will run in Monday's edition.

In the final regular-season edition of the SCC football column, Ray Curren highlights the remarkable comebacks of Shelton's Ryan DeAngelis and Foran's Tucker Schumitz. Ray also doles out the annual Elm City Awards. Check it out here

A dozen local players will be competing in the prestigious National Field Hockey Festival Invitational Tournament for Under-16, Under-19, Women’s and Mixed divisions at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, Ariz. today through Sunday.
Kirsten Kilburn, Bailey McGinnis. Michelle Caprio and Danielle Hottin of North Branford, Erica McLean and Grace Nardella of Branford, Emily Hague and Alyssa Hague of Cheshire, Marlee Teplitzky of Hamden Hall, Caroline Labriola and Emily Krane of Westbrook, and Amanda Johannes of Haddam-Killingworth will be competing for the Tsunami Connecticut team in the Under-19 division.
More than 3,500 athletes from the United States, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean are expected to compete on over 270 teams (all divisions combined).

The Gaelettes beat Westhill 1-0 to win their first state championship in school history Friday night at Norwalk High. Alex Farley had the game's only goal early in the second half.

read our account of the game story here

The Shelton girls soccer team advanced to its first state championship final in school history Wednesday night, eliminating Fairfield Ludlowe 3-2 at Norwalk. Angie Ferro had two goals and Megan Manzo added another for the Gaelettes. You can read the game story here.
The fourth-seeded Gaelettes will now try to win the LL title Friday night against No. 10 Westhill. Chck out Friday's Register for a capsule on the game at Norwalk High at 7 p.m.

Westhill eliminated No. 3 Hamden, the only other remaining Southern Connecticut Conference team in either boys or girls soccer, 3-0 in the semifinals Wednesday. You can read the story on that game here.

All three state semifinal games involving the area field hockey teams have been postponed. All will be tomorrow.
Here are the ppds.

Class M: Branford vs. Darien at Fairfield Ludlowe, ppd. to Wednesday, same place, 6 p.m.
Class M: Daniel Hand vs. Avon, ppd. to Wednesday site/time TBA
Class S: Haddam-Killingworth vs. North Branford at Guilford, ppd. to Wednesday, same place, 6 p.m.

Hillhouse senior point guard Freddie Wilson signed to play Division I basketball at Seton Hall University.

You can read the story here.

Cheshire boys' lacrosse player Torrey Martone has signed a letter of intent to play lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts. Martone, a defender who was a Register All-Area boys' lacrosse selection last season, was a key player on the very talented backline for the Class L champion Rams. He is a very strong stick-handler who always seems to be in the right position to help block a shot or make an interception. He always has his best games against SCC rival Fairfield Prep.

In this week's SCC football report, Elm City Sports columnist Ray Curren takes a look at the playoff possibilities for the upcoming state tournament. Read the column here

The second week of the CIAC tournament begins Monday and a handful of area teams are still alive.
In boys' soccer, just two teams remain: top-seeded Bunnell in Class L and No. 3 seed Valley Regional in Class S. Valley is already in the semifinals, facing No. 2 Lyman Memorial on Tuesday at Montville High while Bunnell hosts No. 8 Brookfield in a quarterfinal game Monday night, with the winner getting a berth in Wednesday's semifinals.
In girls' soccer, both Hamden and Shelton from the SCC are still alive. No. 4 Shelton in Class LL is in the semis, facing Fairfield Ludlowe on Tuesday at a site to be determined while No. 3 Hamden hosts Staples in the quarterfinals Monday.
No. 8 Bunnell is alive in Class L, facing No. 4 Avon in the semis Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury. No. 5 Morgan is alive in Class S, facing Tourtellotte in the semifinals Wednesday at Lyman Memorial High in Lebanon.
In field hockey, No. 2 North Branford faces fellow Shoreline Conference mate No. 6 Haddam-Killingworth Tuesday at Guilford High at 6 p.m. A berth in Saturday's final at 10 am at Wethersfield is on the line. Both No. 3 Branford and No. 8 Hand are trying to make the SCC proud and reach the finals in Class M, but No. 4 Avon and No. 2 Darien stand in the way in the semis Tuesday night. Hand plays at Sheehan at 4 p.m. while Branford plays at Ffld. Ludlowe at 6.
In girls' volleyball, No. 2 Morgan and No. 3 Seymour square off in the Class S semifinals Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Foran High for the right to likely face top-seeded Coventry in Friday night's final at Glastonbury High. In Class LL, No. 9 Cheshire won at top-seeded Southington in five sets Saturday night. The Rams will now face No. 4 Greenwich on Thursday night in the semis at a site and time to be determined. No. 2 Mercy faces No. 6 Fairfield Ludlowe in the other LL semi Thursday at East Haven at 7.
You can view all of the CIAC tournament brackets here.

