Girls’ Soccer

The Branford girls’ soccer team improved to 6-2 on the season after winning both of its matchups in shutout fashion last week. The Hornets blanked both Amity and Guilford in recent road games to make for a wonderful week on the pitch.

Branford kicked off its week by claiming a 7-0 victory at Amity on Sept. 27. Junior Raiyn Fries and sophomore Katie Harmon both scored 2 goals for the Hornets in the win. Junior Tess Ferrie had 1 goal with 3 assists, while sophomore Bryce Infantino scored 1 goal to go with 2 assists.

Senior Ava Ferrie scored a goal for Branford in the victory. Freshman Ava Gambardella had an assist for Head Coach Jen Kohut’s squad. Senior goalkeeper Molly Pombo made 3 saves for the shutout.

Then on Sept. 29, the Hornets were back on the road to face Guilford and defeated the Grizzlies by a 3-0 score. Tess Ferrie gave Branford a 1-0 lead by netting a goal in the 13th minute of the game, and the Hornets maintained their one-goal edge heading into halftime. Ava Ferrie scored an insurance goal in the 58th minute to make it 2-0.

Junior Lucy Moran finished off the 3-0 win by scoring from Tess Ferrie in the 75th minute of the contest. Pombo stopped 4 shots to get another shutout in net for Branford.

Branford has two more road games on its schedule for this upcoming week. The Hornets are playing at Foran on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. and then have a game in West Haven at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Boys’ Soccer

The Branford boys’ soccer team took defeats in its two games last week to move to 4-5 on the season. The Hornets took loss to Shelton and then dropped a contest against Amity in recent action.

On Sept. 27, Branford hosted Shelton and lost to the Gaels by a 2-0 final. Three days later, the Hornets took a 4-0 loss versus Amity in a road game.

Branford is hosting Lyman Hall on Friday, Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. The Hornets will then face Fairfield Prep at home on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Boys’ Cross Country

The Branford boys’ cross country team hit the course to take part in the SCC Divisional Championships at the Guilford Fairgrounds on Sept. 29. Competing in the Housatonic/Oronoque meet, Branford came in second place for the Oronoque and finished in fourth place overall on the day.

Junior Dom Zdunek turned in Branford’s best showing by taking third place in the Oronoque and sixth overall with a time of 16:59.2 at Divisional Championships. Senior Colin Donahoe finished fifth in the Oronoque and was 10th overall (17:03.0) for the Hornets. Fellow senior Massimo Corrick was next in the pack by placing sixth overall and 11th outright (17:10.2).

Junior Sam Coppola came in ninth place in the Oronoque and was 30th overall (18:10.6) for Branford at the divisional meet. Senior Carter Burgess finished in 14th for the Oronoque and placed 40th overall (19.12.7) on behalf of Head Coach Kevin Connell’s squad.

Girls’ Cross Country

The Branford girls’ cross country team sent several athletes to compete in the SCC Divisional Championships that were hosted at the Guilford Fairgrounds on Sept. 29. The Hornets participated in the Housatonic/Oronoque meet, finishing in second place for the Oronoque and fifth place overall.

Junior Tanner Marrandino crossed the finish line with a time of 20:27.4 on her way to finishing second in the Oronoque and eighth overall at the Divisional Championships. Senior Hannah Jackson came in seventh place in the Oronoque and placed 18th overall (21:29.5) for Branford at the meet.

Sophomore Ella Stone finished ninth in the Oronoque and was 25th overall (22:22.7) on behalf of the Hornets in the divisional competition. Sophomore Peyton Gaudreau took 10th place in the Oronoque and finished 30th overall (22:56.9). Senior Lila Wasiolek finished in 11th place for the Oronoque and placed 32nd overall (23:28.2).

Senior Marina Smiarowski finished 14th in the Oronoque and placed 40th overall (24:47.60) for the Hornets in the meet. Senior Taylor Tracy claimed 17th place in the Oronoque and was 47th overall (26:08.0). Sophomore Djamilla Toukour finished 19th in the Oronoque and placed 49th overall (26:22.50).

Field Hockey

The Branford field hockey team played three games last week and came away from the slate with a win, a loss, and a draw to move to 4-1-2 this season. The Hornets earned a tie versus Hand, dropped a contest against Cheshire, and then defeated Sheehan in recent action.

In its first game of the week, Branford faced Hand on the road and battled the Tigers to a 0-0 draw on Sept. 27. Junior goalie Julia Bozzi made 1 save to get the shutout for Branford. The Hornets were bolstered by standout performances from senior Aryana Wilson, senior Lauren McCarthy, senior Gianna Bozzi, senior Lauren Kendrick, and senior Aliza Giordano in the game.

