High school notebook: Norwich Free Academy, Norwich Tech boys soccer teams keep rolling
Week 6 of the fall season featured a number of top performances throughout Eastern Connecticut.
The Norwich Tech boys soccer team remained unbeaten with a pair of Connecticut Technical Conference wins, including a 2-0 victory over rival Ellis Tech.
The Norwich Free Academy boys soccer team posted impressive wins over Stonington and Woodstock Academy, while the Wildcats girls soccer team continued to roll with a pair of non-league wins over Shoreline Conference opponents.
And the Elis Tech/Putnam girls soccer team continued its high-scoring ways behind the play of Tori Iozzi and Lily Goyette.
The Norwich Bulletin has you covered for what's happening this fall at Norwich Free Academy, Killingly High School, Plainfield High School, Griswold High School, Norwich Technical School, and Harvard Ellis Technical School.
Here are the highlights and top performances from Week 6:
Football
Soren Rief rushed for 162 yards on 20 carries and scored four touchdowns as Killingly rolled past Thames River, 49-0, Friday night at Morgan Field.
Rief surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season and currently has 1,034 yards with 16 touchdowns.
Killingly (3-2) jumped out to an early 21-0 lead on a pair of touchdowns by Rief and a 23-yard touchdown pass from Quinn Sumner to Hunter Allard.
Sumner completed 7-of-9 passes for 125 yards passing and one touchdown. Allard had three receptions for 50 yards.
Killingly’s defense was led by Gabe Torrente (eight tackles) and Devin Exarhoulias (five tackles). Hayden Allard and Logan Lamontagne also had interceptions for Killingly.
Thames River fell to 3-3.
Boys soccer
Norwich Tech defeated Vinal Tech and Ellis Tech to remain unbeaten at 9-0-2. Roman McElwee scored two goals with one assist and Michael George had a goal and an assist in the Warriors 3-0 win against Vinal Tech.
McElwee also netted both goals in Norwich Tech’s 2-0 win over the Golden Eagles.
Norwich Free Academy topped Woodstock Academy and Stonington. The Wildcats also battled Bacon Academy to a 2-2 draw.
Louis Hawkins collected two goals and one assist in the Wildcats’ 5-2 win over Woodstock. Logan Jenkins and Jaden Perkins also netted goals for NFA.
Hawkins added two more goals and an assist in NFA’s 4-1 win over Stonington. Jenkins and Perkins also scored goals for NFA (7-4-1).
Ellis Tech battled to 1-1 draws against both Wilcox Tech and Windham Tech in CCC action. Hunter Giovanni scored the Golden Eagles’ goal off an assist from Brenden Parmentier, while goalkeeper Sam Stone made four saves against Wilcox Tech.
Giovanni also netted a goal against Windham Tech, while Stone finished with six saves for the Golden Eagles (7-2-3).
Killingly pulled away for a 3-1 victory against St. Bernard. John Fitzgibbons, Landon LeSage, and Jeremiah Smith netted one goal, while goalkeeper Trent Pichie sealed the win for Killingly with six saves.
Girls soccer
Brooke Bolles scored a second-half goal off an assist from Colbie Gisleson and Ava Boenig made four saves to lift Norwich Free Academy past Old Saybrook, 1-0, in a non-league battle Saturday at Old Saybrook High School.
The Wildcats (8-2-2) outshot the Rams, 19-5.
NFA also posted a win over another Shoreline Conference opponent, outsourcing Valley Regional, 6-1. Sadie Daniewicz paced the Wildcats’ offense with two goals, while Bolles, Chloe Green, Alex Tabilas, and Hayleigh Young netted one goal apiece for NFA.
Lily Goyette notched a hat trick and Tori Iozzi added two goals to lift Ellis Tech/Putnam to a 7-1 victory over Prince Tech. Kenzie Sessums and Brynn Dignam each had a goal for the Golden Eagles.
