The captains of the 2013 Notre Dame-West Haven baseball team both signed national letters of intent on Monday.

Griffin Garabedian committed to UConn while Greg Zullo is headed to Stonehill.

As a junior last spring, Garabedian batted .388 and led the Green Knights with 21 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. He tied for second with Zullo, with 28 hits and had a .478 on base percentage. He also had three assists from his center field position.

In addition to his 28 hits, Zullo batted .406 and had a team high 19 RBIs with 18 runs and five doubles. He also went 3-2 with a 1.80 ERA.

Other area athletes who recently announced signings:

Avery Giorgio, Hamden Hall: Holy Cross, lacrosse

Amanda Bradley, East Haven: Marist, volleyball

The Connecticut Field Hockey Coaches Association is hosting two all-star games this Thursday at Cheshire High's turf field.

There will be a Junior Select game at 5:30 p.m with top junior field hockey players from across the state competing. At 7 p.m. there will be the annual, Senior All-Star game, which consists of all senior field hockey players who earned Connecticut High School Coaches Association First Team all-state honors for the 2012 season. 

Hamden field hockey coach Tina Bouchard and Haddam-Killingworth coach Patsy Kamercia will be two of the coaches for the Senior game.

As first reported by Dave Ruden from the Stamford Advocate, the three Bridgeport schools, Bassick, Bridgeport Central and Harding, had a preliminary meeting with the Naugatuck Valley League about possibly joining their league.

So first Oxford wants to move to the NVL, a fit that makes sense geographic, and now the Bridgeport schools possibly, which is great for boys' basketball. Those schools could be more competitive in football and baseball and some girls sports. But is this a geographic fit for the three schools? Does that even matter anymore?

If this does happen at some point, and the FCIAC does go back to 16 teams, how would it affect the SCC-FCIAC Challenge for football if that merger does come to fruition for both the 2013 and 2014 seasons?

Cheshire football head coach Don Drust, who took the position on a one-year interim basis prior to the start of the 2012 season, has expressed interest in staying on as coach on a full-time basis.

Cheshire athletic director Steve Trifone said the job will be posted at the end of the football season and Drust is welcome to go through the application process.

“If they offered me the job, I would certainly sit down with school officials and discuss taking the position,” Drust said. “With our football season done now, I’ll take some time to think about going through the application process. I would love to come back here on a full time basis. Cheshire football has been a big part of my life.”

Drust took over for former coach Mark Ecke who decided to step down in May after being suspended due to an alleged incident at a junior varsity lacrosse game in Glastonbury.

Drust took a young Rams team and led them to a 6-4 record, including wins over Shelton and Notre Dame-West Haven.

“Don was hired on an interim basis,” Trifone said. “The full time position will be posted as planned at the end of the season. But Don can certainly apply for the position if he so choses.”

On Oct. 19, Stratford coach Lisa Buccieri was honored before a game against Kolbe to celebrate her 25 years of coaching volleyball.

Buccieri said she was thrilled.

“It was a wonderful night,” the coach said. “I was shocked and surprised at the same time.”

The coach began in at Law in 1987. She became the Red Devils’ coach in 1995 and led them to a 9-9 record and a win over her former school, Law, in the first round of the Class M tournament.

Buccieri said she appreciated the ceremony and it also helped her out a bit.

 “It meant the world to me,” she said. “People ask me, ‘how many years have you been coaching,’ and I tell them, ‘I don’t know, about 16 or 17. I lost track of it. I didn’t realize that I was at 25 years.”

Through it all, Buccieri said she is appreciative that she had the chance to meet so many great people.

“I’ve met a lot of good people, family members and great players throughout the 25 years,” Buccieri said. “To this day I’ll see kids in the mall and they’ll still come by and say hello. It’s just hard to put it in words. I never expected to still be coaching and I love every minute of it.”