Then on Sept. 29, the Hornets hosted Cheshire and lost to the Rams by a 1-0 score at Branford High School. Head Coach Pete Frye said that it was an intense game in which the Hornets had many scoring opportunities. Frye said that Branford received outstanding play from McCarthy, Giordano, Wilson, junior Reanna Sachs, junior Ellie Wieland, and sophomore Eliza Burgess in the contest.

The following day, Branford played a home game versus Sheehan and posted a 2-1 win over the Titans. Senior Scout Engstrom and junior Mia d’Amuri both scored 1 goal and 1 had 1 assist for the Hornets in the victory. Coach Frye said that McCarthy and Sachs played great games to help Branford get the win.

Branford is on the road to face Shelton on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. The Hornets will host Newtown for a game on Saturday, Oct. 8, followed by a road game against Amity on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 4 p.m.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Branford girls’ volleyball squad notched a shutout victory over Guilford before taking a loss to Cheshire in last week’s action. The Hornets now have an overall record of 3-5 for the 2022 season.

Branford began its week by earning a 3-0 home win versus Guilford on Sept. 28. The Hornets swept the Grizzlies by the final tally of 25-17, 25-22, 25-15 in the match.

Two days later, the Hornets were on the road to face Cheshire and took a 3-2 defeat to the Rams in the matchup. Cheshire won the match with set scores of 25-4, 25-15, 12-25, 21-25, 15-8.

Senior Allie Bietz handed out 25 assists to go with 4 digs and 4 aces for Branford against Cheshire. Fellow senior Paige Kelly had 11 kills with 11 digs and 2 aces in the contest. Junior Jenna DeFrancesco posted 10 kills, 10 digs, and 3 aces for the Hornets.

Branford is hosting Amity on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 5:30 p.m. and will then play at Hillhouse on Friday, Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m. The Hornets’ busy week will then feature a home match versus West Haven at noon on Monday, Oct. 10; a road tilt against North Branford on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m.; and then home match against Hillhouse on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The Branford girls’ swimming and diving team hit the water to compete against the East Haven-Cross-Hillhouse (EH-C-H) co-op squad last week. Branford took an 81-69 loss to EH-C-H in a road meet at Wilbur Cross High School on Sept. 27.

Sophomore Erin Newlan finished first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 30.02 for the Hornets when they faced EH-C-H. Branford’s 400 freestyle relay team of Newlan, sophomore Kylie Acquarulo-Savastano, senior Emma Hall, and junior Isabella Armellino also came in first place (5:03.02) at the meet.

Branford is traveling to Milford to face Foran at Foran High School on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 3:45 p.m. After that, the Hornets have another road meet against EH-C-H at Wilbur Cross. The contest takes place on Monday, Oct. 10 at 3:45 p.m.

Football

The Branford football team hit the road to take on Jonathan Law in an SCC Tier 3 clash at Lawmen Stadium on Sept. 30. The Hornets took a 45-21 loss to Jonathan Law in the contest to put their overall record at 2-2 with a mark of 0-2 in the division this year.

Jonathan Law scored the first 4 touchdowns of the night to take a 27-0 lead over Branford at halftime. The Lawmen used a 7-yard touchdown pass to up 7-0 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Law scored on a 3-yard TD run, a 13-yard touchdown pass, and a 36-yard scoring rush to go up by 4 scores over the Hornets at the break.

Branford got on the board with 3-yard touchdown run from junior Nate Florio with 5:13 to play in the third quarter. Junior Joe Robinson kicked the extra point to make it 27-7. Later in the frame, senior quarterback Zach Turbert found Florio for a 43-yard TD pass for the Hornets’ second score of the night with 1:33 remaining. Robinson’s extra point cut the deficit to 27-14 entering the fourth.

Law responded by scoring the next two touchdowns on a 15-yard run and a 23-yard pass to take a 42-14 advantage with 6:12 left in the game. The Lawmen added a field goal to make the score 45-14 a few minutes later.

Branford put up the last touchdown of the game when Turbert threw a 74-yard scoring strike to senior Brian Page with just over a minute to play. Robinson hit the extra point for the 45-21 final.

Turbert finished the game 17-of-27 passing for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Hornets. Page had 5 catches for 89 yards and a TD, while senior Chase Barnikow grabbed 3 receptions for 66 yards.

Sophomore Akiel Lomotey ran the ball 15 times for 57 yards for Branford in the game. Florio had 14 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown for Head Coach John Limone’s squad.

Branford will be on the bye week for this upcoming week. The Hornets are returning to action for a home game versus Foran on Friday, Oct. 14. The game gets underway at 7 p.m. under the lights at Branford High School.