Boys’ Soccer

The Valley Regional boys’ soccer squad notched a pair of wins last week and is now 3-0 to start the season. On Sept. 13, the Warriors defeated Westbrook by a 6-1 score. The very next day, they earned a 3-0 victory over Cromwell. Valley saw a stellar week from senior Michael Dilger, who put the ball in the net six times for two hat tricks.

Facing Westbrook on the road, Valley scored four goals within the first 20 minutes of the game. Dilger scored his first goal off an assist from fellow senior Chris Morales and, shortly thereafter, Dilger passed the ball to Morales, who scored for a 2-1 advantage. Dilger later scored off a helper from freshman Jake Burdick, after which the senior secured his hat trick with an unassisted goal to make it 4-0. Just before the end of the first half, junior Sam Ocken scored a goal that was assisted by fellow junior Devon Connelly.

In the second half, Ocken got another score on an assist from senior Dan Hearn. Senior captain Charles Haughton played the first 60 minutes of the game in net without allowing goal, making one save.

On Sept. 14, Valley was at home to face Cromwell and prevailed 3-0 behind another Dilger hat trick. Valley got out to another strong start as sophomore Cameron Ruel got the ball to Dilger for a goal 10 minutes into the match. Later in the first half, senior captain Sean Cole advanced the ball to Dilger, who put it into the net in the 35th minute. In the second half, junior Cam Frazier fed the ball to Dilger for the goal to finish off the 3-0 win. Haughton made 10 saves in the shutout victory.

Girls’ Soccer

The Warriors opened their 2018 season with a win and a loss last week for an early record of 1-1. On Sept. 13, Head Coach Lloyd Warren’s squad posted a lopsided 9-1 triumph at home over Westbrook. Two days later, the Warriors took a 2-0 road loss against Cromwell.

Junior Ava Duval turned in an impressive performance against Westbrook by scoring five goals in the game. Junior Sam Calamari had four assists for the Warriors. Senior Alexis Finnerty got the scoring started with an unassisted goal just two minutes in. Six minutes later, Duval notched her first goal off an assist from fellow junior Sam Calamari for a quick 2-0 lead. In the 14th minute, freshman Sophia Surber scored her first career goal, after which Calamari connected with Duval again just three minutes later to make it 4-0. Junior Lauren Allen scored in the 19th minute on Calamari’s third assist of the game.

Finnerty scored another goal to start the second half off a fourth assist from Calamari. Later in the half, Duval scored two quick unassisted goals in the 55th and 57th minutes. Westbrook scored its lone goal with eight minutes left in regulation. Duval picked up her fifth and final goal off an assist from sophomore Hanley Ferrucci in the 77th minute. Junior goalkeeper Alexis Dellarocco made three saves in the victory.

Two days later, the Warriors dropped a 2-0 contest versus Cromwell. The Shoreline rivals played a competitive match with Valley attempting 19 shots to Cromwell’s 11. The final score came down to two goals in quick succession from the Panthers at the end of the first half.

Football

The Valley Regional-Old Lyme football team defeated Morgan last week to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Warriors traveled to Clinton to face the rival Huskies and came away with a 21-6 victory at the Peters Complex.

The Warriors received a nice game from senior captain quarterback Ryan Santos, who went 8-for-12 passing for 165 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Fellow senior captain Nick Braga ran for 125 yards and a touchdown for Valley-Old Lyme.

The Warriors struck first in the opening quarter with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Santos to senior Jason O’Brien. Junior Brian Funk kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead. Valley made it 14-0 in the second quarter on another touchdown pass from Santos, this time to senior Jae’len Arum for 10 yards.

Morgan pulled within a score when the Huskies ran in a touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it 14-6. However, Braga broke off a huge 79-yard run for a touchdown to give Valley-Old Lyme some insurance as the Warriors pulled away for the 21-6 victory.

The Warriors saw strong defensive efforts out of Arick Otama and Arnum, who each snagged interceptions. Senior captain Garrhett Watrous recorded a sack, as did sophomore Kyle Metz and senior Ben Falivene. Senior captain linebacker Justin Robida made four tackles, including one for a loss. O’Brien added five tackles in the win.

Up next for Head Coach Tim King’s squad is a matchup against Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton (1-1) at Coginchaug High School on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m.

Volleyball

The Warriors took a pair of defeats on the road last week to move to 0-4 on the season.

On Sept. 12, Valley headed to Coginchaug and lost a 3-0 contest with scores of 25-18, 25-14, and 25-14. Junior Carlee Kirla had four kills, five digs, and a block, and fellow junior Reeve Ferguson netted 10 receptions, nine digs, and an ace. Senior Zoe Hollewedel had nine digs and received 10 serves, while sophomore Alena Crosby had 10 sets and a kill. Senior Maddy Just aced five serves to go with three kills, seven receptions, and four digs.

The next day, Valley lost to Cromwell by a 3-1 score. Valley won the first set 25-22, before losing the next three sets behind scores of 25-17, 25-10, and 25-22. Just had nine aces, six kills, and three digs, while Crosby had 21 sets to go with three aces. Senior Emily Hutchinson totaled seven aces, four kills, and two blocks, and Maddy Meyer had three blocks with four kills.