This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
11/18/2019 11:00 PMFor the second-straight campaign, the Old Saybrook boys’ soccer squad will play for a state title. On Nov. 19, the No. 5 seed Rams took on 9th-seeded Cromwell in the semifinals of the Class S State Tournament and defeated the Panthers by a 4-3 score in double overtime. Old Saybrook, the defending Class S champion, improved to 16-2-5 on the year as it prepared to face No. 3 seed Holy Cross in the championship game at Veterans Stadium in New Britain on Nov. 23 (after press time).
This semifinal contest was not the first meeting of these two Shoreline foes. It wasn’t even the first time the two squads met in a win-or-go-home scenario, as just two weeks prior, Old Saybrook and Cromwell faced off in the Shoreline Conference Tournament quarterfinal. In that game, the Rams defeated the Panthers by a score of 1-0, and during the regular season, Old Saybrook topped Cromwell in a 4-1 home win.
Coach Barnes knew that his squad would be in for a fight, not just because these two teams knew each other well, but because Old Saybrook has a target on its back as the defending Class S State champions.
“Cromwell played us tough, and we knew we had to shut down Anthony Caracoglia. He’s a quality player, and we did our best to limit him,” said Barnes. “As far as a rivalry, I would say that when you win a state championship everyone becomes your rival. Everyone wants to beat the defending champs.”
Old Saybrook took a 2-0 lead into the intermission, held a 3-1 lead midway through the second half, but eventually allowed the game-tying goal that would force two 10-minute overtime periods. Coach Barnes had a lot of respect for the fight the Panthers gave his squad.
“I give them a lot of credit. They never quit and they kept working hard, and it almost paid off,” said Barnes. “They weren’t really giving us anything different from our other games against them. The only thing that changed was that they started pushing more men forward after being down a couple of goals.”
The Rams opened the scoring with a goal by junior Gannon Efinger at 11:30 off a cross from senior captain Cooper Luciani, who beat his defender to set up the opportunity.
Coach Barnes has watched Efinger’s progress this season and wasn’t surprised to see him connect on a big shot. Barnes also thought Luciani showed—as usual—that he can outwork anyone on the field.
“Gannon has grown leaps and bounds this season. He was always a strong player, but without a lot of experience. Every game he’s gained more confidence, and he’s improved,” Barnes said. “Cooper’s strong, very competitive, and athletic, and he will give you everything he has and leaves it all on the field.”
The Rams went up 2-0 on an unassisted goal from senior captain Colin Schulmeister at 24:42. After Old Saybrook took a corner, Cromwell cleared the ball out, but it bounced to Schulmeister, who then took it back to the goal and was able to put it away. Schulmeister seems to be getting hot at the perfect time according to Coach Barnes.
“Colin has been strong all year, but he’s been nursing a bit of an ankle injury,” Barnes said. “It’s getting better, and he’s getting stronger every game. Part of his improvement is coming off that injury, but he’s also just playing better soccer, too.”
In the second half, Cromwell narrowed the score to 2-1 on a goal in the 44th minute. Then thirteen minutes later, Schulmeister struck again, making his way behind the defense off a nice pass from fellow senior captain Shon Ryan to make it 3-1.
In the 62nd minute, Cromwell scored on a penalty kick to bring the score to 3-2. Coach Barnes felt that moment was a pivotal point of the game and the momentum began to shift in the Panthers’ favor. Just five minutes later, Cromwell got the equalizing goal to knot it at 3-3. After regulation time expired the game went to overtime.
Coach Barnes saw his team take a gut punch and still prevail. Even though losing the lead in the second half wasn’t what Barnes wanted, he was impressed that the Rams ultimately came away with the win in double overtime.
“We knew it wasn’t over at 2-0. Tournament time anything can happen. Cromwell’s coach got a yellow card in the second half, and typically in that situation, kids will respond in some way—positive or negative. Cromwell got fired up, and they played harder,” said Barnes. “When they got the penalty kick, everything seemed to be going their way. The game-tying goal was a quality goal, and we were devastated. We were able to turn it around, though. We picked ourselves up and put it away in overtime. Though it probably shouldn’t have gotten there in the first place.”
The Rams’ turn around came in the form of PK from Shon Ryan, who beat his defender and was taken down in the box resulting in the penalty chance. Coach Barnes knew that Ryan could get the goal in the huge spot.
“Shon—being a captain—has plenty of experience taking those types of kicks,” Barnes said. “He’s probably the strongest player and smartest player with the highest soccer IQ. He understands and anticipates every play.”
Looking ahead, Coach Barnes is proud of his team for showing some real guts. Now it’s on to a state final, where they will need that intestinal fortitude in spades.
“These guys showed their true colors. I’m confident that they won’t give up easily, and that they will come ready to play,” Barnes said. “We know Holy Cross will be a challenge. They’re fast, they apply pressure, and they have high skills. We’re prepared to defend our championship and are looking forward to playing a quality game.”