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11/04/2018 11:00 PMThe Morgan boys’ soccer team captured its second straight Shoreline Conference championship last week, although there was no sharing the title this time around. Last year, the Huskies battled Haddam-Killingworth to a draw in the Shoreline Conference Tournament final and were declared co-champions with the Cougars. On Nov. 3, the two rivals squared off once again in the title bout, and top-seeded Morgan took the crown outright by notching a 3-0 victory over No. 3 seed H-K at the Indian River Complex in Clinton. The Huskies, who had edged Old Saybrook 2-1 in the semis, improved to 14-2-2 on the year as they gear up to defend their Class S state championship.
Senior captain Jack O’Sullivan was thrilled that Morgan claimed the Shoreline title outright after coming so close to doing so last season. O’Sullivan said the Huskies were determined to win the game for last year’s seniors, as well as the Huskies’ faithful contingent of fans.
“Getting this win means a lot. The guys last year were disappointed. They wanted to win it all, and that’s all we were talking about going into this game,” said O’Sullivan. “We were just thinking about how they felt last year and played for them. It’s not about playing for ourselves, but playing for other people, playing for the fans that came out to this game to support us. They came for us, so we’ve got to play for them.”
The Huskies dominated possession throughout the game and outshot the Cougars by a 19-5 differential. Senior David Saturno and junior Zach Tuccitto both provided a goal and an assist for Morgan, while senior Jhonnyer Paida also scored a goal in the victory. Junior goalkeeper Nick Rubino made five saves for the Huskies.
Head Coach Ross Demay attributes much of Morgan’s success to the fact that it can defeat teams in a variety of different ways. While last year’s squad had a top-notch offensive threat in Juan Avila, Demay believes that the 2018 edition of the Huskies features more talent spread more throughout the field.
“Coming into this game, we were ready. We were prepared. We were confident coming in. We were set up to play a good game,” said Demay, whose Huskies reached the conference final for the fourth year in a row. “I feel our team is a bit more dynamic this year. Last year, it was more like give Juan the ball and just let him go. This year, we’re able to move the ball better and can finish our shots consistently.”
Morgan scored the first goal of the Shoreline final when Tuccitto worked the ball to Saturno, who deposited it into the net for a 1-0 lead with 1:33 remaining in the first half. The Huskies hung on to their one-goal edge until there was 15:53 left to play in the game, when Paida scored an insurance goal off a helper from sophomore Sean Cafferty to make it 2-0. Morgan put the game out of reach Tuccitto scored from Saturno for a 3-0 command with around 11 minutes left on the clock.
Saturno and Tuccitto helped the Huskies dominate the possession battle versus Haddam-Killingworth. Both athletes handle the ball well and make the necessary passes to keep the other team’s defenders at bay. Saturno said that keeping the ball away from opponents has been working to Morgan’s advantage throughout the season.
“The easiest way to keep them from scoring if they don’t have the ball,” said Saturno. “A lot of times in the game–because it’s a final–we’re going 100 miles per hour, so it’s helpful to be able to take a breath and slow it down, because there are going to be times in the game where we’re sprinting back and forth. You have to be ready for that. So to take the ball, settle it down, move it around—that makes them run and we get more of a rest. That can really help.”
According to Coach Demay, the Huskies’ ability to control possession stems from the defensive mindset of his players at all ends of the pitch. After that, it comes down to moving the ball with efficiency.
“We try and press and defend all the way up and all the way back. Our faster players are in the back to set us up on the outside,” said Demay. “Our forwards and midfield are very strong technically, and when we figured out how to move the ball at the beginning of the season, that’s what focused us for the year.”
Earlier in the week, Morgan defeated No. 4 seed Old Saybrook by a 2-1 score in the Shoreline Conference semifinals at the Indian River Complex. The Rams grabbed the first goal of the contest off of a free kick and a dump-in during the 19th minute. Just one minute later, Tuccitto scored on an assist from Saturno to tie it up at 1-1. The score stayed that way until the final 10 minutes of the game, when Tuccitto netted up his second goal on a helper from senior Carter Skidmore. Morgan outshot Old Saybrook 29-8 and saw Nick Rubino make a pair of saves in net.
Morgan enters the Class S State Tournament as the No. 4 seed and has a bye through the first round. The Huskies will play the winner of 13th-seeded Holy Cross and the No. 20 seed, The Sport & Medical Sciences Academy, in a second-round contest at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Indian River Complex. A win there would put Morgan into the quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 10. The semis take place on either Tuesday, Nov. 13 or Wednesday, Nov. 14, and the championship game is on Saturday, Nov. 17.
Tuccitto feels that the Huskies are firing on all cylinders as they get ready to defend their state title.
“Our communication is really good, and the chemistry is there. We connect our passes so easily. Our 1-2’s are on point, and we make good runs. We have a lot of speed, so we just gather up any loose balls and keep running,” Tuccitto said. “A lot of us have way more experience. We’re more confident. We’ve bonded more as a team. I’m not saying that last year we didn’t, but this year, we’re all best friends.”
From the Sidelines
The Huskies’ boys’ soccer team’s roster includes senior captains Calvin Jackson and Jack O’Sullivan; fellow seniors Sean Fitzgerald, Jonathan Hicks, Matt Koziy, Jacob McHenry-Kron, Nicholas Muratori, Jhonnyer Paida, Andrew Passante, Ford Pender, David Saturno, Carter Skidmore, and Matthew Zoner; juniors Justin Castro, Andrew Daly, Kyle Gagliardi, Matt Gardner, Alex Kadlof, Josh Kennedy, Nate Rice, Nick Rubino, Ethan Tessman, and Zach Tuccitto; sophomores Manuel Romero and Maxwell Skidmore; and freshman Tyler Mucha.
Morgan Head Coach Ross Demay is assisted by Antonyo Serrano and Marc Ferace.
During the regular season, Morgan earned victories against Cromwell (5-1), Coginchaug (5-2), East Hampton (2-1), Norwich Free Academy (4-0), Old Lyme (4-0), Haddam-Killingworth (5-1). North Branford (7-0), Valley Regional (4-2), Portland (6-0), Old Saybrook (5-0).