Printer Friendly Version - Guilford Boys’ Soccer Takes 3-1 Loss in Division B Championship Game

Niall O’Brien scored a goal for Guilford when the team took a 3-1 loss to Hand in the SCC Division B final. Guilford finished its season with an overall mark of 7-3-1. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

After losing two of its first three games this year, the Guilford boys’ soccer squad got hot and didn’t take another loss for the rest of the regular season. Guilford finally did take a loss when it faced Daniel Hand in the Southern Connecticut Conference Division B final, but Head Coach Curtis Gullette’s club still played one of its best games of the campaign and battled to the very end.

No. 2 seed Guilford played top-seeded Hand in the championship game of the SCC Division B Tournament at the Surf Club in Madison on Nov. 12. Guilford took a 3-1 defeat against the Tigers to finish the year with an overall record of 7-3-1.

Scott Testori put Hand on the board when he scored on a penalty kick during the first half. Shortly after Testori’s score, Guilford tied the game on a goal by senior Niall O’Brien on an assist from senior captain Anthony Ippolito to make it 1-1 at halftime.

Hand took 12 shots on goal in the game, but sophomore goalie Justin Hess made several key saves to keep Guilford in it. However, in the second half, Testori netted the go-ahead goal to give the Tigers a 2-1 advantage.

Testori had a chance for a hat trick, but Hess stopped Testori’s second penalty kick attempt of the night to keep Guilford within a goal. In addition to turning aside one of Testori’s penalty kick attempts, Hess stopped eight other shots by the Tigers.

Late in the first half, Jason Wallack scored an insurance goal for Hand that gave the Tigers a 3-1 advantage that held up as the final score.

“We played well and executed our game-plan,” Guilford Head Coach Curtis Gullette said. “Hand was just the better team.”

Guilford had advanced to the divisional final by claiming a 9-0 win against No. 3 seed East Haven in a semifinal contest at Kavanaugh Field on Nov. 10. Ippolito scored two goals for Guilford in the victory. Seniors Evan Lemon, Camilo Carmona, Nate Pizzuti, and Aidan Medvecky had one goal apiece, as did juniors Tanner Lewis and Theo Freeman and sophomore Will Rice.

Despite the loss in the final, senior captain Aidan Buchanan said that he wouldn’t trade his four years with Guilford boys’ soccer for anything.

“Even though this season wasn’t like any other, it’s still pretty hard to imagine that this was my last season of high school soccer. After four years of playing, I never thought it would end,” said Buchanan. “However, I am fortunate that I was able to have a great group of guys as my teammates this year. While going through a weird season, I couldn’t have asked for any more from the team and the coaching staff. They stayed positive throughout all the chaos and did everything they could to make this a great year.”

Guilford’s roster for the 2020 season senior captains Anthony Ippolito and Aidan Buchanan; fellow seniors Aidan Medvecky, Michael Malatesta, Niall O’Brien, Camilo Carmona, Evan Lemon, and Nate Pizzuti; juniors Michael Van Keuren, Jacob Pinckney, Owen Campaigne, Tanner Lewis, Cal Stephens, Theo Freeman, Jerry Li, Ali Sabea, and Juana Salas-Romer; sophomores Justin Hess, Will Rice, Mark Michna, Joshua Chen, and Luke Ste. Marie.