Coming off of a stellar year in Curtis Gullette’s first full season as head coach, the Guilford boys’ soccer team is looking to follow up with another great campaign in 2020.

Last fall, Guilford took home the SCC Hammonasset Division title during the regular season and then carried that momentum into the postseason, where Coach Gullette’s club won the SCC Tournament for the first time since 2009. Guilford went on to notch three victories in the Class L State Tournament before losing to Hand on penalty kicks in the semifinal round.

Coach Gullette said that last year’s squad did an excellent job with setting an example of how to win close contests. Gullette feels confident that his returning players learned a lot about how to pull off nail-biting victories as a result of that experience.

“We had a very successful season by winning our division and riding that momentum to our first SCC Tournament championship in over a decade at Guilford. We fought hard through the State Tournament to come just shy of the tournament final,” said Gullette, whose team finished at 15-2-6 overall. “Probably the biggest thing our team can take from last season into this year is that we never give up. We had eight games that we fell behind by a goal during the game and only lost one of those games, winning five of them.”

One of Guilford’s top returning players is senior captain Aidan Buchanan, whom Gullette called the anchor of his team’s defense. Buchanan earned All-SCC First Team and Class L All-State honors as a junior captain last season.

Buchanan’s counterpart in the captain’s chair is fellow senior Anthony Ippolito, a forward/midfielder who was named the Most Outstanding Player of last year’s SCC Tournament. Ippolito scored the only goal of the game when Guilford earned a 1-0 win versus Hand in the conference final, ultimately finishing the year with five goals and two assists.

Guilford’s other seniors include forward/midfielder Camilo Carmona,;forward/midfielder Miles Montalvo; midfielders Evan Lemon, Niall O’Brien, Aidan Medvecky, and Joe Mirrione; and defenders Michael Malatesta and Nate Pizzuti. O’Brien had seven goals and two assists en route to earning All-SCC Second Team honors in 2019. Lemon tallied three goals with seven assists on the campaign.

“There are a core of seniors this year that were in the starting lineup throughout the last two seasons and made large impacts, such as Aidan Buchanan, Anthony Ippolito, and Evan Lemon, who I look forward to seeing progress and lead this team,” Coach Gullette said. “I also have high hopes for the other seniors and know they will provide great things to this team on and off the field.”

Gullette said that he’s also looking forward to the contributions of two rising juniors, Theo Freeman and Cal Stephens, each of whom saw some valuable minutes on the pitch last season. With the graduation of goalkeeper Josh Kosh, who was the team’s MVP as a senior captain, sophomore Justin Hess will take the reins in net this fall.

“They started roughly half the games last year as sophomores, but struggled to stay on the field due to injuries,” said Gullette of Freeman and Stephens. “I am also excited to have Justin Hess take over in goal this year. He made one start last year as a freshman and looks to be our goalie the next few years.”

On the heels of a historic season, Guilford has great expectations coming into 2020. Coach Gullette said that his athletes are ambitious and want to help Guilford take those final steps toward a state championship.

“Our division looks to have its challenges with East Haven, Lyman Hall, North Haven, and Cheshire, but we will be ready to compete each and every night,” Gullette said. “I expect us to be in contention for a division title, SCC title, and state title this year, but there is a lot of time between now and then, so it will be up to the players and coaching staff to be reflective and willing to learn from our mistakes to make changes in strategy to achieve at our highest potential.”

Despite everyone’s high hopes, Gullette knows the 2020 campaign could still be canceled by COVID-19. Gullette would love to see his athletes hit the field, but only in a safe and responsible circumstance.

“I have trust in our district and state leadership to make the best decisions for the safe resumption of schools and interscholastic athletics,” said Gullette. “Currently, Guilford schools has put a hold on in-person voluntary conditioning sessions that we would normally hold during the summer. As coaches, we are hoping that by early August, we are able to begin those sessions in a safe and socially distanced manner.”