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07/07/2018 12:00 AMThe seniors on the 2018 North Branford girls’ lacrosse squad were a part of a rebuilding process when they joined the team during their freshman seasons. After helping the Thunderbirds put together a historic year in which they finished 17-3, won the Shoreline Conference Tournament, and reached the Class S state semifinals, it’s safe to say that North Branford’s senior athletes completed their mission this spring.
“We always talked about how special this group was. We kept growing, so it’s nice for this group to win and show how far they’ve come,” Head Coach Lori Connelly said. “We worked so hard all year, so it’s nice to have a trophy to show all the hard work wasn’t for nothing. We earned it with the hard work we put in every day.”
North Branford’s conference title marked the program’s first since 2010, when the championship was awarded to the team that finished with the best regular-season record. This year, the T-Birds earned a 10-7 win over Old Lyme in the Shoreline final to avenge last year’s loss to the Wildcats and win the tourney for the first time.
“It was so important because, for two years, we didn’t even make the tournament,” said Connelly. “Last year, we played a two-goal game with Old Lyme in the final and really wanted to get back this year and win it.”
North Branford was bolstered by a prolific offense that totaled 303 total goals on the year, 197 of which came off of an assist. Coach Connelly always stresses team chemistry and she feels that this year’s bunch was one of the best she’s ever coached in that category.
“I’m big on unity. We strive for it and, this year, we had little-to-no drama,” Connelly said. “There’s no selfishness and nobody cared about their own stats. We just worked together and wanted to win as a team.”
Senior Adriana Ingarra led North Branford by netting a school-record total of 113 points on 36 goals and 77 assists for the season. Ingarra was an All-Shoreline Conference First Team and an All-State selection, in addition to receiving the T-Birds’ Facilitator Award.
Junior captain Jessie Kilburn led North Branford with 63 goals scored and also contributed 14 assists to finish the year with 77 total points. Kilburn was named the Shoreline Conference Player of the Year and North Branford’s Most Valuable Player, in addition to earning spots on the All-Shoreline, All-State, and New Haven Register All-Area teams. She also scored her 100th career goal this spring.
Additionally, Connelly was selected as the Shoreline Conference Coach of the Year, Connecticut’s U.S. Lacrosse Coach of the Year, and the Register’s All-Area Coach of the Year for the conference champion Thunderbirds.
“We decided to try things a little different this year, which led to some success. We played with more contact and communication, and I spent a lot of time developing that, which I think helped,” Connelly said. “I had to rebuild this group. Four years ago, we wiped the slate clean and built to where we’ve gotten to. Everyone from the freshman to the seniors clicked this year, and that’s because we trusted each other.”
Other big point producers for the T-Birds included senior captain Emmy Norton (55 goals, 30 assists), senior Mackenzie MacGowan (40 goals, 22 assists), sophomore Ali Barrett (26 goals, 31 assists), and senior Emilie Wilkinson (54 goals). Wilkinson and Norton reached the 100-goal mark for their careers on their way to earning All-Shoreline Conference First Team and All-State honors with senior captain Jasmine Coleman. Norton was also an All-Area selection, while MacGowan and sophomore Melanie Norton were named to the All-Conference Second Team, as well as All-State.
“It’s one of those things that made us hard to beat. We weren’t one-dimensional. In the past, we had one go-to player, but this year, if somebody was off, we’d still have six other goal scorers,” Coach Connelly said. “We can adjust our game because of the wealth of skills we had.”
North Branford’s Desire and Dedication Award went to Coleman, Barrett won The Most Aggressive Award, and Emmy Norton was named the T-Birds’ Game Changer. Also, Wilkinson won North Branford’s Most Offensive Award, MacGowan collected the Four-Year Most Improved Award, and sophomore goalie was named the team’s Most Improved Player after making 113 saves in goal during the season.
Connelly said that her defense proved a masterful unit this year, even though she wasn’t sure what to expect from them coming into the campaign.
“We had to rebuild the defense, and we weren’t sure where that would take us, but the girls outshined our expectations and did a good job,” said Connelly. “We knew we’d score goals, but we weren’t sure how many we’d give up. We had success because of them.”
North Branford is graduating some major players form this year’s team, but Coach Connelly feels optimistic the that T-Birds’ pipeline features a few up-and-coming scorers who are ready to fill some shoes in 2019.
“I have some juniors that flourished with JV and some freshman coming in that I think will fill in nicely,” Connelly said. “We are losing a ton of talent, but [assistant coach Ryan Connelly] does a phenomenal job of getting the girls ready for roles we need filled. I still think we’ll have a good year next year.”
From the Sidelines
North Branford’s roster featured senior captains Emmy Norton and Jasmine Coleman, junior captain Jessie Kilburn, seniors Mackenzie MacGowan, Emilie Wilkinson, and Adriana Ingarra; juniors Mary-Kate Torgerson, Joanna Phabmixay, Emily Neubig, Sarah Cook, Jordan Regan, Adriana Perez, Morgan Ryan, and Cayleen Defaranos; sophomores Jetta Powers, Izabella Mott, Melanie Norton, Ali Barrett, Calley Marcarelli, Sally Cucinotta, Emma Sheehan, Karlee Bureau, Alyssa Waligroski, Bianca D’Onofrio, Avonlea LeBeau, Carly Sorrentino, Sabrina Mone, and Lily Blomster; and freshmen Sofia Votto, Karina Jassil, Kaila Manner, Zoe Hughes, Briana Donofrio, Landon Melillo, Alyssa Kendrick, Gabby Gibilisco, Ava Raymond, and Amanda Nuzzo.
Head Coach Lori Connelly was assisted by Ryan Connelly, Danielle Pannone, Todd Ingarra, and Tom Wilkinson.
The T-Birds went 14-2 for the regular season after earning victories against Valley Regional (20-10 and 14-3), Haddam-Killingworth (16-2 and 21-4), Old Saybrook (15-4 and 17-13), Morgan (19-8 and 21-7), Rocky Hill (18-4), Ellington (17-2), Old Lyme (17-12 and 7-6), North Haven (23-4), and East Catholic (10-8).
In the Shoreline Conference Tournament, North Branford defeated Valley Regional 15-4 in the semis and then notched a 10-7 win over Old Lyme in the final to claim the crown. In the Class S State Tournament, the Thunderbirds earned a first-round bye, defeated St. Paul 18-4 in a second-round contest, and then took a 15-8 loss against New Fairfield in the semifinals.