Granby Sports Recap: Week of Sept. 28

Written by Jake King and Joey Noyes of Granby Sports.

Boys Soccer: It was somewhat of a tough week for the boy’s soccer squad. They entered with a perfect 5-0-0 record but they knew they were headed into the tougher part of their schedule. They took on a very good Ellington team on Tuesday, the Bears battled the entire game and although they outplayed the Knights they were unable to muster up any goals and lost a tough one 1-0. They also had a big game on Thursdaynight against rival Windsor Locks, the atmosphere was electric at the Den under the lights. The Bears jumped out to an early lead on a goal from Sophomore Adam Holden.

Then moments later Senior defender Shane Kertanis picked up a loose ball at the top of the 18 yard box and volleyed a beautiful ball into the top of the goal just out of reach of the outstretched goalie. Kertanis then went on to celebrate his goal quite emphatically and got the student section fired up. Granby had a 2-0 lead but that wouldn’t last for long. Moments after Kertanis notched his first goal of the season Locks took a free kick from about 25 yards away and beat Jr Goalie Ryan Fish short side.

The score was 2-1 going into the half. The second half was very exciting, Granby controlled play but never could really put the Raiders out of their misery. Locks hung around by playing good aggressive defense and then when they got an opportunity to score that is exactly what they did. Locks scored on a header with about 15 minutes left in the contest, the goal shocked the Granby crowd as the game was now tied. Granby had some great scoring opportunities late in regulation but Windsor Lock’s senior goalie Tony Dailey was huge down the stretch making big save after big save. In OT

it was the same story, Granby peppered Dailey with shots but he was always their to answer. Granby senior Peter Marzo had a lovely oppurnity as time expired in OT on a header inside the box but Dailey stood strong again to preserve the draw. Granby now sits at 5-1-1 and is back at it on Monday against undefeated Suffield as their schedule does not get any easier.

Field Hockey: Granby Field hockey is having a special season so far. Going into this week they sat atop the NCCC with a 5-0 record, but the Bears were not alone at the top. Avon was also undefeated going into the week and it set up another classic matchup Tuesday afternoon at Avon. It was the last time ever that the Bears would travel to Avon in a NCCC contest as Avon is moving into the bigger CCC next season.

Avon struck first and took a 1-0 lead into the 2nd half. Then Granby Junior Rachel Domanico scored on a penalty corner to knot the score at 1 apiece. With play going back and forth it look as if the contest would head into overtime but Granby Senior Captain Olivia Johnson had other ideas. Johnson scored a clutch goal with just 4:09 remaining in the game to secure the victory for the Bears and handed the Falcons their first loss of the year. Granby then continued their success with a 4-0 win against Canton on Thursday and their record is now 7-0. They are the top seed in the NCCC and in Class M, there is potential for yet another banner this year if the girls keep it up.

Volleyball: The Volleyball team had two big wins this week, one against the Raiders from Enfield and another against what then was an undefeated Coventry team. They swept both teams and made it look easy in the process. Granby is 10-0 and the top seed in class M and the top dog in the NCCC. They are halfway to a perfect season and currently ranked #2 in the entire state according to MAXPREPS. The senior heavy team has only lost one set the entire year.

Football: The football team took home a huge victory against Enfield on Thursday night and got their record back to .500 (2-2). Connor Field was exceptional again in the victory, he rushed for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns and is emerging as one of the top players in the state of Connecticut. Granby ended up winning the game 35-21. Gadoury and the boys are back at it next week against Coventry.

Girls Soccer: Girls soccer is having a very frustrating season to this point, they are having trouble putting the ball in the net and that trend continued this week as they did not score one goal in two games. They took a 1-0 loss to a good Ellington team and then tied Windsor Locks 0-0. Things are not looking great right now but their record is not horrible (2-3-3) so if they can all get on the same page they will be fine but they need to get a few wins strung together if they want to make a run in November.

Photo: Jake King & Joey Noyes

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