This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
11/15/2020 11:00 PMThe Old Saybrook boys’ soccer team had the postseason run halted after a 2-1 overtime loss versus East Hampton in Shoreline Conference Tournament semifinal last week. The Rams played two playoff contests in a Shoreline tourney that had to be reshuffled due to several schools canceling athletics as a result of COVID-19 infections.
Old Saybrook had its own spike in cases earlier this season causing the cancellation of its last two regular season games against Coginchaug and Cromwell. After the brief hiatus, the Rams were prepared to defend their share of the 2019 Shoreline Conference Tournament title. Last year, Old Saybrook and Morgan were named co-champions after tying 2-2 in the final. The Rams ultimately went on to repeat as Class S State Tournament champions that year.
There are no state tournaments this fall, and so Old Saybrook’s final overall record ended up being 8-3 on the season.
On Nov. 11, the No. 1 seeded Rams went up against No. 9 seed Hale-Ray in the Shoreline Conference Tournament quarterfinal at Old Saybrook High School. The Rams took a 1-0 victory against the Noises to move onto the semifinal.
That win marked Head Coach Steve Waters’s 565th win of his career, which tied him with John Blomstrann—former head coach of E.O. Smith—for most wins in the state. After spending 36 seasons as head coach of the Farmington boys’ soccer program, Coach Waters joined the Rams last season as assistant coach to Sam Barnes. After Barnes stepped down from the helm last season, Waters earned the head coach position with Old Saybrook.
Two days later, the Rams faced off with No. 4 seed East Hampton at Old Saybrook High School and took a 2-1 loss in overtime versus the Bellringers.
Old Saybrook took the lead in the first half thanks to a goal from Cameron DeAngelo in the 37th minute. The Rams headed into halftime with the 1-0 lead.
In the second half, East Hampton knotted the game a 1-1 with an unassisted goal off a rebounded deflection. The score would remain tied after full time was called, leading to two 10-minute overtime periods to decide the outcome.
The Bellringers scored the go-ahead goal in the first overtime period in the 85th minute of the game.
When Waters stepped down as Farmington’s head coach, he had 557 wins on his record. Blomstrann continued to coach for just one more season after that and earned eight wins with E..O Smith. With Old Saybrook’s eight wins this season, Waters’ record as a head coach stands at an impressive 565-91-51.
Next year, Coach Waters will look to add to that tally, and he will depend on many of the athletes that he coached as JV players when he first joined the Rams in 2019.