
The HVRHS soccer team lifts Brayan Lopez-Gonzalez above the huddle after the tie against Torrington Sept. 18.
Photo by Riley Klein
The HVRHS soccer team lifts Brayan Lopez-Gonzalez above the huddle after the tie against Torrington Sept. 18.
TORRINGTON — Housatonic Valley Regional High School boys varsity soccer tied with Torrington High School after a thrilling showdown Wednesday, Sept. 18.
Defensive dominance from both teams kept the game scoreless for the first 72 minutes of play. A penalty kick put Torrington up 1-0 with eight minutes left. HVRHS responded rapidly when striker Brayan Lopez-Gonzalez threaded a shot between two Raider defenders and the goalie for a game-tying goal with two minutes remaining.
Patrick Money battles for a 50-50 ball against Torrington.Photo by Riley Klein
For a non-league game, tensions ran surprisingly high between both sides. Hard fouls led to chirping between the coaches on the sidelines and between the players on the field, yet no cards were issued by the officials as they let the two sides duke it out.
As evenly matched as the game was, so to was the crowd balanced in its support for both sides. The HVRHS girls soccer team filled the bleachers to cheer on the boys in Torrington. Coach Adolfo Portillo hyped them up to make some noise late in the game, which paid off. Portillo thanked the fans for their support after the game.
Anthony Labbadia plays midfield for HVRHS.Photo by Riley Klein
After narrowly avoiding a loss, the Mountaineers hoisted Lopez-Gonzalez high above the huddle. In a post-game interview, Lopez-Gonzalez said was nervous as he received the ball in the box. He stared down the two defenders in front of him and fired a rocket right down the middle. It whizzed past the keeper and the whole HVRHS bench swarmed him in celebration.
“We always say if we’re down one, we gotta keep our heads up and just keep pushing through it,” said Lopez-Gonzalez on how he kept his composure in the final minutes.
HVRHS’s season record moved to 2-2-2 after the game while Torrington moved to 3-1-2. The Mountaineers return home to host Thomaston High School Friday, Sept. 20 at 3:45 p.m.
The bench takes in the game and the sunset at Robert Frost Athletic Complex in Torrington.Photo by Riley Klein
“The Sassy Seven” contenders performing the closing dance. “Next Top Mountaineer” returned to the stage at HVRHS on Friday, May 16, after a two year absence.
This spring, members of the Student Government Association worked hard to bring back Housatonic’s Next Top Mountaineer after two years without a competition.
SGA Vice President Tessa Dekker organized the event. “As the last class to have witnessed the Next Top Mountaineer, we felt that if we didn’t do it this year, the tradition would be lost,” said Dekker, whose efforts helped transform the vision into a full-scale production.
The show displayed the unique characteristics of seven students at HVRHS. “The Sassy Seven” contestants — Henry Berry, Charlie Castellanos, Andy Delgado, Justin Diaz, Manny Matsudaira, Jassim Mohydin and Joseph Villa — competed in multiple categories: personality, Q&A, lip syncing, formal wear and talent.
After careful consideration from the judges, Manny Matsudaira took home the crown and title of “Housatonic’s Next Top Mountaineer 2025.”
Matsudaira, familiar with the event through his older siblings, was eager to participate. “I grew to understand it as a really exciting and fun opportunity for seniors,” he said. For him and the others, the show became a chance to grow and have fun while doing something bold and new.
Rehearsals began about three weeks prior to the event, following school and sports. Initially focused on choreography and structure, practices eventually shifted to refining each contestant’s individual performance.
Katelin Lopes and Joseph Villa during the interview portion of the competition.Simon Markow
Dekker noted the difficulties behind the scenes. “While it was challenging to coordinate seven boys with little to no experience on the stage, they all put in the work to make an amazingly successful production.”
The preparation wasn’t strictly physical. “Of course there was a level of mental preparation that we all had to do a few nights before the show,” Matsudaira said. “The most rewarding part of the competition was the confidence I gained from stepping very, very far out of my comfort zone.” The competitors didn’t just simply dance and showcase their talents, they intentionally performed in a ridiculous manner.
