Two Waterford graduates earn Hall of Fame honors

Brule (soccer) and Mullins (softball) join elite company

Southington — Rob Brule, the former Waterford High School girls' soccer coach and current assistant women's coach at Connecticut College, will be inducted into the Connecticut Girls' Soccer Coaches' Association Hall of Fame on Jan. 21 at the Aqua Turf Club.

Brule won the Class M state championship in his final game at Waterford, finishing his 20-year career with the Lancers with 243 victories. He had a record of 177-35-16 with 13 Eastern Connecticut Conference championships in his final 15 seasons.

In 2013, Waterford defeated Haddam-Killingworth 1-0 for the program's first state championship, with the Lancers finishing ranked third in the state's girls' soccer poll for Class M/S schools.

Brule coached 14 players who went on to play competitively in college, eight at the Division I level.

Since, Brule has assisted Conn women's coach Norm Riker, a part of the Camels' most successful season in program history in 2014 in which they won 16 games and captured the NESCAC championship for the first time in program history.

A graduate of Waterford High School and the University of Maine, Brule has served as the Director of Coaching for the Southeast Soccer Club since 2008. He is the Director of Operations for Mindscape Industries. He and his wife Kim live in Waterford.

Brule will be one of four Hall of Fame inductees, joining Hannah Stauffer Kolkin (player, New Canaan), Kelley Turro Vatteroni (player, Coventry) and Nick Moffo (coach, Conard).

The program, which takes place at the all-state banquet for girls' soccer, will begin at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $45 per person. Checks can be made payable to CGSCA and mailed to chairman Pat Collet at 6 Penn Road, Manchester, 06042.

College softball

• Karen Mullins, who retired after 31 seasons as UConn softball coach in 2014, was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Friday night in Las Vegas.

Mullins, who went 862-6265 (.579) and led the Huskies to eight NCAA tournament appearances — including five straight from 1988-93 — was inducted in the Pioneer category.

Mullins' Huskies also won eight Big East championships from 1990-2001 and she was named Big East Coach of the Year on five occasions, including 1993 when UConn set a program record with 45 wins and made its only trip to the College World Series.

Women's basketball

• Newbury defeated Mitchell College 58-51 in the New England Collegiate Conference. Haley Garcia scored 24 points for the Mariners (1-7, 1-1) while Allegra Jones added 11.

Women's hockey

• Freshman Erin Dillon scored twice as eighth-ranked Connecticut College played Manhattanville to a 2-2 overtime draw in Rye, N.Y. Goalie Dylann Nasr stopped 17 shots for the Camels (4-1-1).

Men's hockey

• Freshman Paul Capozzi recorded the first hat track of his career to lead Conn College to a 7-1 victory over Bowdoin College in a New England Small College Athletic Conference match. Two of Capozzi's three goals came in the first period for the Camels (3-4, 3-3).