By Mike Pucci, Register Staff
mpucci@nhregister.com / Twitter: @MikePucciNHR

NEW HAVEN — Dana Grindall admitted she’s superstitious.But the Amity senior hasn’t really needed to rely on any pre-race ritual to win events in the pool. Grindall, rather, has mainly succeeded because of pure talent.

Saturday, she capped an outstanding career by winning the 100-yard butterfly, setting a state record by finishing in 54.16 seconds at the State Open championship at Yale’s Kiphuth Pool.

It marked the fourth straight championship in that event for Grindall, who broke her own state record.

Read more about Grindall's final meet and Darien winning its first State Open title.

Glastonbury High School has been selected as the overall CIAC Michael’s Achievement Cup recipient for its outstanding achievement as an overall athletics program for the 2011-12 academic year.

Glastonbury was recognized based on achievement in seven distinct areas which are sportsmanship, participation, athletic scholarship, athletic personnel, equity, chemical free initiatives and athletic achievement. The school captured four CIAC championships with four additional runner-up finishes.

Avon, Brookfield, Darien, East Hampton, Fairfield Ludlowe, Foran, Gilbert, Haddam-Killingworth, Joel Barlow, Ledyard, Northwest Catholic, Notre Dame-Fairfield, Valley Regional, Wamogo, Weston, Westbrook and Woodland were the additional programs that received recognition as exemplary
programs.

The Michael’s Achievement Cup was created in the early 1980s courtesy of Roy Michaels, the owner of Michaels Jewelry, in an effort to recognize outstanding athletic programs.

Shelton’s Ryan Testani will sign a national letter of intent on Monday to play baseball at Seton Hall next year.

Testani, who will be a captain this upcoming season, helped lead the Gaels to the Class LL state championship for the first time in 36 years, He went 9-3 on the mound with a 1.31 ERA and 64 strikeouts. Testani was named to the Register’s All-Area team last season.

At least two other area athletes will be signing on Monday: Olivia Levey of Lauralton Hall to play basketball at St. Francis and Riley Smith of Guilford to play field hockey at Fairfield.


Any area athlete signing a national letter of intent DURING THE FALL SIGNING PERIOD ONLY to play in college should email high school sports editor Joe Morelli at jmorelli@nhregister.com. The email should include the student-athlete’s name, school, sport, college attending.

Hyde football coach Melvin Wells has been named Coach of the Year by the New Haven Football Officials Association (NHFOA). Wells has coached the team since 2007.

The award is given annually to the coach whose program best represents clean play and sportsmanship. Members of the NHFOA vote each year on the coach who most fits that description. Wells will be honored at the annual NHFOA banquet on Nov. 26.

“Winning this award is a great honor, especially because it’s received from the people who supervise and monitor the game,” Wells said in a statement. “I am grateful they see me as a role model and positive influence on young people. We have a great group of kids this year who work extremely hard. This award represents them far more than myself.”

Hyde is currently 8-0. 

Since the Guilford field hockey team moved from Class L back to Class M in 2005, the Indians haven't advanced past the quarterfinals in the CIAC Class M tournament - until today.
Guilford defeated Nonnewaug 2-1 in the quarterfinals today.
The Indians, the No. 10 seed, have advanced to the semifinals following road wins over some highly-seeded teams. Guilford defeated No. 7 New Fairfield in the first round and Nonnewaug is the No. 2 seed.
Guilford will face No. 3 Farmington  in the semifinals at Cheshire High on Wednesday at a time to be announced.
Guilford was poised for a strong post-season run this season with its frontline talent, depth and experience. The Indians (11-6-3) certainly fine tuned its talent with some very tough competition in the Southern Connecticut Conferemce.
The Indians are strong front to back led by center and offensive standout Riley Smith and right wing Anna Montenegro, midfielder Natalie Bruneau, on-field defenders Sara Duggin and Katy Jankura and goalie Nicole Snow.
Before the post-season Guilford veteran coach Kitty Palmer said, "We are a very senior-laden team with experience in the front and back. We have good athletes poised to take on the challenge."
Guilford has advanced to the state finals six times with four appearances in Class L, one in M (1979) and another in 1973 before there were class distinctions and there was just an open tournament. The Indians have one state title, tying Simsbury 1-1 and being declared Class L co-champs in 1997.

