Printer Friendly Version - Hand Boys’ Soccer Loses to Guilford on PKs in State Quarters; Girls’ Soccer Takes Second-Round Defeat

Senior Jacques Violette and the Hand boys’ soccer squad won their first two games in the Class L State Tournament before taking a defeat to Guilford on penalty kicks in the quarterfinal round. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Source

Senior Liv Catala and the Tigers finished their year with a record of 15-4-1 after making it to the second round of the Class L State Tournament this year. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Source

The Hand boys’ soccer team won its first two games in the Class L State Tournament to advance to a quarterfinal matchup against Guilford last week. The Tigers took a 1-0 defeat to the Grizzlies in a game that came down to penalty kicks in the state quarters to finish with an overall record of 9-8-2 for the 2022 campaign.

No. 21 seed Hand traveled to Bridgeport to face No. 12 seed Bassick in the first round of the Class L bracket and claimed a 4-1 victory over the Lions on Nov. 7. Two days later, the Tigers played at No. 5 Berlin in the second of states and won the contest by the final score of 2-0.

Then on Nov. 12, Hand faced No. 4 seed Guilford on the road for a Class L quarterfinal game. The Tigers took a 1-0 loss to the Grizzlies in a match that was decided on penalty kicks after the two sides had played scoreless soccer through regulation and overtime. Guilford edged out Hand by a 5-3 margin on PKs to win the game and advance to the state semifinals.

The Hand girls’ soccer team won its opening game of the Class L State Tournament before taking a loss in a second-round contest last week. The Tigers finished their season with an overall record of 15-4-1.

On Nov. 8, the 6th-seeded Tigers hosted No. 27 seed Rockville for a first-round states game and blanked the Rams by a 2-0 score in the matchup at the Surf Club. Two days later, Hand played a second-round home game versus No. 11 seed Woodstock Academy and took an 8-3 loss to the Centaurs.

The Hand football team hosted Sheehan for a Saturday night showdown at the Surf Club on Nov. 12. The Tigers took a 17-13 defeat against the Titans to put their overall record at 2-7 on the season. Sheehan moved to 4-5 on the year with the win.

Following a scoreless first quarter, Sheehan took a 3-0 lead over Hand by hitting a 29-yard field goal during the second quarter. Later in the period, sophomore Paul Calandrelli threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to junior Owen Preskar to give Hand a 7-3 lead at halftime.

Junior Aidan Dolan ran for a 73-yard touchdown in the third quarter to increase the Tigers’ lead to 14-3. However, Sheehan scored on an 8-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and then took the lead on a 26-yard TD pass during the fourth quarter to win the game by a 17-13 score.

Hand will be on the road to face Guilford for its regular-season finale in the annual Thanksgiving game between the two rivals. The contest takes place at Guilford High School on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.

The Tigers were represented by three divers when the Class S Diving State Championship was held at Sheehan High School on Nov. 9. Freshman Ella Speerli, junior Hadley Reiss, and sophomore Georgia Cohen competed on behalf of the Hand girls’ swimming and diving team at the meet.

Speerli finished in seventh place among 22 qualifying divers by recording a score of 321.45 points for her 11-dive performance at the Class S Diving State Championship. Reiss claimed 15th place after posting a total score of 265.05 points. Cohen finished in 17th place with a score of 247.65 points for the Tigers.

Speerli, Reiss, and Cohen all scored points that will count toward Hand’s overall total when the Tigers compete in the Class S State Championship this week. The State Open Championship take place at Yale University on Saturday, Nov. 19 at noon.