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Guilford Boys’ Soccer Takes Defeat Against Cheshire in Class L Semifinals

The Guilford boys’ soccer team saw its season come to a close with a loss to Cheshire in the semifinals of the Class L State Tournament last week. On Nov. 15, the 4th-seeded Grizzlies squared off against top-seeded Cheshire in a state semifinal game at Jonathan Law High School and took a 3-2 defeat to the Rams in the contest. Guilford finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 13-5-2.

Junior Andres Gutierrez scored the first goal of the game in the 35th minute to give Guilford a 1-0 lead over Cheshire at halftime of last week’s semifinal matchup. Cheshire tied the game by scoring a goal in the 41st minute, but the Grizzlies grabbed a 2-1 advantage when senior Sami AbuGhazeleh netted a goal in the 45th minute of the contest.

Cheshire knotted the game at 2-2 by scoring a goal just 2 minutes after Guilford had re-taken the lead. The Rams went up 3-2 with a goal in the 50th minute and then hung on for the win to advance to the Class L final.

Guilford posted a record of 11-3-2 during the regular season this year. The Grizzlies then entered the SCC Tournament as the No. 7 seed and took a 4-0 defeat to No. 2 seed Cheshire in the quarterfinal round.

Following SCCs, Guilford opened play in the Class L State Tournament as the No. 4 seed and had a bye through the first round. The Grizzlies earned a 3-0 win over No. 20 seed Masuk in a second-round contest and then claimed a 1-0 victory versus No. 21 Hand in a quarterfinal game that came down to penalty kicks. Guilford won the decisive PK session by a 5-3 margin to defeat the Tigers and advance to the Class L semifinals.

—Chris Piccirillo