Old Saybrook Boys’ Soccer Claims First Shoreline Tourney Title in 52 Years
For the first time since 1964, the Old Saybrook boys’ soccer team can call itself the champion of the Shoreline Conference. That’s because the Rams earned a 2-1 victory versus Morgan in the title game of the conference tournament at Portland High School on Nov. 4. It was the fifth trip to the Shoreline final for Head Coach Sam Barnes, who is in his 21st season with the program and posted career win No. 200 earlier in the campaign.
“Personally, coaching for so many years, to win it after my fifth time to the final was surreal,” Barnes said. “I know a lot of my alumni reached out and are so happy we were finally able to do it. 1964 was a long time ago.”
On the heels of an undefeated regular season, the top-seeded Rams had a bye through the quarterfinals of the conference bracket and then beat Haddam-Killingworth 4-1 in the semis. To say there was pressure on Old Saybrook to win the Shoreline crown would certainly qualify as an understatement.
“We were the No. 1 seed, so there was some expectations. We came from behind and showed a lot of heart and determination,” said Coach Barnes, whose team is 16-0-2. “[Morgan Head Coach Ross Demay] was my assistant for many years. There was a lot on the line between us not winning for so many years, but our kids played outstanding and never lost their focus. It was truly a team effort.”
Morgan’s Juan Avila scored with 7:13 left in the first half to give the 6th-seeded Huskies an early lead, but with just 53 seconds remaining before the break, Old Saybrook evened the score when Justin Phillips converted on an assist from fellow senior Anthony Karg. Midway through the second half, senior Ashton Reina’s header found the back of the net to give Old Saybrook a 2-1 edge that stood up as the final score.
“It was tied 1-1 and Aiden Reid dribbled through a few players down to the end line and crossed it. The ball hit the cross bar, bounced down, and Ashton put it in,” Barnes said. “It was an amazing effort. Reid did all the work and Ashton was in the right place, like he’s supposed to be, to finish.”
Following the go-ahead goal, Old Saybrook’s defense had to stave off the Huskies for the next 20 minutes to solidify the victory and the Shoreline title.
“At that point, we were looking to hold them off. We didn’t want to give any room to tie it up,” Barnes said. “They had a couple close opportunities late to tie. The fact that it was Morgan—who was a 6 seed playing well—and we were able to come from behind, the boys never lost focus. It was amazing and the kids never quit.”
Prior to the championship clash, Old Saybrook defeated H-K 4-1 in the semifinals on Nov. 1. Reina owned the game by scoring all four goals for the Rams, including two in the first two minutes.
“Ashton played a great game. I’m sure they had a game-plan and two minutes in it was 2-0, so they had to readjust,” Barnes said. “We played well to get to the finals. Ashton had an outstanding game, but the whole team was playing well.”
Barnes was pleased to see his team storm out to an early advantage, but he wanted to make sure that the Rams didn’t get complacent.
“It’s actually a little dangerous because you get some comfort that early in the game. It can be dangerous because they can get a goal and get back in it,” he said. “It worked well in that game, but scoring early like that can be dangerous.”
Reina made it 3-0 early in the second half and then HK got one back, but Reina put away the Cougars by scoring just two minutes later to seal the deal. Junior goalie Jonah Nucci had eight saves in this game before making one in the final. Although Reina had the huge game, Coach Barnes credited all of his athletes for the selflessness they’ve displayed while helping the Rams go 18 games without a loss thus far this year.
“It helps having a player like Ashton, but we have a lot of supporting players,” he said. “We’re playing really well as a team. Nobody is selfish or looking out only for themselves. They’re all looking out for what’s in the best interest for the team. We are looking to be the best we can be as a team.”
Looking ahead to the Class S State Tournament, Old Saybrook has secured the No. 1 seed and earned a first round bye. The Rams will host the winner of No. 16 Aerospace and No. 17 H-K in the second round at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10.
“Right now, we’re still celebrating a championship we haven’t had in 50 years. We practice tomorrow and will refocus on that then,” said Coach Barnes. “There’s a good chance we play H-K again and, if we do, that’ll be our fourth matchup with them. That will be interesting as anything can happen.”
On the Morgan side, the Huskies had reached the Shoreline Conference final by defeating the team that beat them in last year’s final. In this year’s semifinal matchup, Morgan topped Old Lyme 1-0 in overtime as Tyler Newfield scored on a pass from fellow junior Avila six minutes into the extra frame. Morgan went to work on defense for the final 14 minutes to claim its spot in the championship contest.
In terms of the game against Old Saybrook, Coach Demay knew that it would be a challenge for Morgan, but felt that his athletes were more than ready for it and was pleased with how they played.
“We knew we had to shoot early and we took advantage. I think we had the better chances in the second half. They just put one of theirs away. I will be going over the film to see exactly what went wrong and how we can fix it, but it was an unlucky break,” he said. “The Shorelines were the only three games that we had everyone ready to play and, after Old Lyme, some of us were pretty beat up. Saybrook has a good team, but if we were healthy the entire year, I think it would have been a much-harder fight than it was. What is good about it is we have been here the past two years, we have some good experience and, without losing anyone in the offseason, I think we will come in much more determined to take everything next year.”
Morgan (12-5-1) is the No. 6 seed in the Class S tourney and hosted No. 27 Whitney Tech (6-8-1) on Nov. 8 (after press time). With a victory, the Huskies would have a home game against the winner of No. 11 Cromwell at No. 22 Immaculate on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. Morgan and Old Saybrook are on opposite sides of the bracket and so they only round in which they could meet is the final.