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11/20/2018 11:00 PMThe Old Saybrook boys’ soccer team claimed its first state title since 1983 when the Rams earned a 2-1 victory versus defending champion and Shoreline Conference rival Morgan in the Class S State Tournament final at Middletown High School on Nov. 18.
Following a scoreless first half, Shon Ryan scored the first goal of the game to give Old Saybrook a 1-0 lead five minutes into the second half, after which he assisted fellow junior Jack Colella for an insurance goal seven minutes later to make it 2-0. Junior Josh Kennedy scored an unassisted goal for Morgan to cut it to 2-1 with 20 minutes remaining, but Old Saybrook held on for the win to give longtime Head Coach Sam Barnes his first state championship as the Rams’ head coach.
Old Saybrook, which was the No. 6 seed in the tournament, finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 15-4-3. No. 4 seed Morgan, which had previously won its second straight Shoreline Conference Tournament title this fall, went 17-3-2 on the year.
The Rams’ win over Morgan marked the fifth state title and fourth outright state crown in Old Saybrook boys’ soccer history. Coach Barnes played for the teams that accomplished that feat in 1982 and 1983. Now, Barnes has a state championship as a coach in his 24th season at the helm of the Rams.
“This was a long time coming. It was the third time we’ve been to the finals with me as a coach at Old Saybrook. We lost before, and this year, we won,” said Barnes. “I think we did a lot more with less. I just think that we worked well together as a team, and we were able to shut these guys down.”
Old Saybrook had graduated eight starters from its team that went undefeated during the 2017 regular season. Ryan said that he and his teammates initially had some doubts about whether this year’s edition of the Rams would be the one that ultimately took home a state title. However, as the campaign wore on, Old Saybrook developed into a cohesive unit that believed it could achieve big things.
“It’s just a great feeling. I never thought that this team would be able to do it, especially with the teams that we’ve had the past few years,” said Ryan, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the Class S state final with a goal and an assist. “I mean, we lost eight starters from last year, and a ton of people thought that we wouldn’t be able to do it. Even we didn’t at first, but we were able to come together as a team. We just wanted it more than any other team, and it just feels great to do it with this group of guys.”
Old Saybrook had split its two regular-season meetings with Morgan this year, before taking a 2-1 loss to the Huskies in the Shoreline Conference final. When the teams squared off with the state title on the line, it took some time for the Rams and Huskies to get warmed up on a cold November afternoon. In the end, Ryan scored on a free kick, and then Colella netted the go-ahead goal off a corner to lift Old Saybrook to the victory.
Sophomore goalie Matt Rothman had a heavy hand in keeping the game scoreless at halftime. As the clock ticked down toward intermission, Rothman made a few clutch saves to thwart a couple of scoring opportunities by Morgan, including one stop on a hot shot following a Huskies’ corner kick the final minute.
“I was really trying to keep calm and keep my head. I wanted to keep a visual on the field, so that I could see all the elements of the play develop. From there, I could analyze how I wanted to attack the ball,” said Rothman, who had three saves in the game. “On a play like that, it’s pretty straightforward. I just have to make sure that I’m in the right position.”
Early in the second half, the Rams capitalized on a free kick from Ryan, who looped the ball over the Morgan wall and junior goalie Nick Rubino (2 saves), who nearly punched it away with an outstretched arm. The goal put Old Saybrook up 1-0 and gave the Rams a huge jolt of energy.
“That was the first free kick I’ve taken all season. My brother [senior Paddy Ryan] normally takes them. When I got fouled for the free kick, I just knew that I would be able to take it, and it would go in,” Ryan said. “We didn’t have the momentum before that. After we scored, we got so much energy, and we were able to carry that the rest of the game. It just feels amazing to know that it came from my free kick.”
With 28 minutes left in the game, Colella scored from Ryan on a corner kick to extend Old Saybrook’s lead to 2-0. As time wound down, the Huskies desperately needed a goal, and they got one when Kennedy scored off a corner kick. Kennedy launched the ball and managed to get in front of the net and score on a beautiful bicycle-kick after it was headed into the air. The goal cut the Rams’ advantage to 2-1 with 20 minutes to go, although Old Saybrook’s defense capped off an excellent performance by keeping the Huskies off the scoreboard the rest of the way to solidify the monumental victory
Junior defender Colin Shulmeister said the Rams’ hard work and communication in the backfield loomed large in the win.
“I felt the team worked really well together today. We were all talking and doing everything just right. Over the past few years, we faced Morgan in the higher parts of the bracket and, this year, it was in the final,” said Shulmeister, whose team lost to Morgan in last year’s Shoreline semifinals and then on penalty kicks in the Class S semis. “The past few times we faced them, we weren’t talking enough and working hard enough defensively. This time, we were just clicking. To win it over them felt really amazing.”
