North Branford Girls' Soccer: Runner-Up in Shoreline Conference

The bleachers were packed and the ropes were lined at the Shoreline Conference girls’ soccer finals at Cromwell High School on Nov. 7 to watch top-seeded Coginchaug take on . Unfortunately for the T-Birds, the Blue Devils snuck in a goal in each of the two halves and the Shoreline Conference title.

The Blue Devils came out strong, immediately pressuring North Branford’s defense. Victoria Buonanni and Kimberly Romanoff let a couple shots loose that North Branford sophomore goalkeeper Katelyn Pantera easily handled.

Heading to the other end of the field, Vicky Colello and Emmy Dulak showed off a pretty give and go, but Colello’s shot went just wide.

With 19:49 to play in the half, Coginchaug earned a penalty kick. Buonanni toed the line and fired a shot that Pantera calmly collected as the North Branford bench erupted in cheers.

“They outmuscled us, the referees allowed them to outmuscle us, we weren’t getting any calls,” said North Branford Coach Rick Geremia. “This was supposed to be the best referee crew they could find, especially with a three-man crew, and two of my girls got knocked down in the penalty box–no call–and they called a penalty kcik on a very questionable call. I’m just disappointed.”

Two minutes later, it was the Blue Devils celebrating. Buonanni lofted a pass across the box where Romanoff settled the ball and shot it into the far corner of the net to break the scoreless deadlock.

The remainder of the first half was a battle around midfield with North Branford fighting for the equalizer and Coginchaug looking to pad its lead. The T-Birds saw Jessica Iannucci, Stephanie Sileo, Natalie Baughan, Alex Stowe and Francesca Kaiser all come up with big stops on defense.

It was more of the same to open the second half with both teams creating solid opportunities. controlled the midfield for North Branford, distributing several solid opportunities.

The T-Birds threatened 10 minutes in with a flurry of activity in front of the Blue Devils’ net. Colello, Alecia Canfield and Sarah McDonald were in the center with all getting a foot–or a head–on the ball, but Coginchaug’s Kara Levine made the save.

“There were sequences where we played really well. Shannon Anderson played an exceptional game,” said Geremia. “Alex Stowe and Emmy Dulak also played outstanding.”

With about 20 minutes to play, both teams traded corner kicks with both keepers again coming up big. Coginchaug continued to pressure and with 11:59 to play, it paid off when Jessica Solomon fed Esposito around midfield. Esposito beat her defender and charged toward Pantera. She sent a low shot that sent Pantera to the ground just out of her reach for a 2-0 lead.

North Branford tried to power through to stay in the game, while Coginchaug played slow and deliberate to run down the clock and claim the title.

The T-Birds now need to bounce back for the state tournament. Pairings will be announced tomorrow morning. Geremia said this loss taught his team a hard lesson with states looming.

“They just learned that it’s one and done if you lose,” he said.