Field Hockey

The North Branford field hockey team improved its record to 13-0 after posting a pair of shutouts last week. The Thunderbirds blanked both Morgan and Valley Regional in recent action to stay undefeated for the 2022 campaign.

North Branford began last week by recording a 6-0 home win over Morgan on Senior Night on Oct. 11. North Branford honored senior captain Payton Kamienski and fellow senior Gianna Palma as part of the festivities for this game.

Junior Sophia Toto scored 3 goals for the Thunderbirds in the victory. Sophomore Alivia Schmidt scored 2 goals, and junior Keana Criscuolo added a goal for North Branford.

Kamienski, junior Lindsey Onofrio, and junior Téa Ferrucci all had 1 assist for the T-Birds in their win. Freshman Ashlyn O’Rourke and Madi DiStefano combined for the shutout in goal for North Branford.

Three days later, the T-Birds were on the road to face Valley Regional and defeated the Warriors by a 2-0 score. Toto and Ferrucci scored North Branford’s goals in the win. Toto and Onofrio both had an assist.

North Branford is playing a road game against Stonington for its regular-season finale this week. The game takes place at Stonington High School on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 11 a.m.

Girls’ Volleyball

The North Branford girls’ volleyball squad claimed victory in one of its three matchups last week to move to 4-10 on the year. The Thunderbirds took losses to Branford and Haddam-Killingworth before closing out the week win versus Cromwell.

In its first match of the week, North Branford hosted Branford and took a 3-1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-22, 25-19) defeat to the Hornets on Oct. 11.

Then on Oct. 14, the T-Birds lost to Haddam-Killingworth by a 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 16-25, 18-16) score in a road match.

The next day, North Branford netted a 3-0 victory over Cromwell in a home match. The T-Birds swept the match by the final tally of 25-7, 25-16, 25-14.

Senior Spencer Carroll recorded 15 kills to go with 4 digs and 3 aces for North Branford in the victory. Freshman Lauren Vitarisi handed out 17 assists and also had 5 aces with 4 digs.

Senior Adriana Franceschi posted 6 aces and 5 digs, while sophomore Julianna Onofrio had 6 digs with 5 aces in the win. Freshman Alexa Snedeker had 7 digs and 3 aces, freshman Ashley Berardesca served up 5 aces, sophomore Olivia Cahill had 5 kills, and junior Nicole Timario finished the match with 3 kills for the Thunderbirds.

North Branford will travel to Deep River to face Valley Regional on Friday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. After that, the T-Birds are hosting East Hampton for their regular-season finale at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24.

Boys’ Soccer

The North Branford boys’ soccer team took a 7-0 loss at Haddam-Killingworth in its lone game of last week on Oct. 13. The Thunderbirds moved to 1-10 on the year with the defeat.

North Branford is hosting Hale-Ray for a game on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. The T-Birds will then play a road game against Platt Tech on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 3:45 p.m., followed by a contest at Coginchaug for their regular-season finale on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 3:45 p.m.

Girls’ Soccer

The North Branford/Hale-Ray girls’ soccer team took two recent defeats to move to 1-10-1 on the year. The T-Birds lost contests against Old Saybrook and Haddam-Killingworth in recent action.

On Oct. 11, North Branford/Hale-Ray hosted Old Saybrook and lost to the Rams by a 3-0 score. Three days later, the T-Birds hosted Haddam-Killingworth and took a 6-2 loss versus the Cougars at Hale-Ray High School.

North Branford/Hale-Ray is playing two home games to conclude its regular-season schedule this week. The Thunderbirds are hosting Harding-Bassick on Monday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. and will then face Coginchaug at home for their finale on Wednesday, Oct 26 at 6 p.m.

Football

The North Branford football team was on the bye week last week. The Thunderbirds will return to action when they host divisional opponent Haddam-Killingworth at Colafati Field on Friday, Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m. North Branford comes into the game with an overall record of 2-3 and a mark of 1-2 in the Pequot Conference Sassacus Division. H-K is 2-2 overall with a mark of 1-2 in the division on the year.