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09/23/2019 12:00 AMThe Old Saybrook boys’ soccer team is poised for another great season as it returns a large portion of its Class S State championship roster from last year. The Rams are off to a strong start with a 3-1 record so far after winning two of their three games last week.
Old Saybrook grabbed a 2-1 win against East Hampton on Sept. 17, dropped a 1-0 game against Hale-Ray two days later, and then finished the week with a 4-1 victory versus Newtown on Sept. 21. Head Coach Sam Barnes thought that bouncing back with a win against Newtown after a tough loss to Hale-Ray showed something about his squad.
“We came off a loss against Hale-Ray and the kids knew they had to do well. Newtown is a LL school, and we knew we would be tested. The kids came prepared,” Barnes said. “I think Hale-Ray was a wake up call for us. Sometimes high school teams come to games thinking that they can just show up and win, and Hale-Ray showed us that is not the case.”
Even though the Rams ultimately came away with a victory against Newtown, things looked bleak pretty early in the match. Old Saybrook got down by a goal in the first half but managed to rally to pull off the 4-1 win.
“Newtown came out and scored in the first two minutes of the game,” Barnes said. “We’ve never played Newtown, and I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew they were competitive. The goal they scored was a great shot, and I didn’t know how we were going to respond. I knew that being under pressure was going to show the true heart of the team, and they bounced back.”
It took a bit of time, but the Rams knotted the score at 1-1 in the 21st minute when junior Gershon Jara scored with an assist from senior captain Shon Ryan. Just a couple of minutes later, sophomore Nick Rothman scored off a helper from senior Cody DeAngelo to make it 2-1. Just before the intermission, senior captain Cooper Luciani scored off an assist from fellow senior Jack Colella to make it 3-1. The score would remain 3-1 until the 78th minute when Luciani got another goal with an assist from Colella.
The Rams have battled the injury bug a bit at the start of the season, but luckily, there are plenty of experienced players able to make an impact as substitutes. Old Saybrook also has steady leadership from its foursome of captains in Schulmeister, Luciani, Ryan, and Luke Hanratty. Barnes believes that they have really taken to the task of being leaders.
“They were all there during the state title run last year. I just picked the kids who I thought were the best leaders. It’s been a long time since I’ve had this many captains—if I have even had that many, but since I have so many seniors I don’t mind,” said Coach Barnes. “It’s important that they are all on the same page and coming across with the same message, and they’ve been doing well at that. That message is to play as a team.”
The Rams strayed from that message on Sept. 19. Hale-Ray was able to best Old Saybrook with a quick goal and some solid defense for the rest of the game. Of course, it didn’t help that the Rams had several players in different positions because some regulars were out.
“We had six guys out due to injuries. Other players have had to step up and play different roles. I didn’t know how we would fare with the subs stepping up,” said Barnes. “I think we were a little complacent being 2-0 so far on the year. Hale-Ray snuck one goal in by the near post, and they just defended the rest of the game. We outshot them 20-6. We just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Of course, the captains have picked up some of the slack while the Rams’ roster is a bit thin, but other players like seniors Jonathan Barnes, Gino Gallitto, Jayson Rankin, and junior Carter Gibson have also been a huge help.
“I want to give credit to these kids who are stepping up and helping us win when we’re dealing with injuries,” said Barnes. “Carter Gibson has stepped into a center-mid role after being an outside back last year. Jayson Rankin has filled in a huge spot at center defender for Ben O’Dell. My son Jonathan has stepped up into the mix by playing a nice marking back position. Gino Gallitto’s one of my first subs, and he’s been working really hard and has really helped out, too.”
Earlier in the week, Old Saybrook beat East Hampton in a back-and-forth match to grab their second win of the season. The Rams scored first with a goal in the 26th minute on a ball from Schulmeister assisted by Shon Ryan, and East Hamton tied it at 1-1 with a goal in the 48th minute. Old Saybrook got the go ahead unassisted goal from Schulmeister goal in the 65th minute.
Coach Barnes believes the team is headed in the right direction after this week. Even though the Rams took the tough loss, it was a good learning moment, and a loss of that variety early in the year is much easier to take than late in the season.
“Early on, we got a bit confident and comfortable. We forgot how much hard work went into last year’s success. We haven’t really jelled, but I’m not too concerned because I know we have kids coming back,” Barnes said. “You have to jell at the right time. I won’t lie though, after that loss I was a bit concerned, but we turned it around today. The kids are really on track and focused. It’s been a team effort.”
• The Old Saybrook boys’ soccer team’s roster includes senior captains Luke Hanratty, Cooper Luciani, Shon Ryan, and Colin Schulmeister; seniors Jonathan Barnes, Luke Brodeur, Jack Colella, Cody DeAngelo, Gino Gallitto, Garrett Hilger, Logan Hilger, Griffin Noack, Ben O’Dell, Ryan Powers, and Jayson Rankin; juniors Seth Adams, Avery Appiah, Zack Coty, Gannon Efinger, Carter Gibson, Gershon Jara, Trey Martin, William Perralta, and Matt Rothman; and sophomore Nicholas Rothman.
• Head Coach Sam Barnes is in the midst of his 24th season as head coach of the Rams. His coaching staff includes assistant coach Steve Waters and freshmen coach Jake Battipaglia.
• For the rest of the season, Old Saybrook has home games against Stonington, Westbrook, Cromwell, Portland and Valley Regional. The Rams also have road contests against Old Lyme, Morgan, Haddam-Killingworth, Norwich Free Academy, North Branford, East Lyme, and Coginchaug.