Field Hockey

The Branford field hockey team pulled off an awesome victory versus Guilford in the semifinals of the SCC Tournament to advance to a championship matchup against Cheshire last week. The Hornets took a 2-1 defeat to the Rams in the SCC final and are sporting an overall record of 12-5-1-1 as they enter the Class M State Tournament this week.

On the heels of a 1-0 victory over Amity in the quarterfinal round, No. 4 seed Branford faced top-seeded Guilford in the road in the SCC semifinals on Nov. 1. The Hornets claimed a 3-2 win against the four-time defending champion Grizzlies at Guilford High School to move on to the conference final.

Senior Lauren Kendrick scored 2 goals for Branford in its win over Guilford. Freshman Aliza Giordano scored the other goal for the Hornets. Senior Scout Engstrom, senior Gianna Bozzi, and senior Lauren McCarthy each had an assist in the victory.

Junior goalie Julia Bozzi made 5 saves in the cage to help Branford defeat Guilford, which had won 13-straight games coming into the contest. Head Coach Pete Frye said that the Hornets received outstanding performances from senior Aryana Wilson, junior Reanna Sachs, junior Ellie Wieland, junior Mia d'Amuri, sophomore Aliza Burgess, and freshman Tate Jones in the game.

Guilford scored the first goal of the night early in the first period. Branford answered back with a goal from Kendrick with 1:30 left in the period to make it 1-1. Giordano scored on a breakaway at the 4:19 mark of the second period to give the Hornets a 2-1 lead at halftime.

Branford held its 2-1 advantage until the Grizzlies tied the game by scoring a goal early in the fourth period. However, Branford took the lead for good when Kendrick executed a perfect drag-flick on a penalty corner and sent it home for the deciding score with 2:43 remaining in the game. The Hornets kept Guilford off the scoreboard the rest of the way and walked off the field with the 3-2 victory to advance to the conference final.

On Nov. 3, Branford played No. 2 seed Cheshire in the championship game of the SCC Tournament at Amity High School. Cheshire earned a 2-1 win over the Hornets after scoring the winning goal in the closing seconds of the contest.

Branford and the Rams played a scoreless game until Cheshire netted the first goal of the match with 16 seconds left in the first half. The Hornets tied the score when Kendrick converted a penalty shot with 3:36 to play in the third period. The game stayed tied until Cheshire scored the game-winner with just 29 seconds on the clock to come away with the 2-1 win and claim its first conference title since 2013.

Branford is the No. 9 seed in the Class M State Tournament and will play at No. 8 seed Brookfield in the first round on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. If the Hornets win, they will play a second-round game, possibly against Guilford, on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The semifinals are on Tuesday, Nov. 15 and Wednesday, Nov. 16; and the Class M state final takes place at Wethersfield High School on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Boys’ Soccer

The Branford boys’ soccer team hosted Waterford for a qualifying round game in the Class L State Tournament last week. On Nov. 5, the No. 31st-seeded Hornets took on No. 34 seed Waterford in the qualifying round of states and lost the contest by a 2-0 score. Branford finished the year with an overall record of 7-9-1.

Girls’ Soccer

The Branford girls’ soccer team played a road game against Cheshire in the semifinals of the SCC Tournament last week. The Hornets took a loss to the Rams in the contest at Cheshire High School to put their overall record 13-5 as they open play in the Class L State Tournament this week.

After earning a 3-2 win over Sheehan in the quarterfinals, the 4th-seeded Hornets were on the road to face top-seeded Cheshire in the semifinal round of the SCC Tournament on Nov. 1. The Rams defeated the Hornets by the final score of 4-0 in the conference semis to advance to the final, where they took the title by earning a 2-1 win versus Mercy.

Branford has the No. 8 seed in the Class S State Tournament and will host No. 25 North Haven for a first-round game on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. If the Hornets win, they will host the winner of No. 9 seed Bethel and No. 24 New Milford in the second round at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10.