We complete the first week of the CIAC soccer tournaments today and only a handful of area teams are left.
In boys' soccer, No. 25 seed Cheshire has pulled off two straight seeded upsets on the road and faces Hall today in West Hartford in the quarterfinals. The Rams are the only team in LL.
Bunnell is the top seed and only remaining area team in L and does not resume action until Monday when it faces fellow SWC team Brookfield at 7 p.m. at home.
There are no area teams remaining in Class M, but No. 3 seed Valley Regional from the Shoreline Conference has already reached the Class S semifinals, beating fellow Shoreline team Coginchaug Friday in penalty kicks. Seventh-seeded Seymour is the only other area team left, facing No. 2 Lyman Memorial tonight at 6 in Lebanon. The winner face Valley in the semifinals.

In girls' soccer, No. 4 Shelton hosts No. 5 Ridgefield today at 4 in th quarterfinals while No. 3 Hamden hosts another FCIAC school, No. 11 Staples, on Monday at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
Both Bunell (eighth seed) and Hand (fifth) are in action today in the L quarterfinals. No. 23 North Branford is the only team alive in M, bt is still in the second round, at Tolland today.
In Class S, a pair of Shoreline schools, No. 5 Morgan and No. 22 Old Saybrook, play at Lichfield and Canton respectively.

The No. 25 Sacred Heart Academy girls' volleyball team posted one of the biggest rallies so far in the CIAC Class M tournament on Tuesday night in a second round match to defeat No. St. Joseph 3-2. Behind 13-9 in the fifth and final game, the Pacers rallied to take a 15-14 lead and went on to win 16-14 when Daniele Gargamelli served an ace to secure the win and match. The Pacers won 25-14, 16-25, 25-19, 20-25, 16-14. Clare Kane finished with 21 kills and seven aces, Aubrey Carroll had 8 kills and 5 aces and Angelika Stamos had 26 assists for Sacred Heart Academy

Here are Monday's postponements from the CIAC tournaments:

Boys soccer
CLASS LL
FIRST ROUND
Upper bracket
No. 32 Career (4-7-4) at No. 1 E.O. Smith (15-0-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
No. 29 Conard (8-7-1) at No. 4 Norwalk (14-2-0), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
No. 20 McMahon (6-3-7) at No. 13 Simsbury (10-2-4), 3 p.m.
No. 28 West Haven (8-7-1) at No. 5 Staples (13-2-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 23 Southington (6-4-6) at No. 10 Xavier (11-3-1), ppd. to Tuesday at Oakwood Soccer Park, Portland, 2 p.m.
No. 30 Danbury (5-5-5) at No. 3 Glastonbury (14-1-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
No. 19 Trumbull (8-4-4) at No. 14 Bulkeley (11-4-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
CLASS L
FIRST ROUND
Upper bracket
No. 17 New Fairfield (9-5-2) at No. 16 Waterford (9-5-2), ppd. to Tuesday, 4 p.m.
No. 24 Woodstock Academy (8-6-2) at No. 9 RHAM (10-3-3), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
No. 29 Windsor (5-8-3) at No. 4 Bacon Academy (14-2-0), ppd. to Wednesday, 2 p.m.
No. 28 Fairfield Ludlowe (4-6-5) at No. 5 Bristol Eastern (12-2-2), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
No. 21 Kennedy (9-6-1) at No. 12 Wilton (8-3-4), ppd. to Tuesday, 4 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 18 Platt Tech (9-5-2) at No. 15 North Haven (8-4-4), ppd. to Tuesday, 3 p.m.
No. 19 New Canaan (7-4-4) at No. 14 Branford (9-4-3), ppd. to Tuesday, TBA
CLASS M
FIRST ROUND
Upper bracket
No. 17 Bethel (7-5-3) at No. 16 Windham (9-6-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 4 p.m.
No. 20 Kaynor Tech (8-7-1) at No. 13 Lewis Mills (9-5-2), ppd. to Tuesday, 4 p.m.
No. 28 Northwestern (5-8-3) at No. 5 Griswold (13-2-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 4 p.m.
No. 21 Ellis Tech (7-7-2) at No. 12 Tolland (9-5-2), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 26 Stratford (5-7-4) at No. 7 Montville (13-3-0), ppd. to Tuesday, 5 p.m.
No. 23 Stonington (7-8-1) at No. 10 Bullard-Havens (10-5-0), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
No. 27 Ansonia (7-9-0) at No. 6 Plainville (13-2-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 4 p.m.
No. 22 Whitney Tech (6-6-0) at No. 11 Ellington (9-4-3), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
CLASS S
FIRST ROUND
Upper bracket
No. 17 East Catholic (9-6-1) at No. 16 Thomaston (9-6-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
No. 25 Windsor Locks (6-9-1) at No. 8 Housatonic Regional (10-4-2), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
No. 24 Kolbe Cathedral (5-8-3) at No. 9 Wamogo (11-5-0), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
No. 20 Portland (8-8-0) at No. 13 Shepaug Valley (10-6-0), ppd. to Wednesday, 2 p.m.
No. 21 Bloomfield (8-8-0) at No. 12 East Hampton (9-5-2), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 18 Litchfield (8-6-2) at No. 15 SMSA (9-6-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 3 p.m.
No. 26 Oxford (6-9-0) at No. 7 Seymour (10-4-2), ppd. to Tuesday, 6 p.m.
No. 23 East Granby (6-7-3) at No. 10 Coventry (8-3-5), ppd. to Tuesday, 2 p.m.
Field hockey
CLASS L
QUALIFYING ROUND
Newtown (6-8-2-0) vs. Newington (6-8-2-0), ppd. to Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.
Norwalk (4-6-3-0) at Danbury (5-6-4-1), ppd. to Tuesday, 5:15 p.m.
Girls Volleyball
Class M
First round
Watertown at Tolland, ppd. to Tues., 7 p.m.

