The North Branford boys’ lacrosse team did make a return trip to its league final for the first time in four seasons this spring and, despite not emerging with the crown, the T-Birds set themselves up for future postseason hardware with the combination of a will to win and never wavering when the chips were down.

Head Coach Dave Carpenter and the Thunderbirds finished 10-6 for the regular season to qualify for both the Shoreline Conference and Class S State Tournaments. After defeating No. 2 Old Saybrook in the semifinal round of Shorelines, 3rd-seeded North Branford faced off against rival and top-ranked Haddam-Killingworth in the program’s first conference final berth since 2019, but it ultimately took a 7-4 defeat prior to a 7-6 loss to No. 16 Granby Memorial in the qualifying round of the Class S State Tournament bracket to finish the campaign 11-8 overall.

Despite coming up one win shy of the team’s first conference title in four years and an early-round exit in states, Carpenter was quite proud of how the T-birds showed strong character and resounding strength via combating and competing through several setbacks.

“They had a great season of development, as we had a ton of injuries and a lot of guys got to experience varsity time,” said Carpenter. “Throughout the year, we got better and better and many guys stepped into positions they may not have played in having a great next-man-up mentality. One thing I’ll say is they never gave up; no team we ever played outworked us. You can’t coach heart and hustle and we absolutely had that.”

As North Branford additionally showed prowess and dominance of defense–giving up 128 goals in 19 games for a stingy average of 6.7 tallies allowed per contest–the Thunderbirds also showcased their composure in white-knuckle moments while emerging victorious in several close encounters.

“Our goals for the season were to win the Shoreline Conference Championship. While we got there, we came up short in a 7-4 loss to H-K. Having given them their only two regular season losses, we know how it goes, and it’s tough to beat a team three times in one season,” Carpenter said. “Some of our great accomplishments included beating Branford and showing competitiveness and grit throughout the season, playing eight one-goal games and going 5-3 in those close games.”

Senior captain and midfielder Eric Izzo led the team in postseason award honors. While he was selected as the Team MVP, he was also First Team All-Shoreline, the league’s Player of the Year, and made the New Haven Register’s All-Area squad.

Joining Izzo on the First Team All-Shoreline squad was senior captain and midfielder mate Eli Defaranos, while the Second Team North Branford representatives were midfielder and senior Ian Kamienski, senior defenseman Tyler Serenson, sophomore midfielder Shane Esposito and junior attacker Luke Blomster, with senior defender Dylan Burwell earning Honorable Mention. Rounding out team honors, Serenson garnered recognition via the Desire and Dedication Award, and senior captain and defender Dave D’Onofrio, who missed the season with an ACL injury, was named as the Unsung Hero recipient.

Carpenter only speaks in superlatives when it comes to the senior class’s contributions to the entire program. Regardless of each member’s final season and career statistics or accolades, they all made an immaculate impact on North Branford and made the squad and school proud.

“I can’t comment on just our captains, as the entire senior class represented in the best way possible,” said Carpenter. “Every senior was a leader both on and off the field, and it was by far the best senior class I’ve ever had and, while many may not have received postseason accolades, they made a huge difference in North Branford. I can’t thank all of them enough for the time and energy they put in to make the 2023 season a memorable one.”

Despite nearly a dozen departing seniors, North Branford returns a healthy crop of players who figured quite prominently into this past season. Junior Jack Maley returns at netminder and long stick midfielder Conor Stoner will also be back in the fold.

“We graduated 11 players, including our entire defense, our faceoff guy, and three starting midfielders. So we have a lot of holes to fill, but we have some up-and-coming young guys that are ready to step in and play,” said Carpenter. “We return our goalie in Jack Maley, who will be a huge anchor to a new defense. We also return our long stick middie in [junior] Conor Stoner, who played behind Izzo the last two years but is more than ready to take on the full-time position.”

Speaking furthermore about the prospective roster for the 2024 campaign, North Branford also will welcome back a solid trio on attack, alongside a fantastic five on the defensive end.

“Offensively, we have [junior attacker] Brady Martinik, Luke Blomster, and [freshman attacker] Cameron Lacroix returning on attack. Freshman midfielder AJ Sigel will have an expanded role in his second season, and [juniors] Braden Burns and Nick Cassella are expected to make a big jump on the offensive side of the field. [Junior] Pat LeBeau and [sophomore] Tanner Izzo are going to fill in at the faceoff X,” said Carpenter. “We’ve got some younger and newer players that are expected to step into roles on offense and defense, including [freshman] Benecio Iamunno and [junior] Lucas Vollono at midfield; plus [freshmen] Greg Ferraro, Chase Nugent, and Luca Landino on defense. I’ve also seen some promising freshmen coming in that might be able to fill a varsity role right away, including midfielder Max Becker.”

The 2023 North Branford boys’ lacrosse roster was comprised of seniors Izzo, Defaranos, D’Onofrio, captain Dom Langello, Nathan Tranquilli, Serenson, Alec Johnson, Ian Kamienski, Benjamin Taylor, Dradon Brindisi, Burwell; juniors of Evyn Aguiar, Burns, Colby Longo, Martinik, Joseph Carofano, Stoner, Blomster, LeBeau, Cassella, Vollono, Maley, Joseph Jacobs; sophomores in Izzo, Esposito, Jeremy Meneo; and finally freshmen Sigal, Lacroix, Landino, Nugent, James Criscio, Mark Borzillo, Patrick Ford, Iamunno, Michael Goodmaster, and Ferraro.

Carpenter, who concluded his ninth season leading the T-birds’ coaching staff, was assisted by Dwight Boatman, who has been with the program for five years, and three-year mainstay Derek Grzebisz.

2023 North Branford Boys’ Lacrosse Team Regular Season Results

April 4: Old Saybrook 8, North Branford 7

April 6: North Branford 8, Valley Regional 3

April 8: Sheehan 11, North Branford 7

April 11: North Branford 6, Haddam-Killingworth 5

April 13: North Branford 14, Cromwell 2

April 15: North Branford 11, Branford 6

April 20: North Branford 9, Morgan 8

April 27: North Branford 7, Haddam-Killingworth 6

May 2: North Branford 13, Cromwell 2

May 4: Old Saybrook 12, North Branford 9

May 9: Morgan 6, North Branford 5

May 11: North Branford 8, Valley Regional 1

May 12: North Branford 8, Old Lyme 5

May 13: Foran 14, North Branford 2

May 15: North Branford 7, Old Lyme 6

May 19: Northwest Catholic 8, North Branford 5