Here is Thursday's complete list of the opening day of the CIAC Tournament. Although the snowstorm postponed most of today's action, there are a few games still being played today (they are listed bold below):

Boys’ soccer
CLASS LL
FIRST ROUND
Thursday's results
Upper bracket
No. 32 Hamden (6-7-4) at No. 1 Norwalk (14-1-1), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 17 Staples (10-4-2) at No. 16 Norwich Free Academy (9-3-2), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 25 Shelton (7-5-4) at No. 8 Wilton (12-3-1), ppd. to Saturday, noon
No. 24 Cheshire (7-5-4) at No. 9 Newtown (11-2-3), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 29 Newington (7-8-1) at No. 4 Glastonbury (13-2-1), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 20 Manchester (8-4-4) at No. 13 Naugatuck (11-3-2), ppd. to Friday, 6 p.m.
No. 28 Westhill (7-8-1) at No. 5 Ridgefield (13-2-1), ppd. to Friday, 4 p.m.
No. 21 Hartford Public (9-6-1) at No. 12 Stamford (11-3-2), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 31 Fairfield Warde (6-8-2) at No. 2 Amity (13-1-2), ppd.to Saturday, 11 a.m.
No. 18 Xavier (10-4-2) at No. 15 Simsbury (11-4-1), ppd. to Saturday, 11 a.m.
No. 26 Trumbull (7-6-3) at No. 7 Greenwich (12-2-2), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 23 Pomperaug (8-5-3) at No. 10 Bristol Central (12-4-0), ppd. to Friday, 6 p.m.
No. 30 Fairfield Ludlowe (6-8-2) at No. 3 Fairfield Prep (13-2-1), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 19 New Milford (9-4-3) at No. 14 Hall (11-3-2), ppd. to Saturday, 11 a.m.
No. 27 Guilford (6-5-5) at No. 6 South Windsor (13-2-1), ppd. to Friday, 3 p.m. at Eastern Connecticut State University
No. 22 Danbury (9-6-1) at No. 11 Conard (12-4-0), ppd. to Saturday, 11 a.m.
CLASS L
FIRST ROUND
Thursday's results
Upper bracket
No. 17 Windsor (8-7-1) at No. 16 Masuk (7-4-4), ppd. to Friday, 4 p.m.
No. 25 Stratford (6-8-2) at No. 8 Farmington (11-2-3), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m. at Farmington Sports Arena
No. 24 East Lyme (6-8-2) at No. 9 Branford (10-2-4), ppd. to Saturday, 2 p.m.
No. 20 Cheney Tech (7-8-1) at No. 13 Fermi (10-5-1)
No. 21 Woodstock Academy (7-8-1) at No. 12 RHAM (9-3-4), ppd. to Friday, 6 p.m. at ECSU
Lower bracket
No. 18 Darien (8-7-1) at No. 15 New Canaan (9-4-3)
No. 26 Notre Dame-West Haven (4-6-6) at No. 7 Hand (12-3-1), ppd. to Friday, 4:30 p.m.
No. 23 Lyman Hall (6-7-3) at No. 10 Torrington (11-4-1), ppd. to Friday, 5 p.m.
No. 19 Bunnell (5-5-6) at No. 14 Berlin (9-4-3), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m. at Sage Park
No. 27 E.O. Smith (6-9-1) at No. 6 Avon (12-3-1), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 22 Middletown (6-7-3) at No. 11 Bethel (9-3-3), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
CLASS M
FIRST ROUND
Thursday's results
Upper bracket
No. 17 Bullard-Havens (9-4-2) vs. No. 16 Wolcott Tech (10-4-2), ppd. to Friday, TBA
No. 25 Weston (6-5-4) at No. 8 Ellington (12-2-2), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 24 Woodland (8-6-2) vs. No. 9 Holy Cross (12-3-1), ppd. to Friday, 1:30 p.m. at Municipal Stadium
No. 20 Plainfield (8-4-4) at No. 13 Brookfield (9-1-6), ppd. to Saturday, 1 p.m.
No. 21 Nonnewaug (9-6-1) at No. 12 Ellis Tech (12-4-0)
Lower bracket
No. 18 Plainville (10-5-1) at No. 15 East Catholic (10-4-2), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 26 Northwestern (8-8-0) at No. 7 Windham Tech (13-3-0), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 23 Tolland (9-7-0) vs. No. 10 University (11-3-1), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m. at Prince Tech
No. 19 Granby (9-4-3) at No. 14 Wolcott (11-5-0), ppd. to Friday, 5 p.m.
No. 27 Kaynor Tech (5-8-3) at No. 6 Ledyard (13-3-0), ppd. to Friday, 4 p.m.
No. 22 Sheehan (8-5-3) at No. 11 Killingly (12-4-0), ppd. to Friday, 5 p.m.
CLASS S
FIRST ROUND
Thursday's results
Upper bracket
