Overtime with Kyle Brennan

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Kyle Brennan

Round of Applause

The Naugatuck football coaching staff deserves a ton of credit for the job it has done so far. After all the distractions of the offseason, all the young starters and all the injuries, Shawn Kuczenski and his assistants have the Greyhounds 4-1 midway through the season and playing as good offensively as we’ve ever seen. Kudos to those guys for making great decisions in practice and during games. But there are plenty of big games left.

The Yankees have thoroughly entertained me this October. A special thank-you to Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez, the latter of which had more success courting two women behind the dugout than he had at the plate.

Chorus of Boos

Naugatuck’s dress code fiasco is amusing me, too. Naugatuck really can’t catch a break. First a treehouse threatens to cause riots. Now yoga pants are set to destroy education. I mean, I really don’t care what happens because I’m out of school. But let me tell you from my not-so-long-ago experience as a high schooler: Yoga pants, short skirts, ripped jeans and all the rest do not disrupt the educational process. In fact, they make everyone want to go to school. There are more important things about which to worry than the minor attire issues (nobody’s naked or promoting drugs, so I think we’re OK). I mean, I’d be damned if I couldn’t wear the pair of jeans that I ripped at the knee after falling on a rock during a hike. And stay away from uniforms. They’re awful. You can’t try to promote individual thought and have everyone look the same. Let it be. (Final thought: If Naugatuck adopts the ban Waterbury apparently has on jeans, you will hear it from me. Talk about a lack of common sense.)

Word from the Woods

Boys Soccer

The Hawks nudged back on the plus side of .500 with a 2-1 victory over Seymour last Friday. Vigan Pacuku and Michael Costa scored on assists by Nick LaPerriere. Patrick Dietz had 11 saves in the game. The Hawks fell to 5-5-2 after losing to Wilby. The Hawks will visit Crosby on Friday. Woodland will host its senior night against Ansonia on Monday before wrapping up the season Oct. 24 and 25 against Watertown and Oxford.

Girls Soccer

Woodland stayed red-hot with a pair of 5-0 wins earlier this week. The Hawks downed Seymour on Monday before taking out Oxford on Tuesday. After dominating the Wildcats in the rain, Woodland pitched its 11th shutout of the season against the Wolverines. Audra Blewitt scored twice while Keri DeBiase, Alexa Casimiro and Savannah Aviz also found the net. Alma Rizvani has only allowed one goal in NVL play this season, a penalty kick against Sacred Heart. The Hawks game Friday Watertown was postponed until Oct. 25. They have games Monday at Wolcott and Wednesday against Torrington.

Girls Swimming

Woodland split a pair of meets last week, beating Seymour before falling to Sacred Heart. Last Wednesday, Woodland earned its third victory by topping the Wildcats 88-77. Event winners for the Hawks included the 200-yard medley relay team (Brianna Christiano, Sarah Parker, Chrissy Leeper, Sydney Corneau), Corneau (50 free, 100 free), Leeper (100 fly), the 200 free relay team (Chloe Ariola, Leeper, Christiano, Corneau) and Rachel Gerard (100 back). Last Friday, the Hearts coasted to a 100-84 win over the Hawks. Leeper, Corneau and Kim Thrasher took event wins in that meet. Woodland beat St. Paul on Wednesday and will host their senior night Monday against Kennedy before wrapping up the dual-meet season Oct. 24 at Kennedy.

Naugy Notes

Boys Soccer

Naugatuck earned a crucial NVL Copper Division win Tuesday over Torrington to move to the top of the division with a little more than a week left to play. The Greyhounds earned a 3-1 win over the Red Raiders as they scored two goals in a 41-second span early in the second half to take control of the match. Jason Goja’s first-half goal gave Naugy an early lead before Joey Martins and Adam Branco each assisted the other’s goal about 10 minutes into the second half. The victory over Torrington followed last week’s 5-2 win over Sacred Heart. Naugy stands 10-1-2 in the NVL and 6-1 in the Copper Division, a win better than both Torrington and Holy Cross, who are 5-1 in the division. The Greyhounds have two games left in the regular season, Friday at Derby and Oct. 24 in a rematch at Torrington, which could have the division title on the line.

Girls Soccer

The Greyhounds earned an 8-0 victory over Sacred Heart last Friday in their only game of the week. Steph Lima and Alexya Alves both scored twice and tallied assists to lead Naugy, while Carla Gomes netted a pair of goals and Taylor Campos and Suzanna Amaral each scored once. The Greyhounds are 7-3 in the NVL and 3-1 in the Copper Division. They will have a chance to win the division over a busy last week of the season. Naugy beat Torrington on Wednesday in a big divisional contest and will play Derby in Naugatuck on Friday. The division could be on the line next Monday night at Municipal Stadium against Holy Cross before the ‘Hounds finish the regular season Oct. 24 at home against Watertown.

Girls Swimming

Naugy won its only meet of the week last Friday against St. Paul. Despite only winning two events, the ‘Hounds utilized their depth to earn the victory. Barbara Martins took the 100-yard freestyle and the 200 free relay team of Martin, Madison Wilson, Rachel Fox and Rebecca Doback won their event. The Greyhounds are now 5-1 with an important meet at league contender Torrington on Friday.