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10/07/2019 12:00 AMThe Morgan boys’ soccer team is looking to continue its success as one of the top teams of the Shoreline Conference. Last year, Morgan won the Shoreline Conference Championship and made it all the way to the Class S State final. This season, Head Coach Ross Demay’s squad hopes to repeat as Shoreline champs and reclaim the state title that the Huskies held in 2017.
Last week, Morgan took a step toward reaching its goal when it qualified for the Class S State Tournament with a tie against Old Lyme. The Huskies also defeated Westbrook later in the week and moved their record to a mark of 7-1-1 on the year.
Coach Demay believes that Morgan’s streak of success as a program began several seasons ago. Demay was lacking star players in the higher grades, so he had to get the team to play a different brand of soccer.
“Five years ago, when I had a couple of good younger classmen and no real upperclassmen, they all bought into the system,” Demay said. “Once we found the success, it’s been easy to keep the kids buying in. Hopefully, this will be our fifth time in the Shorelines barring any unlucky breaks. That’s the goal, but it’s not set in stone.”
The Huskies began with 2-2 tie at home versus Old Lyme on Oct. 2. Senior captain Zach Tuccitto started the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 15th minute, and Old Lyme tied the game with a goal three minutes later. Morgan went up 2-1 with a goal from Sebastian Kadloff off a helper from Tuccitto in the 29th minute. Old Lyme evened the score in the second half with a goal in the 64th minute, and the tally remained 2-2 at full time.
Coach Demay believes that Old Lyme has been a tough matchup for many teams in the Shoreline because of a novel strategy. Demay hopes that the Huskies will be better prepared if the two teams end up meeting again.
“We’re still trying to figure Old Lyme. They played well as a team, because the formation they play isn’t seen a lot,” Demay said. “It kind of stumps some teams and overloads the defense, and that’s probably where they get their success. They also work really hard, and that’s how they got back into the game.”
Two days later, Morgan picked up a 6-1 win on the road against Westbrook. The Huskies staked a 1-0 lead in the first half, and then had an offensive explosion in the second half to run away with the game.
Coach Demay has seen some quality play out of the Knights at points this year, but Morgan was able to outlast them because of its superior depth of talent.
“Westbrook has some good players, but maintaining possession tires them out because they’re not very deep. Their goalie made some good saves, and we made a couple of errors where we couldn’t finish on the line,” Demay said. “It probably should have been a bigger lead at the half, but we opened up the second half with three quick goals. Some of the players that really didn’t get to play got to go in. Some players that don’t usually get to start got some time.”
Tuccitto notched a hat trick in the win scoring a goal in the 32nd minute off an Ethan Tessman assist, a goal in the 52nd minute off a Matt Gardner assist, and a goal in the 76th minute off an Alex Gallardo assist. Sean Cafferty also scored a goal in the 46th minute off a helper from Max Skidmore, and Skidmore had a goal in the 47th minute assisted by Justin Castro. Sebastian Salgar scored in the 75th minute on an assist from Josh Kennedy.
Tuccitto has provided some significant offensive firepower for the Huskies so far this season. According to Demay, that’s no accident as the senior has been relentlessly working since he started playing soccer in middle school.
“Zach Tuccitto, his work ethic is what does it. He’s a type of player who will run more or spend two hours after practice working on his game. If he wanted to, he’d be an All-New England cross country runner, but he wants to work on becoming a great soccer player,” said Demay. “He really works. Whatever he thinks he needs to improve on he will do, and he’ll ask for help. Seeing him grow from middle school—where he barely played—to being All-State last year is impressive.”
Another big part of Morgan’s success this season has been its defense, and that’s in large part due to the presence of senior captain Alex Kadloff in the backfield.
“Our defense is good partly because we got back Alex Kadloff—who was hurt all last year. He started a few games as a sophomore when we won the state tournament,” Demay said. “If he was there last year, we probably would have had a different result in states. He’s a 6-foot-4 center back. Not a lot of balls go over his head, and he can stop a lot of head balls in the box. He’s calm and calms down the rest of the backs.”
One big difference for the Huskies this year has been the handling the captaincy. There is the possibility of a captain’s rotation depending on the work the players put in prior to a given game. The set up provides some friendly internal competition for the upperclassmen.
“It depends on how they do in practice and going into the game whether they get it or not. The two players with the most captainships are Zach and Alex. Zach has been a captain every game so far and Alex has been every game but one,” said Demay. “It’s a way to make it more competitive for them and push them more. It’s a way to put in more effort and get rewarded for it. It’s also a way for them to step up and help the younger kids in more of a leadership role when otherwise they may not.”
Demay has seen the hard work of his captains spur other players onto giving that same type of effort.
“Tyler Mucha really put in a lot of work, and he’s a very smart player. He needs to just get a little bit stronger and more physical. Other than Zach, he was the hardest worker in the offseason,” Demay said. “Nate Rice has also been working really hard, and he’s a solid left back that goes forward really well. He has a goal and a couple of assists. He stays back on corners, so it’s been him getting up the side and making things happen.”
One of the Huskies best strengths this year has been their ability to play under control. Demay hopes that will help the Huskies come playoff time.
“I would say we’re a bit of a calmer team this year. There are a few players that can bring that calmness,” said Demay. “They only clear it when they have to. They don’t get as nervous, and they tend to make better decisions. I’ve never had a back that’s as calm as Alex, and Zach’s been a big part of that too.