No. 17 Bolton (8-6-2) at No. 16 Thomaston (8-6-2), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 25 Derby (6-8-2) at No. 8 East Hampton (9-4-1), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 24 Coginchaug (6-8-2) at No. 9 Old Saybrook (10-5-1), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 20 Immaculate (7-7-2) vs. No. 13 Classical Magnet (8-5-3) at Rogers Park-Danbury, ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 21 Stafford (7-8-1) at No. 12 East Granby (9-6-1), ppd. to Saturday, 1 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 18 Wamogo (8-6-2) at No. 15 North Branford (8-6-2), ppd. to Friday, TBA
No. 26 Lyman Memorial (6-9-1) at No. 7 Shepaug Valley (10-4-2), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 23 Northwest Catholic (7-9-0) at No. 10 Old Lyme (10-5-1)
No. 19 Parish Hill (8-8-0) at No. 14 Canton (9-7-0)
No. 27 Windsor Locks (6-9-1) at No. 6 Somers (11-5-0), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 22 Cromwell (7-8-0) at No. 11 Wheeler (9-6-1), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
Field hockey
CLASS S
FIRST ROUND
Thursday's results
Upper bracket
Killingly/Old Saybrook winner at No. 1 Lauralton Hall (13-0-2-0), ppd. to Saturday, 2 p.m.
No. 9 Westbrook (9-4-2-0) at No. 8 North Branford (10-4-2-0), ppd. to Friday, TBA
No. 13 Waterford (8-4-1-3) at No. 4 Haddam-Killingworth (13-2-1-0), ppd. to Friday, 4:30 p.m.
No. 12 Northwest Catholic (9-5-1-1) at No. 5 Stafford (13-2-1-0), ppd. to Friday, 4 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 15 Somers (7-8-0-1) at No. 2 Immaculate (14-2-0-0), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 10 Lewis Mills (9-5-2-0) at No. 7 Suffield (11-5-0-0), 4 p.m.
No. 14 Granby Memorial (8-5-2-1) vs. No. 3 Thomaston (12-1-1-1) at Litchfield, ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
No. 11 Shepaug Valley (9-5-2-0) at No. 6 Stonington (12-3-0-1), ppd. to Friday, 2 p.m.
Girls’ volleyball
CLASS LL
FIRST ROUND
Thursday's results
Upper bracket
No. 17 Fairfield Warde (11-7) at No. 16 Ridgefield (11-7), 5:30 p.m.
No. 20 Kennedy (9-9) at No. 13 Simsbury (13-4), ppd. to Friday, 6 p.m.
No. 21 New Canaan (8-10) at No. 12 Southington (14-4), 7 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 18 Danbury (9-9) at No. 15 Westhill (11-7), 4:30 p.m.
No. 19 New Britain (9-9) at No. 14 East Hartford (11-7), ppd. to Friday, 5:30 p.m.
No. 22 Norwich Free Academy (7-9) at No. 11 Amity (14-4), ppd. to Friday, 5 p.m.
CLASS L
FIRST ROUND
Thursday's results
Upper bracket
No. 17 New Fairfield (11-7) at No. 16 Avon (12-6), 6 p.m.
No. 20 Pomperaug (9-8) at No. 13 Branford (13-5) , 5 p.m.
No. 21 Platt (9-9) at No. 12 Maloney (13-5), ppd. to Friday, 6 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 18 Lyman Hall (11-7) at No. 15 E.O. Smith (13-5), 5:30 p.m.
No. 19 Guilford (10-8) at No. 14 Bunnell (13-5), ppd. to Friday, 5 p.m.
No. 22 Brookfield (8-8) at No. 11 Fitch (13-5), 7 p.m.
CLASS M
FIRST ROUND
Thursday's results
Upper bracket
No. 17 Stratford (9-9) at No. 16 Law (9-9), ppd. to Friday, 6 p.m.
No. 25 Montville (7-10) at No. 8 Plainfield (13-5), 4 p.m.
No. 24 East Catholic (7-10) at No. 9 Lewis Mills (11-5), 7 p.m.
No. 20 Waterford (8-10) at No. 13 Sheehan (11-7), 7:30 p.m.
No. 21 Bullard-Havens (8-10) at No. 12 Nonnewaug (11-7), 5 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 18 Killingly (8-10) at No. 15 Bethel (9-8), 4 p.m.
No. 23 Ansonia (7-10) at No. 10 East Haven (12-6), 7 p.m.
No. 19 Northwestern (8-10) at No. 14 Wolcott (10-8), 7 p.m.
No. 22 Lauralton Hall (7-9) at No. 11 Berlin (12-6), ppd. to Friday, 6 p.m.
CLASS S
FIRST ROUND
Thursday's results
Upper bracket
No. 17 Coginchaug (9-9) at No. 16 Northwest Catholic (11-7), 5 p.m.
No. 24 Housatonic Regional (6-9) at No. 9 Lyman Memorial (14-4), 6 p.m.
No. 20 Old Lyme (9-9) at No. 15 Windham Tech (13-5), 5 p.m.
No. 21 SMSA (9-9) at No. 12 Kaynor Tech (13-4), ppd. to Friday, 5 p.m.
Lower bracket
No. 18 Goodwin Tech (9-9) at No. 14 Valley Regional (13-5), 7 p.m.
No. 23 Grasso Tech (8-10) at No. 10 Norwich Tech (14-4), 5:30 p.m.
No. 19 Classical Magnet (9-9) at No. 13 Haddam-Killingworth (13-5), 7 p.m.
No. 22 Cheney Tech (9-9) at No. 11 Bolton (14-4), ppd. to Friday, 5 p.m.

