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11/17/2019 11:00 PMThe Old Saybrook boys’ soccer squad added three more wins to its 2019 postseason portfolio. The Rams kicked off Class S State Tournament play last week, and picked up wins against Westbrook, Wheeler, and Lyman Memorial to move into the semifinal round. The Rams continue their state title defense from last season, and Old Saybrook is fresh off a Shoreline Conference title shared with Morgan. Old Saybrook’s overall record moved to 15-2-5 with the victories.
On Nov. 11, the 5th-seeded Rams hosted No. 28 seed and defeated the Knights by a score of 4-1. Westbrook got on the board first as Old Saybrook mistakenly put the ball into its own net off a rebounded shot. That gave the Knights a 1-0 lead at the 5:40 mark.
Head Coach Sam Barnes wasn’t pleased with the fact that his squad fell behind in the manner it did, but it did provide some insight as to how they would approach a deficit in the state tourney.
“Westbrook scored first because of our own goal five minutes into the game,” Barnes said. “It was interesting to see how they responded. I was curious to see how they would react to being down a goal, and they responded quickly.”
Less than three minutes later, senior Colin Shulmeister put the ball in the net off an assist from junior Gannon Efinger to knot the score at 1-1. Then at the 12:05 mark, senior Cody DeAngelo off another Efinger helper to take a 2-1 lead. At the 15:24 mark, Shulmeister struck again on a goal assisted by DeAngelo for a 3-1 advantage. Then in the 25th minute, junior Carter Gibson scored on a Shulmeister assist for a 4-1 lead before the end of the first half, and that score would hold true the rest of the way. Junior keeper Matt Rothman made five saves in the victory.
Coach Barnes was happy to see his team reassert themselves in against its Shoreline foe after falling behind early. The quick turnaround also allowed Barnes to get some playing time for his bench.
“That game got pretty physical, so I subbed in pretty quickly,” Barnes said. “That was nice to get everyone some time.”
Two days later, Old Saybrook hosted No. 12 seed Wheeler, and the Rams shut out the Lions with a 5-0 home win. Old Saybrook got on the board early with three goals in the first half. Senior Cooper Luciani scored the team’s first goal on an assist from fellow senior Shon Ryan in the 14th minute. Shulmeister bumped it up to a two-goal advantage with a successful penalty kick in the 25th minute. In the 32nd minute, Ryan grabbed a goal off a helper from Shulmeister to make 3-0 before halftime.
After the intermission, DeAngelo scored in the 50th minute on a Shulmeister assist. Then just before the end of the game, freshman Cameron DeAngelo scored on an assist from senior Logan Hilger to make if 5-0 in the 75th minute. Rothman made four saves in the victory.
Barnes enjoyed seeing his team put up another dominant effort, and he attributed that to the play of his backfield. It was also another opportunity for some of the bench players to get some run.
“I started getting some subs in for the second half. Three games in five days is a lot. I was thinking about trying to keep everyone fresh when we were up by three goals,” Barnes said. “Our team’s defense is pretty solid. They all played pretty well that game and limited shots on Rothman.”
On Nov. 15, the Rams hit the road to face No. 4 seed Lyman Memorial in their first away game of the tourney. Old Saybrook earned the 2-0 road win over the Bulldogs to punch its ticket to the semis. At halftime, the score was still tied at 0-0, and would take until the 47th minute and penalty shot to get the Rams’ first score. After Ryan was fouled in the box, Shulmeister took the penalty try and put the ball into the net. After another half an hour of tense 1-0 soccer, Old Saybrook got the insurance goal in the 77th minute when Ryan scored.
Coach Barnes thought the seeding proved accurate as it was a close battle all night.
“It was pretty evenly matched. It was 0-0 at halftime, and it was pretty much whoever makes a mistake is going to lose the game,” said Barnes. “It was going to come down to a one goal. Whoever can capitalize can win. They played us tough, and it got physical. It was good to get that win.”
The Rams went up against No. 9 seed Cromwell in the Class S semifinals at Law High School on Nov. 19 (after press time). With a win against the Panthers, Old Saybrook would face the winner of No. 3 Holy Cross and No. 15 Immaculate in the final on Saturday, Nov. 23. This will be Coach Barnes’s final season with the Rams, and he hopes that he and his squad can have a state championship repeat as a fitting send off.
“We beat Cromwell the first time 4-1, and then we played them in the Shorelines in the first round and we beat them 1-0. We’re in the semifinals at a neutral site and defending a title from last year. The kids are pumped up,” said Barnes. “To see another Shoreline team in the semis is common since 10 of the 12 teams made the tournament. It is hard to beat a team three times, so I’m not looking past Cromwell. You never know what’s going to happen, but hopefully, we can win our last game together. That’s the plan.”
• The Old Saybrook boys’ soccer team’s roster includes senior captains Luke Hanratty, Cooper Luciani, Shon Ryan, and Colin Shulmeister; 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; sophomore Nicholas Rothman; and freshman Cameron DeAngelo, Bradley Kulmann, and Ryan Stratton.
• Head Coach Sam Barnes is in his 24th season as head coach of the Rams. His coaching staff includes assistant coach Steve Waters and freshmen coach Jake Battipaglia.
• Old Saybrook’s regular-season wins came against Portland (2-0 and 3-0), East Hampton (2-1), Newtown (4-1), Westbrook (4-0), Cromwell (4-1), Haddam-Killingworth (3-0), North Branford (9-0), Coginchaug (3-0), and Norwich Free Academy (3-0).
• The Rams lost games to Hale-Ray (1-0) and Morgan (1-0) during the regular season. Old Saybrook also earned ties with Old Lyme (1-1), Stonington (1-1), and Valley Regional (3-3).
• In the Shoreline Conference Tournament, No. 3 seed Old Saybrook notched wins over No. 6 seed Cromwell (1-0) in the quarterfinals and No. 2 seed Coginchaug (3-0) in the semis. In the final, Old Saybrook tied Morgan 2-2 to share the league championship with the Huskies.