Overtime with Kyle Brennan

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Kyle Brennan
Kyle Brennan

Round of Applause

The Naugatuck-Wolcott football game last Friday was one for the ages. There were so many layers that made it unforgettable: the pregame ceremony to honor Ed Mariano, the debut of the gorgeous new turf field, the first home game for new coach Craig Bruno, the bigger-than-I-can-remember crowd that approached 2,000, the back-and-forth nature of the game, the four second-half lead changes, the blocked extra point by Ryne Griesenauer to force overtime, the unexpected defensive stop by the Greyhounds in overtime, and the game-winning touchdown run by Jason Bradley. It was a win Naugatuck needed in many ways and the Greyhounds got it, and it could set them up for a very special season. If you missed it (shame on you!) there are plenty of ways to relive the game: we have video highlights on my Naugatuck Valley League Football Blog and I’ve posted our (Steve Gesseck, Bob Sagendorf and me) WATR call of overtime on my blog, too. If you weren’t at the game (or a game, at least) last Friday night, you oughta get going before we label you a bandwagon fan.

Word from the Woods

Boys Soccer

Woodland’s offense continued to struggle last week as the Hawks tallied just one goal in three matches. Woodland fell to Derby 2-1 last Wednesday before suffering two shutouts in a row: a 3-0 defeat to Holy Cross on Friday and a 3-0 loss to Wilby on Monday. The young Hawks have scored four goals in six matches, and just two since their opening-day tie against Crosby. The Hawks fell to 0-6-1 on the season after a 5-1 loss at Wolcott on Wednesday. Woodland heads to Sacred Heart on Friday. The Hawks return home Tuesday to take on Watertown.

Girls Soccer

After a promising 3-0 start to the season, the Hawks dropped consecutive 2-1 matches. Woodland suffered its first Naugatuck Valley League loss to Holy Cross last Friday before dropping a nonconference match Tuesday to Brookfield. Against the Bobcats, Hailey Borris scored the Hawks’ lone goal on an assist by Jess Rodrigues while Erika Tyrell made three saves. Woodland rebounded Wednesday with a 4-1 win over Wolcott to even its record at 3-3. The Hawks play Sacred Heart on Friday and visit Watertown on Tuesday in a crucial NVL Brass Division matchup.

Cross Country

The Hawks stayed hot Tuesday as both the boys and girls swept home quad meets against Holy Cross, St. Paul and Wolcott. On the boys side, Jeff Giusto won the race by finishing in 18 minutes, 38 seconds. Brian Sardinskas (third, 19:09), Dean Conway (fifth, 19:21), Jimmy Jensen (sixth, 19:25), Matt Butterworth (seventh, 19:33) and Zach Noreika (eighth, 19:36) all finished inside the top eight for the Hawks. On the girls side, Woodland swept the top three spots and placed five runners among the top 10. Mary Sardinskas won the race in 21:10, Clara Drozdowski was second in 21:17 and Steph Kiley was third in 21:27. Kelsey Mitchell (seventh, 22:27) and Bianca Poehailos (10th, 23:29) rounded out the Hawks’ presence in the top 10. The Woodland boys improved to 8-1 while the girls remained perfect at 8-0. The Hawks will compete in this weekend’s Wilton Invitational before visiting Seymour on Tuesday to face the Wildcats, Naugatuck and Crosby.

Naugy Notes

Boys Soccer

Naugatuck  extended its shutout streak to four matches in a row with three wins over the last week. The Greyhounds knocked off Crosby 6-0 last Wednesday in the first game on Naugy’s new turf before beating Derby 5-0 on Friday and Holy Cross 4-0 on Monday. Adam Branco tallied a hat trick against the Crusaders while Fernando Branco scored a goal. Joe Martins and Danny Silva added assists, and Fez Pereira saved four shots. Naugy won an early-season test in the Naugatuck Valley League Copper Division at Torrington 3-2 on Wednesday to remained perfect at 6-0 on the year. The Greyhounds host matches against Wolcott on Friday and Seymour on Tuesday.

Girls Soccer

After losing their NVL opener against Woodland, the ‘Hounds rattled off three wins in the conference. The most recent win came Monday in an 8-0 dismantling of Holy Cross. Alexya Alves recorded a hat trick while Kelly Koslosky, Katarina Gullotta, Angelina Piccirillo and Sandra Dinis all tacked on goals and assists. Sara Marques added a goal, Christina Jando notched two assists and the goalkeeping tandem of Cailah Baranowski and Sophie Boucher combined to make seven saves. Naugy (3-3) fell 1-0 to Torrington on Wednesday. The Greyhounds visit Wolcott on Friday and Seymour on Tuesday.

Cross Country

The Greyhounds remained perfect (6-0) Tuesday by dominating a quad meet at Waterbury’s Bucks Hill Park. Both the boys and girls defeated Kennedy, Wilby and Sacred Heart by wide margins. The Naugy boys placed four runners inside the top eight, including race winner Dan Schumacher (16:50). Graden Beasley (third, 17:53), Brody Hale (fourth, 18:10) and Tyler Hayward (eighth, 18:50) all helped the Greyhounds to the wins. In the girls race, Madison Beasley won by nearly a minute in 21:47. She was joined in the top 10 by Courtney Morin (fourth, 23:40), Lauren Stankiewicz (seventh, 25:01) and Liz Trumbley (ninth, 25:04). The ‘Hounds will compete in this weekend’s Ocean State Invitational before visiting Seymour on Tuesday for a meet against the Wildcats, Woodland and Crosby.