The CIAC post season in girls' swimming begins Friday with diving trials and championship on Friday for Class L at Middletown and M and S at Plainville. Competition begins at 5:30 p.m.
The Class LL diving will be on Monday at Middletown at 5:30- p.m.
Amity will be the team to watch in diving in Class LL with its depth (four divers) led by Amanda Craig. She won the diving championship at the Southern Connecticut Conference meet.
The swim qualifying meets for all classes will be held Saturday (M at East Hartford, 11:30 a.m.; S at Plainville, 2 p.m.; LL at EastHartford, 6 p.m.; and L at Cornerstone Pool, 6:15 p.m.
The swim championships will be on Tuesday (S at Southern Connecticut State, 6 p.m. and M at Wesleyan University, 7 p.m.) and on Wednesday (L at Southern Connecticut State, 6 p.m. and LL at Wesleyan University, 7 p.m.).
Greenwich is the team to beat in Class LL led by Madeline Dunn in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. Amity and Cheshire should challenge the Cardinals with their depth. Amity is led by Dana Grindall (50 freestyle, 100 butterfly) and Anna Lu (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle). Cheshire is led by Sara Barlok (100 backstroke), Taylor Deubel (100 breaststroke) and Lindsay Smalec (100 butterfly, 200 individual medley).
Branford (Lauren Rasile, Christine Rasile) and Sacred Heart Academy (Michelle Merwin) will have its share of top six finishes in Class M. Mary Spillane (200 individual medley, 100 backstroke) will lead Lauralton Hall in Class S.

