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09/30/2022 02:59 PMField Hockey
The North Branford field hockey team raised its record to 7-0 on the season after prevailing in all three of its matchups last week. The Thunderbirds posted shutouts over Morgan and Valley Regional and then defeated Watertown to stay perfect on the year.
North Branford began its week by recording a 6-0 road victory versus Morgan on Sept. 19. Sophomore Alivia Schmidt scored the first goal of the day on an assist from junior Keana Criscuolo just 36 seconds into the game. Six minutes later, sophomore Lily Ardito scored her first varsity goal on an assist by Schmidt to make it 2-0. Schmidt went on to net a goal from Ardito to put the T-Birds up 3-0 with less than a minute left in the opening period.
Junior Sophia Toto scored from Criscuolo to make it 4-0 with 10:12 to play in the second quarter. Criscuolo followed by scoring an unassisted goal with 8:36 remaining. Toto scored her second goal of the game on an assist from Téa Ferrucci to make it 6-0 with 3:52 left in the first half.
No goals were during the second half of the contest. Freshman Ashlyn O’Rourke played net for North Branford in the game. The T-Birds’ defense prevented Morgan from getting a shot on goal.
Two days later, the T-Birds hosted Valley Regional and blanked the Warriors by a 3-0 score. Criscuolo scored from senior captain Payton Kamienski to put North Branford up 1-0 with 3:58 to go in the first half. Toto scored a goal to increase the lead to 2-0 with 5:39 left in the third quarter. Schmidt connected with Toto for another goal in the final minute to solidify the 3-0 win for North Branford. O’Rourke made 1 save for the shutout.
North Branford finished off its week by claiming a 5-1 win over Watertown in a non-conference road game on Sept. 24. Watertown scored a goal in the first quarter and held a 1-0 lead at halftime. North Branford tied the game when Criscuolo scored from Toto with 8:33 to play in the third quarter. Schmidt followed by scoring off of a Criscuolo assist to give the T-Birds a 2-1 lead with 2:47 left in the frame. Schmidt added a goal with a Toto assist just 1 minute later to make it 3-1.
Criscuolo scored from junior captain Lindsey Onofrio with 9 minutes to go in the fourth quarter for a 4-1 lead. Criscuolo completed her hat trick by scoring from Toto with 7:24 to go, finishing off a 5-1 victory for The Thunderbirds.
In addition to the performances of these players, Head Coach Babby Nuhn praised the strong play of several other athletes on the team thus far this season. Coach Nuhn noted the performances of senior Gianna Palma, junior Morgan Lucibello, and junior Gabi Senerchia as key components to the team’s success.
North Branford is playing the Westbrook-Old Lyme co-op squad at Westbrook High School on Friday, Sept. 30 at 4 p.m. The T-Birds will then host Amity on Monday, Oct. 3 at 4 p.m., followed by a road game against Haddam-Killingworth at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
Football
The North Branford football team hit the road to take on the Stafford-East Windsor-Somers (S-EW-S) co-op squad on Sept. 23. The Thunderbirds claimed a 26-20 overtime victory in the matchup at Stafford High School to put their overall record at 2-1 on the season. North Branford won the game when sophomore Tommy Hansen rushed for a touchdown in overtime.
North Branford scored the first points of the game on a safety to take a 2-0 lead after the opening quarter. S-EW-S came back with a touchdown in the second quarter for a 6-2 advantage at halftime.
The Thunderbirds scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter. First, senior quarterback Mason Provencher threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to senior Eric Izzo to put North Branford up 8-6. Senior Jack Meehan later ran for a 12-yard TD to increase the lead to 14-6. S-EW-S scored a touchdown to close out the third quarter and cut the deficit to 14-12 entering the fourth.
Provencher found Izzo for a 3-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-12 in the fourth quarter. However, S-EW-S responded by scoring a touchdown and then converting the 2-point conversion, tying the game at 20-20 and sending it to overtime.