The contestants and host bowing after Matsudaira — far right —was named the winner.Simon Markow
Classmate Katelin Lopes hosted the event. “I was kept on my toes by all of the contestants,” she said. “It was a very fun-filled night.” Matsudaira agreed, praising the crowd. He said, “The fun atmosphere of the night was a good reflection of the quality of the production and the work we put into it.”
Winning meant more than just a title for Matsudaira. “Being Housatonic’s Next Top Mountaineer has its greatest meaning in terms of tradition and that I’m joining a list of other Housatonic graduates,” he said. “It’s fun to win any sort of competition but this one is special in that there’s a legacy among Housatonic and that this is the first year that we’re bringing it back.”
Matsudaira’s talents don’t end on stage, he’s also this year’s valedictorian and will be attending Harvard University in the fall. He says the key to academic and extracurricular achievement is developing a passion for each activity. “When you’re looking forward to the events you participate in and the ways that you are academically challenged at school, finding success is much easier.”
Kyle McCarron carrying the baton.
Harper Howe, graduating class of 2025 from Housatonic, will be returning home to Chicago in the fall as a walk-on in DePaul University’s track team. She and three of her classmates on the HVRHS track and field team are attending college through the track and field program at their designated schools.
Kyle McCarron — attending Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut — and Gabi Titone — attending Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia — will attend their designated colleges as Division 1 cross-country and track athletes. “I am excited to be a part of the Marymount cross country and track team,” Gabi Titione said. “I just know that it is a community I will thrive within.” These schools offer new opportunities for the runners and new challenges on a whole new level.
Mia Dodge, who is attending Western New England, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, will be attending her university for both soccer and track. She will have to “get herself to the point of switching” from 300 meters to 400 meters in the hurdles.
The athletes already spend much of their time dedicated to their sports. Titone goes on runs six days a week, and she can also commonly be found at her local gym. Similarly, all four athletes attend track practices five times a week, which consist of a two-hour-long practice, while also making time for their personal workouts and runs, which adds about an extra six to ten hours to their athletic schedule each week.
The students know that the work they originally put in is only half the battle. As a walk-on, Harper Howe — attending DePaul University in Chicago — must fight for her spot in the Division 1 meets. While she is on the team and will attend their practices, she has to push herself to participate in the competition. Howe says that she needs to cut off“two and some change seconds for the 400 and one and some change for the 600” — the six hundred is an indoor competition. Without cutting those seconds, Howe will only be able to attend the practices and watch the meets.
Even though it is an uphill battle for Howe, she will be closer to her distant family members and reunited with her old hometown, which is only “a short hour away,” says Howe, compared to the 12 hours she faces now.Through her grit and determination, Howe will make her way in the Windy City of Chicago.
All four athletes have worked hard to achieve their goals. As their teammate Hannah Johnson says, “They put their heart and soul into every race that they run.”
Former President Joe Biden and his family dined at The Woodland in Lakeville Thursday, May 22.
LAKEVILLE — A fleet of black SUVs maintained a watchful perimeter outside The Woodland Thursday, May 22, as a former president dined inside.
After attending his grandson’s graduation at Salisbury School, Joe Biden and his family shared a meal at the Lakeville eatery.
Brandon Scimeca, owner of The Woodland, said the reservation was made a few days in advance. The day of the dinner, Secret Service agents arrived in the afternoon to review a security plan with Scimeca.
“They told me where he would enter and exit from, where he would sit, where Jill would sit,” said Scimeca. Later that evening, he said, 10 agents were stationed inside the restaurant with about 15 more outside.
Scimeca said Biden “treated the busboy as nice as the waiter. He was so nice to everyone.”
He ordered a hamburger well done with extra tomatoes and a cola.
Other patrons, able to avoid Secret Service, snapped selfies when Biden got up to go to the restroom, but for most of the meal he and his family quietly enjoyed their dinner.
That is, until dessert arrived at the table next to him.
Billy Sheil, who was dining with his wife and three of his four children, said Biden raised his fork and gestured at the arrival of sweets, “suggesting he wanted to sit with us or come over and take a bite,” Sheil explained.