For more info and a complete list of seedings for qualifying in all classes, go to the CIAC website at www.casciac.org.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference has released its pairings for the Class L-M-S field hockey tournaments and Class L looks real interesting.
Connecticut field hockey powerhouse Darien, which moved from Class M to Class L this season, is the No. 1 seed and competes in the upper bracket of games.
Defending Class L champion Cheshire, the No. 2 seed, is in the lower bracket.
Thanks to those seedings, the Blue Wave and Rams, coming off their 1-0 win over Hand in the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament championship, have a very good shot to meet in the Class L final on Nov. 17 in Wethersfield (time for the final is yet to be determined).
One item that is noticeable is in the Rams' bracket there is only one Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference team with No. 11 Fairfield Warde facing No. 6 Glastonbry on Friday in the first round.
Cheshire begins defense of its Class L title on Friday at home at 5 p.m. against Thursday's qualifying round Hall/Newtown winner.
In Class M, there is a definite Southern Connecticut Conference flavor with five SCC teams in the tournament. On Friday in the first round, No 16 Lyman Hall is at No. 1 Wilton at 4 p.m., No. 12 Brookfield is at No. 5 Hand at 4:30 p.m., No. 11 Pomperaug is at No. 5 Branford at 2 p.m., No. 10 Guilford is at No. 7 New Fairfield at 4:30 p.m., and No. 15 Mercy is at No. 2 Nonnewaug at 2 p.m.
Hand is in the upper bracket and Branford is in the lower bracket and both have the frontline talent to advance at least to the semifinals.
Unbeaten Wilton (16-0) is certainly the team to beat.
In Class S, there are five New Haven area teams in the upper bracket and two of those teams should meet in the semifinals. No. 1 Lauralton Hall is on a mission to get back to the Class S final where it lost last season to Granby. The Crusaders kick off their tournament competition at home Thursday at 2 p.m. against today's Old Saybrook/Killingly qualifying round winner. No. 8 North Branford will host No. 9 Westbrook today at 4 p.m. and No. 4 Haddam-Killingworth will host No. 13 Waterford today at 2 p.m.

For complete CIAC field hockey tournament schedules go to http://bit.ly/RFJRfL

By Dan Nowak, Register Staff
dnowak@nhregister.com / Twitter: @NHRDanNowak

NEW HAVEN — The Amity girls’ swim team may have gone undefeated during the Southern Connecticut Conference regular season, but it was Cheshire that returned to the top spot in Monday’s league championship meet.

Sara Barlok won the 100-yard backstroke in 59.91 seconds and Taylor Deubel won the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.20 to lead the Rams to the team championship at Southern Connecticut State’s Moore Fieldhouse with 1,314 points. Amity was second with 1,037.5 points, followed by Branford with 694.5.

Amity snapped the Rams’ 17-year SCC team championship win streak last season. Cheshire has now won 18 of the 19 SCC championship meets.


Read more about Cheshire's return to the top of the SCC.

Three SCC finals are on tap this evening.
Branford reached the finals of the boys' and girls' soccer final for the first time in school history. The boys face Fairfield Prep at 7:30, preceded by the girls, Branford vs. Shelton, at 6 at West Haven High. Follow @nhrJoeMorelli on Twitter for all of the up-to-the-minute updates.

