Three Avon teams earn CIAC tournament wins Monday

Avon’s Caroline Schaefer battles a Hand defender in Monday’s Class M quarterfinal game in Avon. The Falcons prevailed, 2-1.

AVON, Nov. 12 – There are plenty of happy high school sports fans in Avon this evening. Three Avon High teams played in the CIAC tournament on Monday afternoon and all three came up winners.

The Avon field hockey team advanced to the Class M semifinals for the third time in four years with a solid 2-1 decision over Hand-Madison at the high school.

At Fisher Meadows, the Avon boys soccer team got two quick goals in the first half and held off pesky Bethel, 2-1 in a second round Class L contest. Avon’s girls soccer team, the defending Class L champion, scored two goals in the span of four minutes to break open its 4-0 victory over Bunnell-Stratford.

The soccer teams will host Class L quarterfinal games again at Fisher Meadows on Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. The boys face No. 14 Berlin while the girls will tangle with No. 7 Joel Barlow-Redding. The Falcon field hockey team will face No. 1 Wilton (18-0) in the Class M semifinals on Wednesday at Cheshire High at 5 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY: Emily Stross and Caroline Schaefer each had goals for the No. 4 Falcons, who improve to 13-2-3 on the season. Nicole Andrew made six saves in net. Stross scored off a feed from Hailey Graff with 11:54 left in the first half. Schaefer scored an unassisted goal with 28:26 remaining the game.

No. 5 Hand cut the lead to one with a goal of its own with 13:13 off a scramble in front of Andrew. But Avon was able to run out the clock, limiting any future scoring opportunities for the visiting Tigers.

“We played great,” Avon coach Terri Ziemiecki said. “We played hard. We played fast. We played smart and had strong hearts.”

Hand coach Sue Leckey said Avon’s aggressiveness benefited the Falcons and created some scoring opportunities. “It was good to see a game with 22 talented players on the field,” she said. “That is good for the sport.”

Avon is now one victory away from a berth in the state championship game on Saturday at Wethersfield High. The Falcons last played for a state title in 1998 when they qualified for the Class S final.

“The expectation is that we go play our best every day,” Ziemiecki said. “That is what we’re striving for. Just one day at a time and make it your best effort. The next day, make it your best again and keep getting better.”

GIRLS SOCCER: In the first round of the Class L tournament, the Falcons barely got past No. 27 E.O. Smith with a 1-0 decision in double overtime. On Monday, Catherine Jordan had two goals to lead the No. 2 Falcons to a 4-0 win over No. 15 Bunnell. Jordan and Hunter McCarthy scored in less than three minutes to break open a scoreless game.

McCarthy jumped on a loose ball thanks to some miscommunication between the Bunnell goalie and one of her defenders. “In the tournament, those little opportunities make the difference between winning and not winning,” Avon coach Jim Murray said.

Playing at home and scoring the two goals near the end of the first half helped relax the Falcons, Murray said.

“In the first round, everyone was so nervous because you’re playing a team that should dominate,” he said. “We did a good job. We just didn’t finish. You get tense and nervous. You begin thinking we should have scored this and we should have scored that.”

Even on Monday, the Falcons had their chances. Once Jordan and McCarthy scored, the team relaxed. Jordan and Alexa Lisevick added second half goals as the Falcons outshot Bunnell, 36-6.

Goalie Kaylan Conrad made four saves to earn the shutout.

BOYS SOCCER: Sean Janson had a goal and an assist as the No. 6 Falcons (14-3-1) took two goal lead after one half and held on for the victory over No. 11 Bethel. Bobby Zaino had the first goal for Avon on a hard shot.

“Bethel was very physical which made it a much quicker game,” Avon assistant coach David Zlatin said. “They pressed us hard and we reacted well. We still need to work on closing out teams at the end of games.”

Stephen Dorney and Jared Rosenblatt played well at midfield for the Falcons.

FIELD HOCKEY
Avon 2, Hand 1
At Avon
Hand (12-5-1)                        0  1  — 1
Avon (13-2-3)                        1  1  — 2
Goals: Emily Stross (A), Caroline Schaefer (A), Brenna Hobin (H); Assists: Hailey Graff (A), Kate Boudreau (H); Saves: Nicole Andrew (A) 6, Isabelle Zoeckler (H) 3; Shots: Hand 7-5; Penalty corners: Hand 8-6

GIRLS SOCCER
Avon 4, Bunnell 0
At Avon
Bunnell (8-6-4)                        0  0  — 0
Avon (15-1-2)                          2  2  — 4
Goals: Catherine Jordan (A) 2, Hunter McCarthy (A), Alexa Lisevick (A); Assists: Caroline Smith (A), Michaela Marcus (A); Saves: Kaylan Conrad (A) 4; Bunnell 12; Shots: Avon, 36-6; Corners, Avon 10-0

BOYS SOCCER
Avon 2, Bethel 1
At Avon
Bethel (10-4-3)                        0  1  – 1
Avon (14-3-1)                          2  0  — 2
Goals: Bobby Zaino (A), Sean Janson (A); Assists: Janson (A); Shots: Avon, 14-6; Saves: Phil Lopreiato (A) 4, Bethel 8; Corner kicks, Bethel 3-1