Elm City Sports columnist Ray Curren writes about his return to Fitzgerald Field to see Lyman Hall in person for the first time since 2003 as the Trojans close in on a state tournament berth. Ray also goes over the wild high-scoring contests that dominated Week 8 in the SCC... along with his Power Rankings and more, read it here

Here is our outlook on the CIAC tournaments beginning Monday.
You can check out boys soccer here.
Here is the girls soccer preview.

Take a look at the field hockey outlook here

And here is the girls volleyball outlook.

Check back here throughout the tournament for updates and weather postponements.

It took an extra session, but Hand finally won that first SCC championship in boys soccer 2-1 over Guilford in overtime Saturday at Crisafi Field in East Haven.
Ben Lussier's header with his back to the net was good at 89:10. Hand had tied the game with less than 2 minutes left in regulation courtesy of Tyler Ahern's goal. James Carroll missed a wide open net for Guilford in overtime that would have given the Indians their seventh SCC title.
Hand goalkeeper Tucker Hackett made some incredible saves to earn tournament MVP honors.
A team of destiny? That remains to be seen as Hand heads to the Class L state tournament beginning Monday.
In the girls game, Angie Ferro scored the game's only goal midway through the second half to help Shelton beat Hamden 1-0. Defender Alexander Farley won tournament MVP honors, spearheading the Gaelettes defense to three shutouts in the tournament.
Shelton will be a tough out in Class LL as the No. 4 seed. Hamden also had its best season in some time and will also be in the LL field.

Seeded third, Shelton won its first SCC volleyball title with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-16, 25-18) victory over No. 4 Law. Libero Tina Tassitano (11 digs) was named tournament MVP.

Welcome to the finals of the Southern Connecticut Conference tournaments.
In East Haven, we have the boys' and girls' soccer finals. The girls open the day with top-seeded Hamden against No. 2 Shelton at 4 p.m., followed by No. 1 Hand vs. No. 7 Guilford meeting for a third time at at 6.
Read the SCC boys soccer capsule here.
Read the SCC girls soccer capsule here.
Check back for blog updates and on twitter.com at nhrsports and/or jmorelli44.

In Guilford, the third-seeded Indians get to play on their home field against top-seeded Hand at 2:30 p.m. for the field hockey championship. Read the finals capsule here.

In North Haven, its No. 3 Shelton vs. No. 4 Law to decide the girls volleyball title at 6 p.m. Read the finals capsule here.

Tolland won the boys State Open title. Guilford was second, Amity third, Fairfield Prep fourth and Xavier fifth.

Fairfield Prep's Connor Rog (15:51) was second to Tolland's Bryan Fowler (15:50). Xavier's Ian Albert was fourth and David Pugliese sixth. Guilford's Jeff Moretti placed ninth.

Glastonbury won the girls team title, followed by Guilford and Hand. Cheshire was seventh, Hillhouse 18th.

Individually, Hand's Sarah Cotton placed third, followed by Hillhouse's Kellie Davis in fifth and  Hamden's Mara Lieberman 11th.

Click here for full girls results

Click here for full boys results

http://www.casciac.org/

The field hockey pairings for the CIAC Class L, M and S tournaments were released today with several local teams - especially in M and S - having a good shot to make a run at a title.

No. 1 seed Granby (16-0) is the one to beat in Class S. But No. 2 North Branford (15-1) and No. 6 Haddam-Killingworth (11-3-1-1) have their strengths. At least one could reach the final since both potentially could meet in the semifinals.

