The North Branford field hockey team advanced to the championship game of the Class S State Tournament for the second-straight season after earning a win versus Immaculate in a semifinal contest on Nov. 15. The top-seeded, defending champion Thunderbirds went up against No. 4 seed Immaculate for a state semifinal game at Trumbull High School and claimed a 2-1 victory over the Mustangs. North Branford is sporting an overall record of 20-1 as Head Coach Babby Nuhn’s club gets ready to face Stonington for the Class S state crown in a rematch of last year’s title bout.

Immaculate scored the opening goal of the game and held a 1-0 lead over North Branford after the first 15 minutes of their state semifinal game. Junior Keana Criscuolo tied it up at 1-1 when she scored an unassisted goal for the Thunderbirds in the second quarter.

In the third quarter, sophomore Sophia Toto scored on a pass from fellow sophomore Alivia Schmidt to give North Branford a 2-1 advantage. The T-Birds’ held Immaculate off the board for the rest of the game as North Branford hung on to its one-goal lead to secure the victory and advance to the Class S championship.

North Branford outshot the Mustangs by an 8-2 margin in the contest. Head Coach Babby Nuhn gave a shoutout to the two seniors on her team—Payton Kamienski and Gianna Palma—for leaving everything they have on the field in each game and every practice throughout the season.

North Branford is facing No. 3 seed Stonington in the state final at Wethersfield High School on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. The Thunderbirds earned a 2-0 win over Stonington in last year’s Class S final to claim the crown. North Branford has won five state titles in program history, and this marks the team’s eighth appearance in a state championship game.

North Branford completed its regular season with a record of 15-1 this fall, taking a 1-0 loss to Stonington in the finale for its only defeat of the season. The T-Birds went on to claim their sixth-straight Shoreline Conference title by earning a 1-0 win versus Westbrook-Old Lyme in the semifinals and then posting a 1-0 victory over Old Saybrook in the final of the league tournament.

North Branford then began its quest for a second-straight state title by competing in the Class S State Tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Thunderbirds notched a 4-1 win against No. 17 seed Sheehan in a first-round game, followed by a 3-0 triumph versus No. 8 Sacred Heart Academy in the quarterfinal round, prior to playing in the semis last week.

—Chris Piccirillo