilly placing first (26.89), Keane finishing second (28.03), and Sophie Cadematori taking third (29.34). In the 100 butterfly, Emma Ruffo finished second (1:11.06) and Catherine Arrandale came in third (1:13.36). For the 100 freestyle, Hand took first and third place, respectively, behind the performances of Reilly (58.55) and Dougherty (1:03.60). Abbi Chemacki finished first (5:21.81) in the 500 freestyle and was followed by Tuveson in third (6:01.19). The 200 freestyle relay team of Redlich, Reilly, Keane, and Kayla Mendonca took first place with a time of 1:47.96. In the diving competition, Julia Bloomfield placed first with a score of 185.30, while Mary Huminski was a close second by scoring a 185.05
Other strong performances for Hand were put in by Ruffo (1:10.34) and Arrandale (1:12.66) in the 100 backstroke, Chemacki (1:16.66) and Wira (1:19.34) in the 100 breaststroke, as well as 400 freestyle relay team of Betts, Grace Vest, Keane, and Mendonca, which timed in a 4:06.53.