In Class M, No. 2 Darien (15-0) has been on a roll with three titles the last three seasons and is the one to beat. But the Southern Connecticut Conference is expected to make an impact with the depth and talent on No. 3 Branford (13-1-0-2), No. 6 Guilford (12-3-0-1) and No. 8 Hand (11-4-1). The Hornets and Indians would meet in the quarterfinals if they earn first round wins and the winner would likely face Darien in the semifinals. If Hand gets by No. 9 Farmington (11-4-1) in the first round the Tigers would face No. 1 seed Nonnewaug (16-0) in the quarterfinals.

In Class L, No. 1 Glastonbury (15-0-0-1), No. 2 Pomperaug (13-1-1-1) and No. 3 Simsbury (13-2) are the favorites. No. 7 Cheshire (10-4-1-1) likely has the best chance of any local team to advance but the Rams have a rough road ahead. If the Rams win their first round game they will likely face Pomperaug in the quarterfinals and if the Rams win that game would likely have to face Simsbury in the semifinals. Both games would be on the road.

No. 8 Mercy (9-4-1-1) and No. 9 Hamden (9-5-0-2) are other local teams in L and one of them is guaranteed to advance to the quarterfinals. Hamden is at Mercy for a first round game on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The winner is expected to get Glastonbury in the quarterfinals. Ouch!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE NEW HAVEN AREA TEAMS IN THE PLAYOFFS!

Girls' volleyball state tournament pairings are up. Check them out here.

Tickets for the annual Foran-Law Thanksgiving Day football game are on sale. For details, click here

All of today's Southern Connecticut Conference boys and girls soccer semifinal games are postponed due to the weather. Here is the new schedule:

Friday
Boys Soccer semifinals
Guilford at Fairfield Prep, 3 p.m.
Xavier at Hand, 4:30 p.m.
Girls Soccer semifinals
Amity at Hamden, 5 p.m.
Cheshire at Shelton, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Finals, at East Haven High
Girls Soccer final, 4 p.m.
Boys Soccer final, 6 p.m. (new time)

Kate Jolin scored all three goals, including one at the end of regulation for the No. 3 seeded Guilford field hockey team, which beat No. 2 Branford 3-2 in the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament semifinals Wednesday night at Branford.
Time was extended because the Indians (14-3-0-1) were awarded a corner after time had run out. A game cannot end on a penalty corner. Then Jolin scored off of it.
Dara Davis and Olivia Simpliciano assisted on two of the goals for Guilford. Cheyenne Carden and Paige Simmons scored for the Hornets (14-2-0-2).
Hand 3, Cheshire 2: Alex Solin had a goal and an assist for top-seeded Hand, which advanced to the SCC tournament final Saturday with the semifinal-round home win.
Kendall Daub and Maddie Kennedy also scored for the Tigers (13-4-1). Emma Farrel had both goals for the Rams (11-5-1-1).
The final between the two rivals is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Guilford.

The matchups and times are now set for the SCC semifinals on Thursday.

Girls Volleyball
semifinals
Law at Mercy, 5 p.m.
Shelton at Cheshire, 6 p.m.
Boys Soccer
semifinals
Guilford at Fairfield Prep, 3:45 p.m.
Xavier at Hand, 7 p.m.
Girls Soccer
semifinals
Cheshire at Shelton, 3:30 p.m.
Amity at Hamden, 6 p.m.

The Jonathan Law volleyball team defeated city rival Foran for the third time this season with a 3-1 victory Monday night in the SCC tournament quarterfinals. Read the story here

Liz Sansevero had 20 assists, four aces and was 26-for-26 serving to lead Coginchaug to a 3-1 win over Hale-Ray in the Shoreline Conference girls volleyball quarterfinals. The Blue Devils won 25-20, 26-24, 20-25, 25-10, but they had to rally back big time in the second game. Behind 14-22, they scored 12 of the next 14 points to come back and win 26-24 and took a 2-0 lead in games.

The Southern Connecticut Conference puts its new eight-team tournament on display beginning Tuesday with four boys and four girls quarterfinal-round games at the site of the higher seed.
The boys game between No. 5 seed North Haven and No. 4 Xavier will be played at Mercy High School at 3:45 p.m.
You can check out the matchups of the SCC and other tournaments here.

Elm City Sports Writer Ray Curren recalls the first time he saw Hand quarterback Zach Miller play and chronicles Miller's big night in the Tigers' 35-13 win over West Haven in this week's Inside the SCC column. Check it out here: http://www.ctbulletin.com/articles/2010/11/01/sports/doc4ccef47294246445016363.txt