Fall high school sports preview: Players, programs and stories that may define the season
For whatever reason, some area schools are just loaded with top athletes, across all sports, heading into this fall high school season.
Take Hall, for example. The boys cross country team, which won the Class LL championship last year, is stronger and looking to contend for another state title. The field hockey team, which was undefeated until the Titans ran into Wilton in the Class L state quarterfinals, returns one of the top players in the state. So does the boys soccer team, whose All-American striker Lucas Almeida is heading to UConn next fall.
There will be some different story lines as well. Cross country will no longer be dominated by the Sherry twins from Conard and Aidan Puffer from Manchester, all of whom have gone on to run in college. Farmington boys soccer, which won the Class LL state title in front of 2,500 fans at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford last November, graduated 16 seniors.
But there will also be some of the same story lines. Glastonbury girls cross country, which won its 11th Class LL championship last fall, should dominate once again. RHAM volleyball, which has won eight state titles since 2007, including another one in Class L last year, always looks to be a contender.
The fall sports season opens Thursday. Here is a look at some of the top local teams in each sport.
Girls soccer
Mercy won its first state title but had to share a co-championship with SCC rival Sacred Heart after playing to a 0-0 tie in the Class M final (there will be no more co-championships this year, following a rule change).
The Tigers graduated only one starter and return All-American goalkeeper Melina Ford, who will play at Central Connecticut next fall.
“We are very balanced in terms of offense and defense,” coach Marcus Harley said.
Mercy will get a rematch with Sacred Heart Sept. 30.
Simsbury, the Class L runner-up, brings back seven starters but lost senior Caroline Matyczyk, its top player, to an ACL tear.
“It’s a big loss but it’s going to force me into changing formations, personnel,” Simsbury coach Steve Jarvis said. “It’s an opportunity for the team and individuals to grow. I think we’re still going to be very competitive.”
Top players back are defender/midfielder Reece Willison and midfielders Katelyn Howard and Olivia Chandler.
Glastonbury made an uncharacteristic early exit from the tournament last year, losing to Cheshire in the second round of Class LL. But the Guardians return 11 seniors, including coach Mark Landers’ two daughters Kelsey (midfielder) and Mackenzie (defender) and forward Gianna Angelillo and midfielder Alayna Taylor. Kelsey is heading to Iona; Angelillo to Miami and Taylor to UConn next year.
“The way we ended with the loss to Cheshire in the second round was very difficult for our team, knowing the tradition and culture of our program,” Landers said.
Boys soccer
Farmington coach Nick Boorman got his first title and the program’s first since 2016 with a 3-2 win over Cheshire in the Class LL final. The River Hawks graduated 16 players, including Matt Cence and Caden Gallagher (who combined to score all the goals in the final) but bring back a few players from the state championship team, including seniors Isaac Coello, Daniel Jia, Aidan Cooke and Sebby Francis.
“We’ve had a lot of guys step up and do an excellent job,” Boorman said.
Hall, the second seed in Class LL, had its first loss of the year to Farmington in penalty kicks in the tournament quarterfinal. Hall returns Almeida, who committed to UConn last year, along with six other starters. Hall will face Farmington Sept. 13 in a good early season matchup.
“We were kind of young last year; we only had four seniors,” Hall coach Zeke Seguro said. “If we stay healthy, I think we should be amongst the top 5-10 teams in the state.
“It was a tough loss last year, losing on penalty kicks, not having lost throughout the season. I’m sure it stuck with them. They seem very driven. They want to make another run. We still have a lot to work on.”
Last year’s Class S champion, Old Saybrook, coached by Steve Waters, the state’s winningest boys soccer coach, returns a good group of seniors, including senior Cam DeAngelo, who was named the MVP of the state final last year.
“We’re experienced and we have our two top goal scorers back,” Waters said.
DeAngelo scored 28 goals for Old Saybrook, which went 19-0-3, and his junior teammate Kevin DeCapua had 22.
Old Saybrook beat Canton 4-1 in overtime in the final and the two teams will face each other for a rematch Oct. 14.
Field hockey
Hall junior Ellie Goldstein scored 36 goals and had 17 assists last season and Hall was unbeaten (15-0-2) until it ran into Wilton and lost 3-0 in the Class L quarterfinal. Goldstein is back, along with senior goalkeeper Addie O’Connell, who will play at Salisbury next fall, and junior sweeper Kathleen Culmo.
“It’s going to be about figuring out how to use [Goldstein] for more than scoring goals,” Hall coach Jenna Behan said. “We need everybody to do their part as well.”
Hall will play a tough schedule, including games against Glastonbury, which advanced to the Class L semifinals, on Sept. 19, Hand Oct. 1 and Greenwich Oct. 15.
Wethersfield, which advanced to the Class M championship game for the first time last year but lost to Guilford 4-0, lost most of its offense to graduation (except junior Sadie Ruiz) but returns two of its three goalkeepers. Before last year, the Eagles had only made it to the state tournament twice and lost in the first round each time.
“The challenge is having a reloading/rebuilding year and we have a more difficult schedule,” coach Colleen Budaj said. “It’s not going to be easy. We’ll have our work cut out for us but that’s OK.”
Cross country
Gavin Sherry, who dominated cross country for four years for Conard, is off to Stanford with his twin brother Callum, and Puffer is off to Northern Arizona, leaving the field wide open for new contenders.
“Our top kid at the [State] Open last year was 26th and something like 22 of the kids who beat him graduated,” Hall boys coach Jeff Billing said. “All of a sudden, he’s the fifth returner but he wasn’t even in the top 25 last year.
“It was a historic senior class. It’s a cool opportunity for this next group of kids to step in and win something.”
Hall will be doing some of that winning, after capturing the Class LL title last year and finishing third in the Open behind Ridgefield and Xavier.
Isaac Mahler, now a junior, was Hall’s top runner in the Open. Simsbury’s Luke Davis (11th), Suffield’s Griffin Mandirola (17th), both juniors, and Ryan Gagne, a Wethersfield senior (25th) are also returning from the top 25 in the Open.
Glastonbury girls, who won Class LL and finished second at the Open, will be led by sophomore Brooke Strauss, the State Open runner-up behind Somers’ Rachel St. Germain, who graduated. Glastonbury, which returns its top seven, should be strong again.
“We should be good if everyone stays healthy, which is a big key,” Glastonbury coach Brian Collins said.
E.O. Smith, whose long-time coach Jorge Guerra retired and was replaced by track coach Darren Dale, finished fifth in the Open last year and is expected to do well. Cheshire’s Alexa Ciccone, who was fifth in the Open last year, and Newington’s Katherine Bohlke, who finished 18th in the Open as a sophomore, will be top local returning runners.
Volleyball
Coventry was the Class S runner-up last year and is a perennial contender for the Class S title, last winning in 2017.
“We have a good mix of old and new, some experience, and hopefully more balance offensively,” coach Ryan Giberson said.
The Patriots first five matches are away and they don’t play a home match until Sept. 19 against Rockville.
RHAM, which won its eighth title in Class L last year, 3-0, over Simsbury, is also always a contender for a state title and lost three seniors from its championship team. RHAM’s only loss in the regular season came to Southington.
Girls swimming
Glastonbury is always one of the top teams in the area and this year will be no exception, although Suzie Hoyt said her numbers are down a bit, especially with her freshmen.
The Gladiators were the runner-up in Class LL and finished third at the State Open. They return senior twins Riley (third in the State Open 50 free, runner-up in the 100 free) and Avery Kudlac (who won the State Open 200 free title and was the 100 fly runner-up) as well as senior Brooke Sowka and junior Annika Paluska.
Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.