Cheshire faces Hand in the SCC field hockey final at 6 at Cheshire. Follow @nhrDanNowak for updates on that contest.

Here is the latest SCC tournament schedule update:


Boys’ soccer

Semifinals

Monday’s result

No. 3 Branford 3, No. 2 Amity 2 (2 OT)
Championship

Today

at West Haven

No. 1 Fairfield Prep vs. No. 3 Branford, 7:30 p.m.

Girls’ soccer

Semifinals

Monday’s result

No. 6 Branford 1, No. 7 Hand 0

Championship

Today

at West Haven

No. 4 Shelton vs. No. 6 Branford, 6 p.m.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Quarterfinals

Monday’s result

No. 3 Amity 3, No. 6 Branford 1

Semifinals

Monday’s result

No. 1 Cheshire 3, No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy 0

Today

No. 3 Amity at No. 2 Mercy, 5 p.m.

Championship

Wednesday

at North Haven

No. 1 Cheshire vs. No. 2 Mercy/No. 3 Amity, 6 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY

Semifinals

Monday’s results

No. 1 Cheshire 0, No. 4 Branford 0 (Cheshire advances 4-2 on penalty strokes)

No. 2 Hand 2, No. 3 Guilford 1

Championship

Today

at Cheshire

No. 1 Cheshire vs. No. 2 Hand, 6 p.m.

By Sports Staff / Contact Us
Twitter: @nhrsports

Boys’ soccer

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Saturday’s result

No. 1 Fairfield Prep 2, No. 5 Xavier 1

Monday

No. 3 Branford at No. 2 Amity, 2:30 p.m.

Championship

Tuesday

at West Haven

No. 1 Fairfield Prep vs. No. 3 Branford/No. 2 Amity, 7:30 p.m.

Girls’ soccer

Quarterfinals

Saturday’s result

No. 7 Hand 2, No. 2 Cheshire 1

Semifinals

Monday

No. 7 Hand at No. 6 Branford, 6 p.m.

Championship

Tuesday

at West Haven

No. 4 Shelton vs. No. 7 Hand/No. 6 Branford, 6 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY

Quarterfinals

Saturday’s results

No. 1 Cheshire 5, No. 8 Sacred Heart Academy 0

No. 2 Hand 5, No. 7 Mercy 0

No. 3 Guilford 7, No. 6 Amity 0

No. 4 Branford 2, No. 5 Hamden 1

Semifinals

Monday

at Cheshire

No. 1 Cheshire vs. No. 4 Branford, 5 p.m.

No. 2 Hand vs. No. 3 Guilford, 7 p.m.

Championship

Tuesday

at Cheshire, 6 p.m.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Quarterfinals

Monday

No. 6 Branford at No. 3 Amity, 4 p.m.

Semifinals

Monday

No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy at No. 1 Cheshire, 6 p.m.

Tuesday

No. 2 Mercy vs. No. 3 Amity/No. 6 Branford winner

Championship

Wednesday

at North Haven, 6 p.m.

By Chris Hunn, Register Staff

chunn@nhregister.com / Twitter: @Chris_Hunn.

EAST HAVEN — It was all too familiar for the eight seniors on the East Haven girls’ soccer team. Another new coach, another long season.

Then something clicked.

“I think they figured out there’s not a second chance in high school,” first-year coach Ray Curren said. “This is it.”

The Easties, voted the Register Team of the Week, lost to Newtown and dropped to 0-4-1 on the season. But they held their own in the 4-1 loss to the Nighthawks, a state power.

Check out more on how East Haven qualified for postseason play.

Saturday is going to be a big day for Cheshire High sports with the Rams hosting a tripleheader of events.
No. 2 Cheshire hosts No. 7 Hand at 3:30 p.m. in the Southern Connecticut Conference girls' soccer tournament quarterfinals.
No. 1 Cheshire hosts No. 8 Sacred Heart Academy at 3 p.m. in the SCC field hockey tournament quarterfianls.
Cheshire hosts East Haven in a varsity football game at the Rams' turf field at 6:30 p.m.

