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11/13/2016 11:00 PMGirls’ Soccer
For the second time in program history, the Old Saybrook girls’ soccer squad has made its way to the Class S State Tournament final after earning victories versus Litchfield, St. Bernard, St. Paul, and Portland in its first four games of the draw.
The victory against Portland came in the semifinals at Middletown High School on Nov. 14 and saw the Rams prevail 2-1 after winning the penalty kick session by a 4-3 score. Old Saybrook (13-4-5) will play 2nd-seeded Old Lyme for the title on Saturday, Nov. 19. Old Lyme (18-1-2) recently won the Shoreline Conference Tournament championship and was also the co-champion of Class S last season. The Rams’ other appearance in the Class S final came in 2013, when they shared the title with Portland following a 0-0 tie. Old Saybrook and Old Lyme met once during the regular season and played to a 2-2 tie in Old Saybrook on Oct. 3.
Starting the tournament on Nov. 7, the 13th-seeded Rams took care of business at home with a 3-0 shutout over No. 20 Litchfield. Old Saybrook controlled most of the game and Arianna Heonis scored twice for the Rams. Allison Bruehwiler added a goal and Kelsey True made five saves in net to hold Litchfield off the board.
In the second round, the Rams upended No. 4 seed St. Bernard on the road by a 1-0 score on Nov. 9. True made three saves for her second-straight shutout in the tournament and Maggie Smith found the back of the net to send the Rams into the quarterfinals.
Facing No. 12 St. Paul in another road contest on Nov. 11, the Rams came out victorious by a 3-1 score to advance to the semifinals. Bruehwiler, Lexie Root, and Kendall Hartt all scored for Old Saybrook, which saw True make four saves.
“The girls have been enjoying their time in the tournament and are really coming together as a team,” Head Coach Berkely Ceccini-Bond said. “We make sure that we continue to focus on each game one at a time.”
Boys’ Soccer
On the heels of a historic run to the Shoreline Conference title, the Rams’ boys’ soccer squad has won three games in the Class S State Tournament to move on to the championship game. As the top seed in the Class S bracket, Old Saybrook earned a first round bye and then advanced to the final after defeating Haddam-Killingworth in the second round, Somers in the quarterfinals, and Notre Dame-Fairfield in the semis.
On Nov. 15, Old Saybrook (19-0-2) defeated No. 5 seed Notre Dame-Fairfield (13-3-4) by a 3-2 final at West Haven High School in a Class S semifinal contest. The Rams will face 3rd-seeded Coventry (17-3) for the crown on Saturday, Nov. 19. The game will mark the seventh time that Old Saybrook will play for a state title. The last time was in 1998 and the Rams' most-recent state title came in 1983, when they beat Granby Memorial 1-0 in the Class S final. Old Saybrook has also won Class S championships in 1982, 1979 (co-champs with Rocky Hill), and 1956.
To start the Class S Tournament, hosting 17th-seeded H-K on Nov. 10, Old Saybrook dominated play early in each half by scoring goals in the opening minutes of both frames en route to a 3-0 win. In the first half, Ashton Reina got things started with a goal 2:28 into the game. Justin Phillips scored about a minute later, assisted by Anthony Karg. In the first minute of the second half, Reina assisted Aiden Reid’s goal to push Old Saybrook’s lead to 3-0. Jonah Nucci made six saves to earn the shutout as the Rams forced H-K’s goalie Jack Spooner to make five saves. The victory marked the fourth time that Old Saybrook beat H-K this year.
“H-K came prepared and worked hard, however, the result was the same and Old Saybrook prevailed with a 3-0 victory,” said Head Coach Sam Barnes, whose team had defeated the Cougars in Shorelines the previous week. “The Old Saybrook defense shut out H-K for the third time this season and remains undefeated.”
The win advanced the Rams to the quarterfinals, where they hosted No. 8 seed Somers on Nov. 12. Old Saybrook won by a 2-0 score as Nucci made five saves for another shutout. Somers was looking to defend its Class S state championship from a year ago, but was outmatched by the Rams. Old Saybrook outshot the Spartans and controlled the tempo for most of the game. Phillips found the back of the net at the 28:52 mark of the first half after Bailey Noack worked hard to deliver a beautiful cross. Fourteen minutes into the second half, Reid sealed the deal with his second goal of the tournament. Somers had a few chances, but was unable to crack Old Saybrook’s defense as the Rams marched on to the semis.
Football
The Rams hosted Gilbert-Northwestern on Nov. 12 and cruised to 35-7 victory to improve to 7-1 this season. Old Saybrook-Westbrook has posted six-straight victories and the latest win catapulted the Rams to the No. 8 spot in the Class S State Playoff rankings. The top eight squads qualify.
Against Gilbert-Northwestern, Chase Cook started the scoring for Old Saybrook as he recorded three first-half touchdowns. In the first quarter, Cook ran home scores of two and 12 yards. Then in the second quarter, he scored on a 15-yard run. Vincent Dyer expanded the lead to 35-0 with touchdown runs of 14 and eight yards in the third quarter. The Rams’ defense played great and only allowed a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Next up, the Rams are in for a battle when they host the No. 9-ranked team in Class S, Stafford-East Windsor-Somers (7-1), on Saturday, Nov. 19 at noon. The game will prove pivotal in both teams’ playoff prospects. After that, Old Saybrook faces rival Morgan at the Peters Complex in Clinton at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
Field Hockey
The 16th-seeded Rams were defeated by No. 1 seed Westbrook, 3-1, on Nov. 8 in the opening round of the Class S State Tournament. Old Saybrook, which qualified for states by closing the season strong, finished with a record of 6-10-1.
Against Westbrook, the Rams conceded the only goal of the first half to Westbrook’s Avery Bauman, but evened the score early in the second when Aubrey Effinger put a shot into the cage. Westbrook scored two unanswered goals later in the half to get the win. Rams’ goalie Shadra Tiden made five saves.
Allison Bruehwiler and the Old Saybrook girls’ soccer team put together four-straight quality games to advance to the Class S State Tournament final.
Justin Phillips and his cohorts on the Rams’ offense have gotten the job done early in the Class S State Tournament to send the club to the semis. Photo by Kelley Fryer/Harbor News