Sheil scooted to make room in the booth and waved him over. “No fanfare. He just introduced himself and started chatting as a regular guy.”
Biden had a bite of ice cream from Sheil’s daughter Islay’s plate and chatted for about 15 minutes.
Sheil said he shared wisdom, spoke of family, the importance of siblings and the role his sister played throughout his political career.
“He spent real time with us, asking thoughtful questions and sharing in our evening like a grandfather would,” recalled Sheil. “We told him and Jill that we have four kids too — just like them — and mentioned that our second, Quin, was ironically in Washington, D.C., on a school trip. I told them, ‘He’s going to be bummed when he hears what he missed tonight!’”
The family took a photo with the former president before parting ways. Sheil noted, “When we got in the car afterward, Aerin turned to me and said, ‘Dad… was that a dream?’ It kind of felt like one.”
The Sheil family made room for Biden in their booth at The Woodland May 22.Photo provided
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy walks through Sharon on the first day of his annual statewide walk.
Decked out in a blue T-shirt, khaki shorts and a UConn cap, the man walking along Route 41 in Sharon Wednesday morning looked like others who just enjoy getting out to commune with nature. But U. S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D) had some other thoughts on his mind.
For the ninth year, he was walking across Connecticut to connect with citizens of the state. This year’s route began May 28 in Salisbury and took him to Sharon and Kent for the day.
People along the way wanted to chat with the lawmaker, and despite some gentle prodding from his staffers to keep on pace, Murphy took time to converse with those he met covering a variety of topics. On Route 41 between Lakeville and Salisbury, he encountered longtime friend, former State Rep. Roberta Willis, of Salisbury, who along with her sister Sherie Berk, greeted him with a sign stating “Chris, We’re proud of U.”
Continuing his walk, he made a stop at Sharon Center School where he spoke with sixth- and seventh-graders. Then he met with some of the younger children, who, he said, “had a million ideas about what they could do for our country.”
Sharon First Selectman Casey Flanagan, left, speaks with U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy outside Town Hall.Photo by Ruth Epstein
Following a stop at Standard Space art gallery, he proceeded to Town Hall, where First Selectman Casey Flanagan presented him with a tiny step counter. Pleased with the gift, he said he had been wanting to get one but never got around to it.
At Town Hall, the subject of Mudge Pond came up, with the selectmen telling him how important that natural resource is to the town. Selectman Lynn Kearcher said so far, its condition is not too bad, but the threat of an invasion of hydrilla is a constant worry. “Lynn and I both grew up on that lake. We want to save it for generations to come,” said Flanagan.
Kearcher asked what the citizens of Sharon can do to combat the current administration in Washington. Murphy recommended joining activist groups and getting involved. “All that can make a difference.”
He acknowledged the latest big bill proposed by the Republicans which was approved by the House of Representatives is bad for Connecticut. One of its features calls for reducing Medicaid payments in blue states by 10 percent. It will throw millions around the country off the plan, he said. The bill will also result in adding $3.5 trillion to the national debt.
“It’s an ugly bill,” said Murphy.
As he headed off to Kent, he was met by some Sharon Playhouse employees who excitedly told him about this year’s productions. The walk to Kent proved to be a strenuous one, with a long steep mountain to climb. Once in the center of Kent, he crossed over the Housatonic River on the bridge next to Kent School.
From left, former State Rep. Roberta Willis and Sherie Berk talk with U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy in Salisbury.Photo by Ruth Epstein
Murphy explained the purpose of the walk, which over the nine years has touched all areas of the state. “My job is to listen. I can’t do my job well unless I listen to what people are saying.”
On this trip, he found the issues of housing and Medicaid were what people were talking about. The push and pull between conserving land and the need for housing was also on people’s minds.
In Kent, he made a stop at Motoriot, where owner Jason Doornick explained he refurbishes vintage 4 x 4s. Murphy was impressed with what he saw. He also visited Kent Wine & Spirits and the Mobil station and convenience store where customer Tom Connors approached him and asked, “When did bravery go out of fashion?”
Murphy planned to walk another four days with the aim of reaching Long Island Sound.