Once again, as it has done all season long, the North Branford field hockey team asserted its dominance and finished the year by sitting atop the state-championship throne in Class S for the second consecutive season.

After a demonstrative regular-season run that saw the Thunderbirds suffer only one defeat, they continued their supremacy in the Shoreline Conference Tournament by defending their crown and taking the title for a sixth-straight year. Head Coach Babby Nuhn and North Branford landed the top seed in the Class S State Tournament for its efforts. Victories over Sheehan, Sacred Heart Academy (SHA), and Immaculate catapulted the T-Birds into the final against No. 3 Stonington, a rematch of last year’s state title tilt, which was won by North Branford.

In the final on Nov. 19 at Wethersfield High School, North Branford repeated last year’s feat with a 4-0 triumph to finish the year an impressive 21-1 overall. The victory marked the T-Birds’ sixth state crown overall, as North Branford avenged the only loss of its 2022 campaign by besting the Bears on the biggest stage when it mattered most.

“It was a huge win,” said junior co-captain Lindsey Onofrio. “Going to one state championship final is unreal, but going to two state finals and winning them both feels like a dream.”

In the game, the T-Birds outshot the Bears 14-3 with freshman Madison DiStefano earning the shutout in net. North Branford additionally earned 16 penalty corners while Stonington had none. Junior Keana Criscuolo had two goals in the win, while junior Sophia Toto and sophomore Alivia Schmidt also tacked on tallies. Toto and sophomore Lily Ardito each earned an assist on the day.

Onofrio, who was named First Team All-State alongside Criscuolo and Toto, added that the T-Birds truly shined as a collective team with their efforts against the Bears.

“We played tremendously and, more importantly, we played like a team,” said Onofrio. “The win showed our hard work, and I could not have asked for a better ending to our season.”

The Bears and T-Birds competed to a scoreless first quarter in the title clash. In the second, North Branford broke the stalemate when Criscuolo sent the ball to the back of the Bears’ cage with 65 seconds left before halftime to give the T-Birds a 1-0 lead at intermission. North Branford finished the half by not allowing a shot on goal from Stonington, who finished the year 17-3-1 overall, earning a 6-0 edge in that department for the opening pair of periods.

“Whether you score a goal or give one up to make it 1-0, the next five minutes of a game after it are imperative,” Nuhn said on the initial score. “We didn’t finish in the first quarter, so we talked after the quarter and came out more focused and with more teamwork. We have seen teams let their guards down after scoring and lose games, but we know not to celebrate until the final whistle.”

North Branford increased its advantage to 2-0 thanks to Toto nabbing a tally with 8:30 remaining in the third quarter. Shortly thereafter, with 3:43 to play in the period, Criscuolo (also 2 assists on the day) made it a 3-0 contest.

Schmidt then added to the offense and capped off the crown-clinching win with a 4th-quarter score as the T-Birds rode out the clock to their 11th shutout of the season and sixth state title in eight state final appearances. Nuhn, who has now completed 50 years of coaching, noted in the afterglow of the title win that the T-Birds took it slow but steady on a daily basis.

“We always emphasize one day and one game at a time,” said Nuhn. “This team was all about 2022; it was a new team that was different from last year’s team with new strategies and personalities. We played Stonington back in October and they took us, 1-0, so to play them a second time in the state final was very motivational.”

Earlier in the week to advance to the final, North Branford punched its ticket with a 2-1 victory over No. 4 Immaculate at Trumbull High School. The Mustangs (finishing 14-3-2 overall) notched the opening tally of the game and held a 1-0 lead over North Branford after the first 15 minutes of their state semifinal game. Criscuolo knotted things up at 1-1 when she scored an unassisted goal for the Thunderbirds in the second quarter.

In the third, Toto scored on a pass from Schmidt to give North Branford a 2-1 advantage. It would hold as the deciding score, as the T-Birds posted a shutout the rest of the game to secure the victory and advance to the Class S championship game. North Branford outshot the Mustangs by an 8-2 margin in the contest.

Prior to playing in the Semis, the Thunderbirds notched a 4-1 win against No. 17 seed Sheehan in a first-round game, followed by a 3-0 triumph versus No. 8 Sacred Heart Academy in the quarterfinal round.

The Thunderbirds stormed to a 15-1 regular-season record, taking a 1-0 loss to Stonington in the finale for its only blemish on that mark. The T-Birds went on to claim their sixth consecutive Shoreline Conference title by earning a 1-0 triumph versus Westbrook-Old Lyme in the semifinals and then posting a 1-0 decision over Old Saybrook to take the conference crown.

North Branford’s 15 triumphs in the regular season campaign came against Westbrook-Old Lyme (3-0 and 3-1), SHA (3-2), Haddam-Killingworth (2-0 twice), Old Saybrook (4-2 and 5-1), Morgan (6-0 on 2 occasions), Valley Regional (3-0 and 2-0), Watertown (5-1), Stafford (3-1), Amity (4-0), and Class M state champion Branford (3-2).

Through the T-Birds’ 22 contests and en route to their conference and state titles, they scored 69 team tallies and allowed only 13.

Nuhn was joined by an assistant coaching staff composed of North Branford field hockey alumni: Kathy Galdenzi, Sabrina LeMere, Cheryl Canada, Evaun Boatman, and Lori Connelly.

“I have to give so much credit to all of our coaches on the staff,” Nuhn noted on her assistants. “I am surrounded by excellence with these coaches.”

“We have a lot of young players on this team, so we want to keep the harmony going,” said Nuhn. “It is not a bunch of individuals here; it is all about the team.”

The 2022 roster for North Branford consisted of co-captains of senior Payton Kamienski and Onofrio; senior Gianna Palma; juniors Toto, Téa Ferrucci, Gianna Gamble, Gabrielle Senerchia, Criscuolo, Morgan Lucibello, Sienna Brigance; sophomores of Samantha Ferraro, Schmidt, Joanna Lamot, Daytona Kamienski, Riley Cole,Lily Ardito; and freshmen in Isabella Warren, Leah Brustman, Ashlyn O’Rourke, and DiStefano.