Southern Connecticut Conference commissioner Al Carbone has announced that the SCC girls’ diving competition will be held Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Hamden High. The SCC Championship Swim Meet will be held at 6 p.m. that same evening at Southern Connecticut State’s Moore Fieldhouse.

20 of Connecticut’s top scholar-athletes were announced today as state finalists for the 2012 Wendy’s High School Heisman Award program. These finalists are now in the running to become the two state winners, the next phase of the program as applicants advance to become national winners.

There were 393 applicants from Connecticut, which was narrowed down to the state’s 20 finalists. These finalists embody the Heisman spirit of hard work and dedication through their outstanding achievements in athletics, academics and community/school leadership.

The area kids listed below are in bold:

Student Name	Gender	Student High School	Hometown
Shaila Segal	F	Woodstock Academy	Pomfret Center
Erica Bonelli	F	Guilford High School	Guilford
Melanie Byrne	F	East Windsor Jr-Sr High School	Broad Brook
Michele Merwin	F	Sacred Heart Academy	North Haven
Amber Sekoll	F	East Hampton High School	East Hampton
Kathryn Dressel	F	Plainville High School	Plainville
Cameron Chaplen	F	Thomaston High School	Thomaston
Rebekah Hoisl	F	Conard High School	West Hartford
Casey Pearsall	F	Wilton High School	Wilton
Natalie Leslie	F	Brien McMahon High School	Norwalk
Jaryd Hobbs	M	Branford High School	Branford
Kevin Briggs	M	East Windsor Jr-Sr High School	East Windsor
Tyler Hoffman	M	Farmington High School	Farmington
Kahari Mickens	M	High School Inc.	Springfield, Mass.
Robert Roehrich	M	Saint Joseph High School	Shelton
John Pavain	M	Ridgefield High School	Ridgefield
Liam O’Neil	M	Greenwich High School	Greenwich
Christopher Soule	M	Westhill High School	Stamford
Michael Semancik	M	Robert E. Fitch Senior High School	Mystic
Anthony Saccone	M	Ledyard High School	Gales Ferry

While many field field hockey teams in the New Haven area were able to finally get on the practice field on Wednesday in preparation for the postseason, Westbrook hasn’t been one of the lucky ones following Hurricane Sandy's Northeast rampage.
Nearly 40 percent of the CL&P customers in Westbrook are still without power.
“We are still without power in most of Westbrook,” Westbrook field hockey coach Janet Dickey said. “I haven't been able to get to the field yet because we live near the water and I have been busy making sure my mother is all set where she is.
“I plan on checking on the field today (Thursday) but don't foresee any problems. We will not be able to practice until the superintendent allows. But I'm hoping for Friday because we are scheduled to play in the first round (of the CIAC Class S tournament) next week (Thursday).”
The Lyman Hall field hockey team was one of the fortunates ones to get a practice in on Wednesday.
“Yesterday (Wednesday) was our first day of practice for Lyman Hall since the storm,” Lyman Hall coach Stephanie Lavado said. “When we arrived to the field the goals, benches and trash cans had been blown over. So while the girls ran and stretched the other coaches and I had to reassemble our field so we could practice on it.
“We were very lucky to have minimal damage to our field and equipment as well as the school. Our hearts go out for those along the shoreline.  The SCC (Southern Connecticut Conference) tournament was pushed back to Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Our first round of states (CIAC Class M) was also pushed back to next Friday (Nov. 9). But we still don't know where we will be heading to play the first round.”

Here is a link to the New Haven Register story explaining all the scheduling adjustments for all the teams in CIAC state tournaments - http://bit.ly/SfwoIO.

Here is a link to the adjusted schedules for all the Southern Connecticut Conference postseason tournaments - http://bit.ly/Sscg7f.