Laura Farquhar scored a goal off an assist from Morgan Blanchard but Killingly fell short against Plainfield, 2-1.
More: 45 ready to thrive: The Bulletin's High School Girls Soccer Players to Watch in 2023
Girls volleyball
Griswold swept Ledyard, 3-0, behind the play of Gretta Dombkowski (seven kills, six digs), Abby Matheson (12 kills, 15 digs) and Kierra Neilson (four blocks, three kills).
The Wolverines also topped Ledyard, 25-18, 24-26, 25-9, and 25-16. Neilson had 11 kills and three blocks, Matheson added 12 kills and 14 digs, while Gretta Dombkowski had six kills and 12 digs for Griswold.
Matheson also collected 16 kills and 27 digs in the Wolverines’ 23-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-17, and 15-6
loss against Waterford. Dombkowski added six kills and nine digs for Griswold.
Plainfield fell to Lyman Memorial in four sets, 20-25, 22-25, 25-22 and 13-25. The Panthers were led by Sydney Pye, who had 11 assists and nine service points, and outside hitters Sierra Madden (seven kills) and Maddie Nordstrom (six kills).
Killingly fell short against Windham, 25-20, 11-25, 18-25, 25-14, and 10-15. Addison Montville (37 assists), Shyah Baker (14 assists, nine digs), Emma Rainville (seven blocks) and Shanaya Brown (eight kills) paced Killingly (6-9).
Montville dished out 22 assists in Killingly’s 3-0 sweep over Norwich Tech. Brown (six kills), Emma Miller (three kills, three blocks), and Atila Dos Santos (four kills) also contributed for Killingly.
The Warriors were led by Rose Johnny (five assists, four digs), Victoria Tirado (nine digs), and Taylor Roberts (seven digs).
Norwich Free Academy fell to East Lyme, 25-12, 25-14, and 25-14. The Wildcats (9-6) were led by
Faustine Canales Arrieta (nine assists), Savannah Guernsey (five assists, six digs), and Ginger Weston (11 digs).
More: Girls volleyball: Norwich-area Players to Watch in 2023
Girls swimming
Norwich Free Academy junior Natalie Bezanson won both the 200 IM (2:20.50) and 100 Backstroke (1:05.95) during the Wildcats meet against East Lyme.
Field hockey
Killingly junior Kendra St. Marie scored a goal early in the first quarter but Killingly fell to Waterford, 4-1.
Boys cross country
Patrick Croughwell (17:21.6), Jesse Croteau (17:35.3), Anthony DeBartolo (18:09.0) and Nick DeBartolo (18:15.71) finished third through sixth to power Norwich Free Academy (7-1, 2-1 ECC) to a 27-30 win over Woodstock Academy. Centaurs’ junior Christian Menounos finished first in 16 minutes, 44 seconds and junior teammate Colton Sallum (17:17) was second.
Griswold freshman Tycen LaBelle finished first in 17:41 to lead the Wolverines to a sweep against Bacon Academy and Killingly at Hopeville State Park. Senior Max Brown placed fourth (18:35), freshman Dylan Bailey was fifth (18:38), and freshman Sean Silva finished sixth (18:40) for the Wolverines, who edged the Bobcats, 26-29, and topped Killingly, 16-47, on their home course.
Killingly sophomore Kane Geddis finished in the Top 10. Geddis was seventh in 19:07.
Ellis Tech senior Brady Nottage placed first in 18:58 to lead the Golden Eagles to a 22-33 win over CTC rival Norwich Tech. Warriors junior Giuseppe Race finished second in 19:08.
Girls cross country
Karina Chan and Helen Muench placed 1-2 to lead Norwich Free Academy to a 20-39 victory over Woodstock Academy. The Wildcats improved to 5-2, 2-1 in ECC.
Griswold sophomore Ryley Hubert ran a personal best 21:11 to finish first in a meet against Killingly and Bacon Academy. Killingly’s Melody Hutchinson placed sixth in 23:38.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Top high school Norwich-area performers