In the OT session, Hansen broke off a 13-yard touchdown run for North Branford to give the T-Birds the 26-20 victory.
Provencher finished the game 8-of-14 passing for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win. He also had 4 rushes for 22 yards. Hansen carried the ball 22 times for 157 yards and the game-winning score for the Thunderbirds. Meehan had 3 carries for 21 yards and a TD on the night.
Izzo caught 3 passes for 36 yards and 2 touchdowns in the victory. Senior Elias Defaranos had 3 receptions for 37 yards, while Hansen grabbed 2 catches for 34 yards for North Branford.
Junior Luke Blomster recorded 2 sacks on defense for the T-Birds in the game. Senior Dom Langillo posted 1 sack in the win. Senior Ian Kamienski had 3 pass deflections, and junior Braden Burns had a pair of pass deflections.
Senior Tyler Serenson had 14 tackles for North Branford on the night. Langello made 12 tackles, Defaranos and Blomster had 10 tackles apiece, and senior Charlie Johnson had 8 tackles. Burns finished the game with 7 tackles, Kamienski made 6 tackles, and junior Aidan Chittenden and freshman AJ Sigel both had 5 tackles.
North Branford will next face Cromwell-Portland (3-0, 3-0) in a Pequot Conference Sassacus Division game on Friday, Sept. 30. The contest kicks off at 6 p.m. at Pierson Park in Cromwell.
Boys’ Cross Country
The North Branford boys’ cross country team sent three athletes to compete in the Connecticut River Valley Invitational hosted at Cromwell High School on Sept. 17.
Freshman Benicio Iamunno led the T-Birds by finishing in 48th place at the invitational. Iamunno crossed the finish line with a personal-record time of 19:13.9 on his way to taking 48th place.
Junior Sam Gott was next across the finish line for North Branford by placing 66th with a time of 20:14 at the Connecticut River Valley Invitational. Freshman Cam Lacroix came in 95th place by recording a personal-record time of 23:28.8 on behalf of the T-Birds.
Girls’ Cross Country
The North Branford girls’ cross country team was represented by four competitors when the Connecticut River Valley Invitational recently took place. The meet was held on Sept 17 at Cromwell High School.
Freshman Emma Preiss turned in North Branford’s best performance by taking 43rd place in the Connecticut River Valley Invitational. Preiss traversed the course with a personal-record time of 23:01 en route to her 43rd-place finish.
Senior Carolyn Heffernan finished in 53rd place with a personal-record mark of 23:46.4 at the invitational. Senior Sophie Gambardella finished in 74th place by running a time of 27:57.3 for the Thunderbirds. Senior Mia Park came in 75th place with a time of 28:07.3, marking another personal-record performance for Head Coach Mark Rabuffo’s squad.
Boys’ Soccer
The North Branford boys’ soccer team took two defeats last week and is now 0-5 on the year. North Branford took losses against Morgan and Cromwell in its last two games.
On Sept. 20, the T-Birds played a road game versus Morgan and lost the contest by an 8-0 score. Then on Sept. 23, North Branford was back on the road to take on Cromwell and took a 4-0 loss in the matchup.
North Branford is hosting Coginchaug on Friday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. After that, the T-Birds will play a road game against Kaynor Tech at 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 3.
Girls’ Volleyball
The North Branford girls’ volleyball team moved to 3-4 this season after taking three recent defeats. The T-Birds lost contests against Haddam-Killingworth, Old Lyme, and Coginchaug in last week’s matchups.
North Branford took a 3-0 loss to Haddam-Killingworth in a home match on Sept. 19. Then on Sept. 21, the T-Birds were on the road to face Old Lyme and lost the Wildcats by a 3-2 score. The following day, North Branford host Coginchaug and took a 3-0 defeat against the Blue Devils.
North Branford is playing a road match versus East Hampton on Friday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. The T-Birds will then return to the road to face Hale-Ray on Monday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m.