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09/26/2016 12:00 AMBoys’ Soccer
The Morgan boys’ soccer team took down Norwich Free Academy by a 3-1 final on Sept. 20 and later defeated Valley Regional 2-0 to stand at 4-0-1 this year.
In the Norwich Free Academy victory, Juan Avila scored twice, first on a penalty kick in the 37th minute and again 12 minutes later following an assist from Marcio Valdez. James Saturno then scored a goal thanks to a feed from Jhan Carlos Bermeo. Anes Gadun made 10 saves with Morgan outshooting the opposition 17-13.
“We finally started showing some heart out there and played to our potential. We are far from perfect and far from where we can be this season, but this was a great step in the right direction,” Coach Ross Demay said. “It was good seeing the players materialize what we have been working so hard in practice on. It is also good to see that we didn’t sit back to a [Class LL] school. Our biggest thing last year was being intimidated by other opponents. That is one big thing for us going forward. We need to continue to have fun with the game, start feeling comfortable with the ball, and just play like we know how. Once we do that, whatever happens, happens, but at least we can be proud of leaving everything on the field for the season.”
In the Valley Regional shutout, Tyler Newfield scored in the 45th minute and Calvin Jackson scored three minutes later. Saturno assisted on the Newfield score and Gadun notched six saves for the Huskies.
“Valley came out with more heart than we did in the first half. They wanted it more and we were lucky not to be scored on in the first 40 minutes.” Demay said. “We are still a young team. I think we need to find our confidence behind the ball and it is working up slowly. We came out with a lot more heart in the second half. That was the biggest thing we were missing over the past four games. It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done, and if we keep pushing forward with our effort, we will be much better for the future.”
Football
Morgan took its first loss of the year by dropping a 37-13 decision to divisional opponent Valley Regional-Old Lyme on Sept. 23 at home. The Huskies are now 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Pequot Conference Sassacus South Division.
The Huskies scored their first touchdown in the second quarter when Madden Ward raced 24 yards to the end zone to cut his team’s deficit to 14-6. Morgan only trailed 20-13 at halftime thanks to Isaac Eriksen’s 11-yard touchdown rush with 43 seconds left before intermission.
The Warriors (3-0) then responded by scoring the game’s last 17 points on a field goal and pair of touchdowns in the second half on their way to the victory.
“[Valley-Old Lyme quarterback Matt Sapere] executed incredibly well throwing the ball down field. He certainly was able to take advantage of what we were giving him and he really hurt us on a big plays,” said Head Coach Peter Nye. “Our focus has to be to limit the types of mistakes we made. That’s not just the obvious like the turnover margin, which was deadly, but we made plenty of subtle mental errors which compounded our problems and that would keep us from competing down the road. I am excited that we have so much to improve on. This game will make us a better team.”
The Huskies will next host North Branford (1-1) on Friday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m.
Volleyball
Morgan took a 3-0 loss at Valley Regional on Sept. 19 before rebounding with a 3-1 victory over East Hampton on Sept. 21 and then a 3-0 sweep of Creed on Sept. 23 to move to 4-3.
Facing Valley, Sydney Chomicz had 15 kills for the Huskies, while Alyssa Robinson added 20 assists and 14 digs, plus Taylor Marnett contributed 33 digs.
Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country
On Sept. 21, both Morgan squads took part in the Run to the Sun Invitational at Coginchaug. Kate Daley medaled for Morgan by finishing third for the varsity girls’ race. Thomas Southwood came in 26th place for the boys’ varsity run.
Field Hockey
The Huskies lost 6-0 to Haddam-Killingworth on Sept. 20, were edged out 2-1 at home versus non-league opponent East Catholic on Sept. 21, and then took a 4-0 loss to Westbrook two days later.
Sofia Sicignano made 11 saves for Morgan in the Haddam-Killingworth loss.
Falyn McQuerrie scored on Jordan McMillian’s assist against East Catholic. Morgan had seven shots on goal and Sicignano made seven saves.