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11/12/2017 11:00 PMBoys’ Soccer
The Morgan boys’ soccer squad is heading to the semifinals in the Class S State Tournament after posting wins against Thomaston and Cromwell last week. The Shoreline Conference co-champion Huskies improved to 16-3-2 with these two victories.
As the No. 5 seed, the Huskies earned a bye through the first round of the tournament. In the second round, Morgan went up against No. 21 seed Thomaston at the Indian River Complex and earned a 4-1 victory on Nov. 8. Two days later, the Huskies hosted 13th-seeded Cromwell in a quarterfinal match and prevailed 2-1 to advance to a semifinal contest against Old Saybrook.
In the match against Thomaston, the Huskies grabbed a goal by Juan Avila in the 22nd minute off an assist from Carter Skidmore. Zach Tuccitto scored a goal 11 minutes later with an assist from Jack O’Sullivan for a 2-0 lead. Before the first half ended, Avila knocked in another goal in the 36th minute with an assist by Tuccitto. After halftime, Avila put his third goal on the board to secure another hat trick on the season.
In the game against Cromwell, the Huskies grabbed a 2-1 edge and held on to earn their trip to semifinal round. The state semifinal game against No. 1 seed Old Saybrook will be a rematch of the Shoreline Conference Tournament semifinals that saw Morgan get the victory on its way to winning a piece of the Shoreline crown. Morgan and Old Saybrook faced each other at West Haven High School on Nov. 14 (after press time), and the winner advances to the state final to play either No. 3 seed Somers or 7th-seeded defending champion Coventry on either Friday, Nov. 17 or Saturday, Nov. 18.
Girls’ Soccer
The Huskies recently played three matches as part of the Class M State Tournament, winning their first two before losing to top-seeded Lewis Mills in the quarterfinals. Morgan finished the season with a 15-4-2 record.
The Huskies entered the state draw as the No. 9 seed and posted a 2-0, first-round win against No. 24 seed New Fairfield at the Indian River Complex on Nov. 7. Two days later, Morgan played at No. 8 seed North Branford and defeated the Thunderbirds 2-1 by winning a 3-1 decision in penalty kicks. Then on Nov. 11, the Huskies hit the road to battle No. 1 seed Lewis Mills and lost 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
On Nov. 7, Morgan hosted New Fairfield and went up early in the first half when Maddie Emmi put a goal in the net off an assist from Alyssa Lemay. With a 1-0 lead in the second half, the Huskies added an insurance goal when Allie Gardner sent her shot into the back of the net off another Lemay assist. Morgan finished with 13 shots on goal, and Natalie Novarro made six saves in net.
On Nov. 9, neither Morgan nor North Branford team could get on the scoreboard until the second half, when the T-Birds went up by a goal in the 43rd minute. Lemay later equalized by converting a penalty kick with 18 minutes left in regulation. With the score tied 1-1 after two 10-minute overtime periods, the game went to a shootout, and Issy Ranaudo, Robyn Vuilleumier, and Lemay each scored a goal in the PK session to give Morgan the win against North Branford, which had recently defeated the Huskies in the Shoreline semifinals.
Head Coach Steve Sullivan was proud of the way his team held fast against an opponent that had given the Huskies trouble throughout the year.
“That was pretty huge. We had lost to them early in the year, and they really caught us on an off night, and they knocked us out of the Shoreline,” said Sullivan of North Branford, which went on to win the conference title. “We came out with a bit of a different game-plan and discussed what we did wrong against them. I was really proud of the kids the way they followed the plan. It was one of our better outings of the year.”
Finally, on Nov. 11, Morgan played at Lewis Mills in the quarterfinals and did their best against an overpowering opponent. Lewis Mills led 1-0 at halftime and then added two goals in the second half for the 3-0 win.
Football
Morgan played a Pequot League Sassacus Division match on the road against Coginchaug/Hale-Ray and lost 42-21 on Nov. 10. Morgan is now 0-9 overall and 0-7 in the division, while Coginchaug/Hale-Ray moved to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the Sassacus.
Coginchaug/Hale-Ray scored 28 points in the second quarter to take a 28-0 halftime advantage. The Blue Devils led 36-0 heading to the fourth quarter, where the Huskies scored three touchdowns.
Morgan’s next contest will be at home against divisional opponent Old Saybrook-Westbrook (7-2, 5-2) at 10:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 23.