Brunswick vs. Episcopal Academy Lead Feature

Hunter Hanford has never been shy about shooting the ball, nor should he be.

The Brunswick (Conn.) sophomore lefty sniper and Eclipse standout’s natural shooting ability is one of the tools that sets him apart from others in the class of 2028. Hanford shoots with power and accuracy, and he’s got a lightning-quick release to boot.

The beauty of the amount of talent on the Bruins’ offense is that anybody can be the hot hand on any given day. When they’re healthy, seniors Lucas Garcia (Prime Time / Virginia) and Rick Giordano (Prime Time / North Carolina) are the offensive bellcows, but there’s plenty of other firepower around them. A lot of that is in Hanford’s 2028 class, one that just about anyone who knows anything about the 2028 class will tell you is the best of any school in the country.

Wednesday, Hanford didn’t score a goal in the Bruins’ win over Prep Nationals rival Lawrenceville. Saturday, he erupted for a career-best five goals to go with two assists as Brunswick took down host Episcopal Academy (Pa.), 12-11.

Right Spot at the Right Time

“Everybody on our team is amazing, and I was just in the right spot at the right time,” Hanford said. “People on my team were just feeding me the ball. For my shooting ability, separation is one of the biggest parts of it. I just think that my teammates getting me the ball and just the spacing is a huge part, and my teammates are unbelievable and were just getting it to me at the right time.”

It’s not a bad idea to throw 12 the ball because he’s good enough to quickly change the scoreboard and get you an assist in the process. Hanford got his day started by taking a Matt Colella (Prime Time / Penn) throwback on the wing and wiring it home to tie the game at 2. Hanford, though, really got the show started in the second quarter.

He scored four times as part of a 7-0 Brunswick second quarter. Hanford buried a high-to-low shot on a sweep for his first of the quarter. He followed it up with a finish off of a pass from fellow five-star Sawyer Bligh (West Coast Starz). Hanford then converted a low-to-low finish off of an invert from another standout sophomore in Parker Baras. He capped off the explosive quarter when he took a pass from – yep, another superb sophomore – Austin Tuttle (West Coast Starz), caught it lefty and looked primed to shoot it lefty, and casually switched hands before ripping home a bomb.