The Morgan girls’ soccer squad had a challenging season in 2019, but the Huskies still put together a respectable record and earned a return trip to the Class M State Tournament. After the Huskies claimed their first Shoreline Conference crown in 15 years last fall, injuries held them back a bit this year as Morgan finished with an overall record of 6-7-4.

Head Coach Steve Sullivan’s squad may have taken a step back in terms of wins, although the Huskies never showed any sign of giving up at all during the recent season. One reason Morgan stayed strong was the support of the senior captains Natalie Novarro and Alyssa Smith. The Huskies remained focused and positive, even when things looked bleak, and that perseverance earned them a spot in states.

“We got hit by the injury bug this year more than any year that I can remember. So it was tough game by game trying to fit the pieces together. Depending on the strengths or weaknesses of other teams, we would have to change the personnel and run different types of formations in order to compete,” said Coach Sullivan. “It was a difficult season as far as our record is concerned. So at times there was some frustration, and I thought the captains were able to handle a lot of situations and pull the team together and through some rough times.”

Novarro played a solid season in the net as Morgan’s goalkeeper and recorded seven shutout performances, even though she was playing out of her normal position. Coach Sullivan awarded her the team’s Most Valuable Player Award for keeping the Huskies in some very important games.

“Natalie’s normally a field player, but she’s always been a backup keeper through the years. With Rebecca Cockley having graduated last year, Natalie came up to me at the banquet at the end of last season and she said, ‘I know it’s early, but if you want me to go in goal, I will next season,’” said Sullivan. “It was great to have her in goal, but it hurt not having her on the field. She could make that transition because she played defense. She had some big stops for us in a lot of games.”

Smith was charged with playing the midifield this year, and she was also trying to fill playing out of her normal position. Still Smith earned All-Shoreline Honorable Mention in the unfamiliar territory.

“We had some injuries, so Alyssa was pretty much a midfielder for the majority of the season,” Sullivan said. “Every once in a while she would drop back to a defensive position for us. Last year she was mainly a stopper back. She stepped up because we graduated so many kids last year.”

One of the Huskies biggest contributors on the offense this season was junior attacker Carley Schmidt. Schmidt led the team in goals with 13 to go along with two assists. Schmidt earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors, and she was the focal point of Morgan’s offense and also many opposing teams’ defenses as a result.

“Carley led the team in goals, and she was our main offensive threat. She’s no secret in the Shoreline with any of the teams that we play,” said Sullivan. “She would be double-teamed pretty often. Teams would game plan and do things to try to slow her down a little bit. So for her to come up with 13 goals this year was quite a tribute to her skill.”

Playing alongside Schmidt for a good chunk of the season was senior Maddie Stopkoski. The senior striker scored six goals to go with five assists on the year, and while Stopkoski was a regular in the midfield, her nose for scoring goals earned her a spot on the front line.

“Maddie had been an outside back her first three years, and she moved up to central midfield because we need people to solidify things. Maddie did very well there but as some of the younger kids—like Katie Martin—got stronger during the season, it allowed me to move Maddie forward into a striker position,” said Sullivan. “Maddie is a tremendous athlete, and she’s a natural offensive player. She’s setting records as a lacrosse player offensively, so to be able to move her forward added a lot and complimented Carley.”

Many of the Huskies’ goals came on plays that developed in the midfield. That’s where senior Moira Kelly (1 goal, 10 assists) could often be seen making a key pass that resulted in a ball finding the back of the net. Kelly earned All-Shoreline Conference Honorable Mention for her keen sense of where to put the ball.

“Moira played an outside midfield position, and led the team in assists. As far as the assist production, that was a big improvement,” Sullivan said. “In the past few years, we have not really gotten enough goal production out of the midfield or the assists. For Moira to have 10 assists playing from the left side is really impressive.”

A player that typified Morgan’s toughness this season was Taylor Wyatt. She received All-Shoreline Conference Honorable Mention for her sturdy play in the field through some tough circumstances this season.

“Last year, Taylor broke her leg playing East Hampton in the Shoreline Tournament. She was actually quite a good track star, so she struggled with that, but I can’t say enough about how tough of a kid she is,” said Sullivan. “She was doing physical therapy. She’s a tough kid who will find a way and battle through it and that’s exactly what she did.”

Additionally, senior Annalyse Olcott earned the team’s Sportsmanship Award, while Katie Martin took home junior varsity MVP honors. Eve Gardner earned the junior varsity sportsmanship award, as well.

Even though the year turned out to be challenging, there were still some fantastic contests and efforts on the part of the Huskies. Coach Sullivan even thought that Morgan looked great in some of the games it came out on the wrong side of.

“One of the best games that we played was our final game in the state tournament. We came off a 0-0 tie where we played well on senior night against Joel Barlow. In states, we went up against No. 10 Watertown, and we wound up losing 3-2 against them. We had our first snow that day, and it was arctic temperatures at like nine degrees,” Sullivan said. “I was so very proud of how the kids hung in there. We tied it 2-2 with about three minutes left to go, but then gave up a goal off a corner kick with a little time left. Boy the girls really fought hard.”

As for the future of the squad, Coach Sullivan believes that there is plenty of potential to be tapped. Many younger players received a bit of a trial by fire this year due to the Huskies’ injuries, so if they continue to develop their games during the offseason, Morgan could be right back in the thick of things in 2020.

“Next season I think we have potential to be better if we stay healthy,” said Coach Sullivan. “We have a lot of talent at the freshman and sophomore level this year. The junior class may be small, but they’re talented. We may be young next year, but there’s certainly a lot of talent there.”

• The Morgan girls’ soccer team’s roster this season included senior captains Natalie Novarro and Alyssa Smith; seniors Alena Curtis, Karol Jimenez, Maura Kelly, Annalyse Olcott, Olivia Swan, Maddie Stopkoski, and Taylor Wyatt; juniors Leah Burdick, Madison Corgan, Caitlyn Donadio, Clara Franzoni, Emma Lindsay, Genna Rauccio, Olivia Riccio, Brittney Selena Ortiz, and Carley Schmidt; sophomores Angelina Comiskey, Natalia Comiskey, Jessica Flanagan, Taylor Maher, Caitlin Steahle, and Julia Tanner; freshmen Caeley Ayer, Anastasia Colebank, Kimberly Cordova, Amelia DePaul, Eve Gardner, Ashley Inglis, Sadie Lyons, Katelyn Martin, Logan Pernal, and Emily Smith.

• Head Coach Steve Sullivan’s coaching staff includes assistant coaches Jessica Choronzy and Bill Lindsay, who also serve as the Huskies’ JV coaches.

• The Huskies wins this season came against Cromwell (1-0 and 3-0), Coginchaug (1-0), Hale-Ray (4-0), Old Saybrook (2-0), and Westbrook (4-1). Morgan took losses versus Waterford (3-1), East Lyme (2-0), Old Lyme (2-1), Sheehan (2-0), Valley Regional (4-1), and Haddam-Killingworth (3-1). The Huskies earned ties against East Hampton (1-1), North Branford (4-4), Portland (0-0), and Joel Barlow (0-0).

• Morgan qualified for the Class M State Tournament as the No. 23 seed and lost a first round contest against No. 10 seed Watertown (3-2).