Still going strong, Vikes reach quarters

Rowe lifts East Lyme girls’ soccer past Foran in Class L

East Lyme — Karlie Rowe scored with seven and a half minutes remaining in the first half, shortly after moving up from a stint on the defensive line, and the 20th-seeded East Lyme High School girls' soccer team made the goal stand up in a 1-0 victory over No. 29 Foran in the second round of the Class L state tournament.

Olivia Catanzaro carried the ball down the left side and crossed it to Rowe. Goalie Hayley Sorrentino finished with 19 saves in the victory for the Vikings (10-6- 4), who advanced to meet No. 21 E.O. Smith in Saturday's quarterfinals beginning at 4 p.m. in East Lyme.

East Lyme beat Naugatuck in four rounds of penalty kicks in the first round of the tournament Tuesday.

"I think it was winning the other day in PKs," East Lyme coach Rachel Redding said of her team's demeanor against Foran. "They started to believe in each other, believe in themselves. That win put them in the next level of the mindset.

"This is the best game I've seen my girls play all year. They were calm. They were unbelievable."

The Vikings started the tournament on the road at Naugatuck before earning a pair of home games as the higher remaining seed.

"It's crazy. You never know what's going to happen in states," Redding said. "... They had opportunities obviously, but I would say we controlled 80 percent of the second half. It's the most amazing feeling in the world. Like, 'We did this. We did this.' I'm just so happy for them; all their hard work is paying off."

In other second-round state tournament games:

• Mya Johnson had a goal and an assist as top-seeded Old Lyme began defense of its Class S state championship with a 2-0 victory over No. 16 Bolton 2-0. Old Lyme (18-1) advanced to the quarterfinals to meet No. 9 Coventry beginning at 11: 30 a. m. Saturday in Old Lyme. Kaylee Armenia added a goal for the Wildcats and Emily Rivera needed just one save for the shutout.

• Claudia Blazquez gave Waterford an early lead midway through the first half, but the 27th-seeded Lancers could not hang on in a 2-1 loss to No. 11 Sheehan in Class M. Blazquez scored on a rebound off a Julia Florek free kick that went off the post. Sheehan's Kelsey Burr's second goal of the game came on a free kick from 20 yards out in the 75th minute for the game-winner. Skyler Henry finished with eight saves in the loss.

"Unfortunately, we made the classic soccer mistake (by) giving up a goal immediately after scoring," Waterford coach Chris Ghiglia said. "We played our best soccer of the year in the tournaments, so (I'm) really proud of the performance."

Waterford finished 8-10-2.

H.S. swimming

• Sophia Podeszwa took fourth place at the Class S diving championship at Bulkeley High School with 377.85 points. Teammate Tallah Ryan finished 18th with 223.75 points. Weston's Sophia Rapp captured first place with 390.05 points.

• NFA's Anna Ciriello finished seventh at the Class LL diving championship at Middletown on Wednesday. Ciriello scored 360.50 points, and teammate Miranda Hill was 26th with 190.45 points. Greenwich's Katherine Russack took first place with 486.10 points as the Cardinals took four of the top five spots.

• East Lyme's Megan Opsahl scored 257.25 points to place 19th overall at the Class M diving championship at Bulkeley High School. Foran's Emma Longley was first with 458.90 points. Other local divers included East Lyme's Anna Johnson (22nd, 250.85), Lyme- Old Lyme/ Valley Regional's Britney Detuzzi ( 25th, 181.40) and Fitch's Katie Shaughnessy ( 30th, 94.55).

H.S. volleyball

• Jamie Stevens recorded 10 assists and 10 digs in No. 17 East Lyme's 3-0 loss to defending Class L champion and top seed RHAM in a second-round match. Sydney Iannantuono contributed 10 digs and six kills for the Vikings (13-9).

Women's college basketball

• Mia Brennan came off the bench to lead five players in double figures with 20 points, six steals and five assists in Avery Point's 97-62 win over Bristol Community College. Egypt Santos added 17 points and 12 rebounds, Taty LaFrance Boyce contributed 17 points, 14 rebounds, six steals and five assists and Meagan Bianchi tallied 16 points and eight assists for the Pointers (2-0, 2-0 Region XXI).

Women's college soccer

• Conn College's Sara Kogelmann and Michelle Medina were named to the College Sports Information Directors of America District II Academic All-America women's soccer team. Kogelmann, a sophomore defender, is an undeclared major who is a member of the Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Club on campus and tutors students in economics. Medina, a senior forward, is a double major in economics and psychology who scored 11 points ( four goals, three assists) for the Camels. Also from Conn, freshman forward Kat Norton and senior midfielder Lauren Steele were named to the All-New England Small College Athletic Conference second team.

Men's college soccer

• Conn College freshman A.J. Marcucci was named the NESCAC Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the league's second team. Marcucci, a goalie, had a .897 save percentage and 0.54 goals-against average, which included six shutouts.

Also, junior midfielder Ben Manoogian was named to the CoSIDA District II Academic All-America men's soccer team and was an All-NESCAC first-team selection. An economics major, Manoogian scored a team-best 17 points on eight goals and one assist.