Cersosimo scores seven goals in the 19-4 win Saturday morning in West Hartford.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

“We did everything I wanted to see us do today. We were one step ahead all game,” said Meg Cersosimo, Conard girls lacrosse coach.

It was hard to find a weak spot for the Red Wolves as they rolled to the big win, 19-4, over Branford. On offense Caroline Cersosimo scored seven times, Nicole Gorman added five goals, and Olivia Hole dominated the draw and picked up seven points overall with two goals and five assists. On defense, goalie Maya Nanayakkara wasn’t tested very often, but when she was she responded.

Before the game Hole was honored for becoming Conard’s all-time leading scorer in girls lacrosse. Her seven-point game Saturday has moved that mark to 241 points. “I came from California and ever since I stepped on the field it has been a sense of family and I love being creative out there with my friends,” said Hole.

Creativity was a big part of the Red Wolves’ game as they dominated from the start. Hole controlled the draw all day, allowing her team to spend more time on offense, and allowing them to set up and run plays that ate a lot of time off the clock.

Twenty-seven seconds in Hole fittingly opened the scoring on an assist from Cersosimo. A little over a minute later it was the senior Gorman scoring from the 8-meter and Conard was off and running. Cersosimo and Gorman then scored the next three tallies for Conard, before Ashley Gorman broke the streak by scoring for the Wolves on a rebound at 3:24. Cersosimo finished out the first quarter goal count when she scored on a mini break with 2:17 to go and Conard was up 7-0.

“Our team came out with fire today and we all just played our roles,” said the sophomore Cersosimo.

That lead would grow to 10-0 before four minutes ran off the clock in the second quarter. Cersosimo scored first at :46, then it was Ashley Gorman scoring again with an assist from Hole, and finally Nicole Gorman found the back of the net after a long Conard possession at 8:40. “We kept sharing and moving the ball all game. This was a team win,” said Nicole Gorman.

Branford would get on the board after a rare win on the draw led to a nice transition into offense and Ana Milne scored for the Hornets at 7:47. The host side would run off the next three goals coming from Cersosimo and Ashley Gorman, who got her second before her older sister Nicole closed out a long Conard possession with a score at 8:40 of the second to make it 10-0.

“Our off the ball movement was great and that’s the team mentality,” said coach Meg Cersosimo.

Branford’s Leila Kezik would get the Hornets second of the game late in the period when she beat goalie Maya Nanayakkara with a low shot to make it 13-2. Conard dominated all phases of the opening half with Hole having overwhelming success on the draw and her teammates playing a patient, passing game, and then finding cutters who created space in front of the goal. Cersosimo had five goals at the half, Nicole Gorman four, and Ashley Gorman two.

The second half started with Conard once again scoring in the first minute. This time it was Cersosimo at :32 in on a pass from Hole. Branford’s next goal was the product of good defense transitioning into good offense. A save on Nicole Gorman led to a rebound that Branford quickly picked up and moved forward, ending on a goal from Ellie Meyran.

Conard played that same game themselves just ninety seconds later. Courtney McPhee intercepted a Branford pass and quickly turned defense into offense. As she carried the ball out of the zone she and Cersosimo worked a give and gave with McPhee then finding Nicole Gorman in front for the goal to make it 15-3. For fans of Conard girls basketball, seeing those same three players duplicate the magic of the hardwood onto the turf was something to behold.

At the other end, Nanayakkara was called upon to make a huge save when Meyran found herself all alone in front of the cage. The Conard keeper was quicker and kept the ball out of the net. Conard would get the next two scores, with the second one coming on a nice backhander from Ashley Gorman to give her the hat-trick. After a Branford goal it was sophomore Jackie Capone converting on a pass from Hole to score with just :01 left on the clock, making it 17-4 after three.

In the final quarter Conard began substituting players and Branford found its offensive footing but Nanayakkara turned in three big saves showing her growth in the position.

“This was her best game,” her coach said after the game. “She made some very good saves and Branford has a 50-goal scorer out there. Maya is always consistent.”

The win moves Conard to 7-1 on the season and they are now ranked seventh in Class LL. Their lone loss came to Amity on April 17. At the halfway point of the season, the ultimate goal is starting to come into focus for the Conard players.

“The goal is to play a Fairfield County team in the playoffs and beat them,” Nicole Gorman said. “We’d love to be state champs but we have to stay together and give the effort every day,” added Hole.

The Wolves are back in action on Tuesday hosting Northwest Catholic before a Friday game with South Windsor.

Game notes:

• Olivia Hole passed former Conard player Kate Shaffer to become the all-time leading scorer for the program. Shaffer went on to be a two-time All-American playing at UConn. “She’s (Hole) way beyond her years in maturity and that is where this comes from,” said head coach Meg Cersosimo. “I think this is great for her and the program.”
• Nanayakkara finished with nine saves in the game against Branford.
• Conard’s scorebook saw Hole finish with 7 pts (2/5), Cersosimo with 9 pts ( 7/2), Nicole Gorman with 6 pts ( 5/1), Ashley Gorman with 4 pts (3/1), and Jackie Capone with 2 goals.

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