Monday turned out to be a forgettable day for the South Windsor High varsity soccer teams, as Glastonbury High swept both the boys and the girls matches by a combined score of 5-0.
Boys: Tomahawks 2 Bobcats 0
In the boys match played at South Windsor High, Glastonbury successfully disrupted the Bobcats’ rhythm from the outset in a physical 2-0 victory that saw the referees dole out six yellow cards - four to South Windsor, two to Glastonbury.
Evan Hassett opened the Tomahawks account in the 20th minute, tucking a cross from Dan Reich into the near right post to give Glastonbury a much-deserved 1-0 lead.
Glastonbury (4-1-1) continued to get the better of South Windsor (4-1-1), its CCC North rivals, for the bulk of the match, as Hassett, left alone with space, hit the crossbar with a shot from about 20 yards out.
The Tomahawks finally broke through and put the game away with a gorgeous goal in the 63rd minute, as Luke McNabb, just inside the box, found Evan Grenus on the right side. Instead of shooting from a dubious angle, Grenus unselfishly crossed the ball to Chris Lockwood, who was unmarked on the left side. Lockwood easily slotted home his shot to give Glastonbury a 2-0 lead, all but ending any hope of a South Windsor comeback.
The Bobcats had few chances to score, as goalkeeper Chase Conway (7 saves) and defenders Yeboa Amofa, Tyler Peterson and Brock Hassett did a great job in frustrating South Windsor’s attack.
Zachary Heckt nearly leveled the Bobcats at 1-1 on a cheeky backheel shot in the 33rd minute. Conway, however, made a nifty diving stop.
In the second half, Jeffrey Allen also had a chance to put South Windsor on the board with a one-touch that was well-executed, but was directly at Conway, who cradled the ball in his chest.
Otherwise, South Windsor was largely, and surprisingly, quiet for most of the game.
It was a performance that Bobcats head coach Dave St. Jean was clearly not pleased with.
“We didn’t play the way we were capable of playing in any way, shape or form,” St. Jean said. “We didn’t look like we were mentally ready for the challenge. We didn’t look like we were resilient. We didn’t have any composure out there.
“I thought it was an effort that was not fitting of this group of kids. … Glastonbury is the class of the division always. We had to put our best foot forward against Glastonbury and quite frankly we didn’t. … It was an extremely disappointing effort.”
St. Jean said that South Windsor - players and coaches alike - would have to start over from square one.
“We’re starting over at zero tomorrow,” he said. “This is a season-changing loss that if we don’t figure these things out now, it really doesn’t matter for the rest of the season, because the postseason is going to be short. We have to start figuring things out from an emotional standpoint but also a soccer standpoint.
“I’ll take responsibility for not preparing them today in terms of things we have gone over today. … We’ve got to do a better job, starting with the coach.”
Glastonbury head coach Mark Landers, for his part, was just happy to leave South Windsor with a victory.
“Good effort on our part; we know South Windsor is the class of this league,” Landers said. “We had to come here ready to compete and I think we did that.”
Girls: Glastonbury 3 South Windsor 0
In the girls match, Glastonbury scored early goals in both halves to defeat the Bobcats 3-0 in Glastonbury.
Maddy Lamagna (4th minute), Kristen Dragotta (43rd minute) and Maddie Riggott (60th minute) each tallied for Glastonbury, the defending state Class LL champions.
Freshman goalie Hanna Basile played well for South Windsor in the loss, making 11 saves.
It was a stunning loss for South Windsor, which entered the game with a 5-0 record, having outscored its opponents by a combined 25-2. In fairness, Glastonbury was undefeated as well, improving to 6-0 on the year with the victory. The Tomahawks have outscored their opponents by a combined 30-1 in the six games.
Bobcats head coach Ed Duclos said that the loss highlighted several things that his side needed to work on.
“We have higher expectations than that and we look forward to playing them again,” Duclos said.