Rothman had high praise for Old Saybrook’s defense. The keeper believes that this collection of defenders may be the best he’s ever lined up behind.
“I can’t talk enough about how good our defense was this year. They are one of the best sets of defensemen that I’ve ever played with,” said Rothman. “They have great vision on the ball, terrific ball-winning capabilities, and they’re just so athletic. It makes them an extremely hard line to beat.”
Morgan Head Coach Ross Demay was disappointed that his team was unable to repeat as Class S champions after putting forth such a dominating performance throughout the season. Still, Demay felt proud of the Huskies for everything they accomplished this year, including winning the Shoreline Conference title outright after sharing it with Haddam-Killingworth last fall.
“I’m proud of these guys,” said Demay. “They dug deep. They pushed. They really worked hard all season to get here.”
Old Saybrook’s win versus Morgan added another chapter to a rivalry between two conference foes who’ve faced each other in some high-stakes games the past couple of seasons. Coach Barnes said the Rams’ victory in the state final was particularly special, because it came against the same team that had knocked his squad out of last year’s tournament.
“I know Coach Demay. He was my assistant coach for many years, and I was afraid that he was going to know all my moves. It’s hard to overcome that,” Barnes said. “I think it was all about getting a little bit of revenge. We thought that we had that game won. We felt that they stole that one from us, and now we got this one.”
From the Old Saybrook Sidelines
The Old Saybrook boys’ soccer team’s Class S State Tournament roster was comprised of senior captains Carlos Chacon and Paddy Ryan; seniors James Carlin, Enes Cecunjanin, Nolan Heiden, Timothy Reid, and Noah Worman; juniors Jonathan Barnes, Luke Brodeur, Jack Colella, Cody DeAngelo, Gino Gallitto, Luke Hanratty, Garrett Hilger, Logan Hilger, Cooper Luciani, Ben O’Dell, Ryan Powers, Jayson Rankin, Shon Ryan, and Colin Shulmeister; sophomores Avery Appiah, Gannon Efinger, Gershon Jara, Trey Martin, Carter Gibson, William Peralta, and Matt Rothman; and freshman Nicholas Rothman. Head Coach Sam Barnes is assisted by Jeisson Pozzo and Adam Cubeta.
Old Saybrook’s path to the Class S final saw the 6th-seeded Rams earn a first-round bye, followed by a 2-0 victory over No. 11 seed Wheeler in the second round, a 3-0 win against 19th-seeded Windsor Locks in the quarterfinals, and a 2-0 win over No. 2 seed Litchfield in the semis.
In the Shoreline Conference Tournament, the No. 4 seed Rams defeated No. 5 seed Coginchaug by a 1-0 score in the quarterfinals, after which Old Saybrook dropped a 2-1 decision against No. 1 seed Morgan in the semifinal round.
In the regular season, the Rams recorded victories against Portland (4-1), Old Lyme (1-0), Morgan (2-0), Westbrook (5-2), Haddam-Killingworth (2-0), North Branford (5-0), Norwich Free Academy (3-1), Portland (6-2), Hale-Ray (2-0), and Cromwell (1-0). Old Saybrook also lost to East Lyme (3-2), Cromwell (2-1), and Morgan (5-0), along with earning ties versus East Hampton (2-2), Valley Regional (2-2), and Coginchaug (1-1).
From the Morgan Sidelines
The Morgan boys’ soccer team’s Class S State Tournament roster consisted of senior captains Calvin Jackson and Jack O’Sullivan; seniors Sean Fitzgerald, Jonathan Hicks, Matt Koziy, Gabriel Luiz, 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 Sean Cafferty, Justin King, Manuel Romero, Sebastian Salgar, and Maxwell Skidmore; and freshmen Bailey Goss and Tyler Mucha. Head Coach Ross Demay is assisted by Antonyo Serrano and Marc Ferace.
To reach the Class S final, No. 4 seed Morgan earned a bye through the first round of the tournament, defeated 13th-seeded Holy Cross 5-0 in the second round, earned a 3-1 win over 12th-seeded Canton in the quarterfinals, then claimed a 3-0 victory against No. 9 seed Notre Dame-Fairfield in the semifinals.
Top-seeded Morgan took the 2018 Shoreline Conference Tournament title with a 2-1 semifinal victory against 4th-seeded Old Saybrook, followed by a 3-0 win versus No. 3 seed Haddam-Killingworth in the final.
During the regular season, the Huskies notched wins versus Cromwell (5-1 and 4-0), Coginchaug (5-2), East Hampton (2-1), Norwich Free Academy (4-0), Old Lyme (4-0), Westbrook (7-0), Haddam-Killingworth (5-1), North Branford (7-0), Valley Regional (4-2), Portland (6-0), and Old Saybrook (5-0). Morgan also lost to Old Saybrook (2-0) and East Lyme (4-2), in addition to earning ties with Hale-Ray (1-1) and Valley Regional (1-1).