The Class L quarterfinals take place on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. The semis will be held from Tuesday, Nov. 15 to Thursday, Nov. 17; and the Class L championship game is being hosted at Trinity Health Stadium on either Saturday, Nov. 19 or Sunday, Nov. 20.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Branford girls’ volleyball team traveled to Woodbridge to take on Amity in the quarterfinal round of the SCC Tournament last week. The Hornets took a 3-0 loss versus the Spartans in the contest and now have an overall record of 11-10 as they prepare to play in states.

Branford had advanced to the SCC quarterfinals by earning a 3-0 victory over North Haven in a first-round matchup on Oct. 28. Then on Nov. 1, the 11th-seeded Hornets played at No. 3 seed Amity in the quarterfinal round and took a 3-0 defeat to the Spartans. Amity swept the match with set scores of 25-9, 25-23, 25-23.

Branford enters the Class M State Tournament as the No. 25 seed and will play a first-round contest at No. 8 seed Granby on Monday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. With a victory, the Hornets would advance to face the winner of No. 9 seed Lauralton Hall and No. 24 Lewis Mills on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.

The Class M quarterfinals are on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. The Class M semis take place on Tuesday, Nov. 15; and the title bout is at East Haven High School on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Girls’ Cross Country

Junior Violet Marrandino represented the Branford girls’ cross country team by running at the State Open Championship meet last week. The State Open was hosted at Wickham Park in Manchester on Nov. 4.

Marrandino finished in 115th place among a pack of 176 runners at the State Open Championship. Marrandino crossed the finish line with a time of 22:34 to place 115th for the Hornets.

Marrandino had recently finished in 12th place with a time of 21:20 at the Class M State Championship at Wickham Park on Oct. 29. Prior to that, Marrandino earned All-SCC Second Team honors with a 14th-place performance and a time of 20:46 in the SCC Championship at East Shore Park in New Haven on Oct. 19.

Marrandino also posted a time of 20:27 at the SCC Divisional Championships at the Guilford Fairgrounds on Sept. 29. Marrandino finished in second place for the Oronoque Division and took eighth place overall for the Housatonic/Oronoque meet.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The Branford girls’ swimming and diving team hit the water to compete in the SCC Championship last week. The Hornets finished in 17th place with 128 points scored when the conference meet took place at Southern Connecticut State University on Nov. 3.

Branford’s 200 freestyle relay of sophomore Kylie Acquarulo-Savastano, senior Emma Hall, sophomore Erin Newlan, and freshman Summer Sabatino finished in 16th place with a time of 1:59.44 at the SCC Championship. The 400 freestyle relay featuring Acquarulo-Savastano, freshman Abigail Talalas, Newlan, and Hall also took 16th place by recording a mark of 4:31.72. The Hornets 200 medley relay of Hall, Sabatino, junior Isabella Armellino, and Acquarulo-Savastano posted a time of 2:16.81 and finished in 17th place.

Armellino also competed in the 100 butterfly and the 100 breaststroke for Branford at SCCs. Armellino finished 29th in the 100 fly by swimming a time of 1:14.87. In the 100 breaststroke, Armellino swam a time of 1:26.38 to finish in 31st place for the Hornets.

Branford will be participating in the Class S State Championship this week. The Class S Diving Championship will be held at Sheehan High School at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9; the Swimming Trials are on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. at the Cheshire Community Pool; and the Class S Swimming Championship will be held at Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.

Football

The Branford football team was on the bye week last week. The Hornets’ next game will be a road contest against divisional opponent Lyman Hall on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Branford comes into the game with an overall record of 2-5 and a mark of 0-3 in SCC Tier 3 this year. Lyman Hall has an overall record of 4-4 to go with a divisional record of 2-3.

After facing Lyman Hall, Branford will play a road game versus SCC Tier 1 opponent Bassick at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport on Thursday, Nov. 17. The Hornets will then host East Haven for their annual Thanksgiving game on Thursday, Nov. 24 at 10 a.m. at Branford High School.