The last time the Morgan boys’ soccer team played in a state final, the United States was in the grips of Beatlemania. It’s taken a while, but the Huskies finally have a ticket to ride to the Class S State Tournament championship game after defeating Old Saybrook in an epic semifinal match that needed penalty kicks to determine a winner. The Huskies ultimately won the game 2-1 after taking the PK session by a 3-2 score at West Haven High School on Nov. 14. Junior Jack O’Sullivan netted the deciding goal in penalty kicks for No. 5 seed Morgan, which faced 3rd-seeded Somers for the Class S title at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury on Nov. 18.

Anthony Karg scored the game’s first goal in the second half to put top-seeded Old Saybrook up 1-0, but Morgan came right back on a goal from Juan Avila that tied the game. After the two clubs were deadlocked following 100 minutes of soccer, the game went to penalty kicks, where O’Sullivan’s goal snapped a 2-2 tie to win it for Morgan.

O’Sullivan felt proud that he was able to produce in such a pivotal moment for a bunch of Huskies that he considers his family.

“As soon as I kicked the ball and saw it go in, I realized we won the game, and I started running with the huge group of friends and teammates,” said O’Sullivan, whose team improved to 17-3-2. “I feel like it’s an honor to have that chance. My team is family to me, and to be able to do that for them means the world to me.”

Morgan and Old Saybrook crossed paths four times this year, and the two Shoreline Conference powerhouses split their season series at two games apiece with Morgan winning both postseason meetings. The Huskies handed Old Saybrook its first loss of the year by 2-0 score in the conference semifinals before going on to tie Haddam-Killingworth 1-1 for a portion of the tourney title. After defeating the Rams in states, senior captain Avila and his teammates celebrated like they had seen so many professional soccer players do on television. It was a surreal moment for Avila that was hard to describe.

“You know, it’s something I usually watch on TV. It’s never something I’ve been part of. You see it, and it’s exciting,” Avila said. “Being in that moment, you can’t even explain it...We didn’t even think about it. We just ran. We always have a good student section...It was great to celebrate with them while we went through all the emotions.”

The first half of the game belied the wild finish that would follow. The Rams controlled the ball for most of the half, but Morgan’s defense and senior captain goalie Anes Gadun—who made 11 saves on 12 shots—kept Old Saybrook off the board. Both teams had a few chances, although most of the opening half was played in the middle of the pitch.

Morgan Head Coach Ross Demay felt the Huskies’ familiarity with their Shoreline Conference rival helped them stay patient against Old Saybrook’s talented facilitators in the midfield.

“They have a particular playing style, and we knew what it was,” said Demay. “We knew their main playmakers were in the middle, and you have to shut down the distribution in the middle.”

It was more of the same in the second half until the 69th minute, when senior striker Karg blasted a ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 Old Saybrook lead. After such a tough battle just to keep the game scoreless, the goal could have been devastating for Morgan, but just a few minutes later, Avila got a ball in front of the Rams’ net and scored to make it 1-1 with 7:14 left in regulation.

Coach Demay said that Avila was integral in the victory. Demay felt that Avila was the player who was going to cause the Rams’ defense to adjust and open the field. It turned out that Avila did much more than that.

“We were able to squeak one out there after they scored...We knew that they couldn’t man Juan. They had to double him the entire time, so that leaves someone else open,” Demay said. “We had a couple of opportunities that we just didn’t get on frame. We knew that we had to play a certain way and push through because, once we get past that gap between midfield and defense, that was their weak point. They pushed hard and didn’t show much weakness tonight, though.”

With the game tied 1-1 after regulation, Morgan and Old Saybrook played a pair of 10-minute overtime periods. With less than two minutes left in the first OT, Old Saybrook appeared to go up 2-1 when junior Paddy Ryan booted one on net that Gadun grabbed. The Rams celebrated as they believed the ball was in, but after some deliberation by the referees, it was deemed a no-goal.

The remainder of the overtime passed with a couple of chances for each side, but no goals, and so the game went to penalty kicks. Old Saybrook’s five were Ryan, Karg, Austin Hilger, Shon Ryan, and Justin Phillips, while the Huskies tapped Zachary Tuccitto, Tyler Newfield, Carter Skidmore, Avila, and O’Sullivan to take their PKs. After two successful penalty kicks from each team, it came down to O’Sullivan, who put one past Old Saybrook goalie Jonah Nucci for the win. Karg and Phillips scored for Old Saybrook with Phillips’s goal making 2-2 before O’Sullivan scored. Tuccitto and Skidmore converted Morgan’s other penalty kicks.

One year after winning the Shoreline title and reaching the Class S final, the Rams finished the 2017 campaign with an overall record of 18-2, going undefeated in the regular season for the second straight year. Even in defeat, Head Coach Sam Barnes felt his squad played an excellent game.

“I think we controlled the game, but we couldn’t finish,” said Barnes. “I thought we played them well. We just couldn’t finish.”

Coach Demay believes the Huskies are heading to the state final because they stepped up and wanted it so badly after not getting there in recent seasons.

“What it comes down to, these kids went to the quarterfinals their sophomore year. We didn’t make it as far the year after, because we lost one of our players coming in, and we were injured all season,” Demay said. “This year, we’re a little healthy, obviously not with [senior Jhan Carlos Bermeo out for the season with an injury], but they were just tired of losing and dug deep.”