NVL tourneys begin today for area teams

The NVL tournaments begin for area teams today, both on the pitch and on the court. Here’s more about the first day of the NVL tournaments:

The first team to get us started today is sixth-seeded Holy Cross girls volleyball, which began its quarterfinal match at third-seeded Woodland at 10 a.m. The Crusaders lost, 3-0, at home against the Hawks on Oct. 17 in the only regular season meeting.

The second team to get going today is Wolcott girls soccer (10-4-0 NVL). The fourth-seeded Eagles host fifth-seeded Naugatuck (9-3-2) at 11 a.m. on the turf of Joe Monroe Field. The Greyhounds won the regular season finale, 2-1, on Nov. 2. Wolcott will be looking for players like Brooke Tracey, Sam Riviezzo, Ella Vaughn and Alexis Charette to step up and reverse what happened in the regular season finale

Waterbury Career Academy boys soccer (8-5-2 NVL) is the No. 7 seed and plays in its first postseason game in program history at 1:30 p.m. The opponent is second-seeded Woodland (13-1-0). The Spartans lost the only regular season meeting to the Hawks, 5-2, on Sept. 17 in Beacon Falls.

Holy Cross girls soccer (11-1-2 NVL) is the top seed and will play eighth-seeded St. Paul (5-9) at 2 p.m. on the turf of Ray Snyder Sr. Field. The Crusaders beat the Falcons, 6-0, in the season opener on Sept. 12 at Alumni Field in the lone regular season meeting.

Also at 2 p.m., Crosby boys soccer (7-6-1 NVL), the No. 8 seed, plays at top-seeded Naugatuck (13-0-1). The Bulldogs gave the Greyhounds a great fight before falling, 1-0, in Naugatuck on Oct. 18.

And finally at 2 p.m., Wolcott girls volleyball plays at Naugatuck in a matchup of No. 6 and No. 3 seeds. The Eagles lost both regular season matches in straight sets.

At 4 p.m., third-seeded Holy Cross boys soccer (11-2-1) plays sixth-seeded Torrington (9-6-1) at Ray Snyder Sr. Field. The Crusaders defeated the Red Raiders, 2-0, on Oct. 16 at Alumni Field in the lone regular season meeting.

Also at 4 p.m., fourth-seeded Kennedy girls volleyball hosts fifth-seeded St. Paul. The Eagles won the lone regular season match at home, 3-2, over the Falcons on Oct. 7.

In the last game of the day, fifth-seeded St. Paul boys soccer (8-5-1) plays at fourth-seeded Watertown (11-2-1) at 6 p.m. The Falcons battled the Indians in their lone regular season meeting before losing, 1-0, on Sept. 24 in Bristol.

Photo caption: Wolcott girls soccer hopes to get back on track in its NVL quarterfinal game against Naugatuck. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)