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09/26/2019 12:00 AMAndrew Passante patrolled the midfield like he owned it as a three-year starter on the Morgan boys’ soccer squad. Andrew’s tenacious play was one of the primary reasons why the Huskies reached back-to-back Class S state finals and took the home the gold with a 4-0 win over Somers in 2017. After putting together a great run with Head Coach Ross Demay’s club, Andrew graduated from Morgan earlier this year and is now competing for the men’s soccer team at Albertus Magnus College.
“Andrew never stopped running for 80 minutes,” Demay says. “He had an engine that never quit. He was always quick and could stay on top of the ball.”
Andrew wasn’t sure about his college choices as he headed into his senior season. However, about halfway through that final year, Albertus Magnus Head Coach Brett Colavolpe began a search that eventually landed Andrew. Colavolpe’s interest was piqued when he saw Andrew compete during the State Tournament.
“He came and saw me play at West Haven High School. We had a tournament game there against Notre Dame-Fairfield,” says Andrew. “Coach Colavolpe had seen me before. He had sent me texts, telling me that I’d fit nicely in the program.”
Andrew started to turn his full focus toward Albertus Magnus, a Division III school in New Haven. He made a decision to attend Albertus and is now in the middle of his freshman season with the Falcons. Colavolpe moved Andrew from the middle to the back, making him a defender for a club that’s off to a 4-3-1 start this fall.
“I’ve only had a few appearances...but I already know it’s the right move for me,” Andrew says. “I felt it early on. [Colavolpe] pushes all of his players to the limit. It will make me improve and be the best player I can be.”
Coach Demay feels proud of Andrew for taking his game to the collegiate level. Demay looks forward to seeing how Andrew fits in with the Falcons.
“It will be interesting to see how he does, how Andrew makes the transition from mid to back,” says Demay. “He’s at a school where soccer is primarily their fall sport. They’ll tone him up. I’m very happy for his decision.”
Andrew first stepped on the soccer pitch when he was four years old. He credits much of his progression as a player to Ken Skidmore, a youth league coach in Clinton.
“If it wasn’t for Mr. Skidmore, I don’t think I would’ve developed into the player I’ve become,” says Andrew. “He’s done it for so many other kids in this town. I just can’t say enough about what he did for me.”
Andrew helped Morgan emerge as a Class S powerhouse during his tenure with the team. In addition to their success in states, the Huskies also claimed consecutive Shoreline Conferences titles with Andrew on the squad. It means a lot to Andrew that he guided Morgan to such tremendous success in the postseason.
“Those years at Morgan were great. It was amazing to make two state finals and to win one,” Andrew says. “It was something I didn’t really expect. I didn’t think our team would go that far.”
Andrew played a few other sports for Morgan, including track. During the indoor track season, Andrew set the school record in the 1,600 by running a time of 4:57.
“I played a year of baseball, but in addition to soccer, I loved track,” says Andrew. “It was a sport in which I could show off my speed.”