- Details
- Category: Past Issues
NECONN
boys’ U14
soccer team
eliminates
Ellington
In the last game of the regular season, the NECONN Boys’ U14 soccer team dominated much of the play and upended Ellington by the score of 4-0.
In the first half, it looked like NECONN was in for an easy afternoon. At the two minute mark, David Redfield slotted a perfect through ball to Max Paro who went in alone on the Ellington goalie and gave the team an early 1-0 lead. NECONN continued to put pressure on the Ellington defense with solid scoring opportunities by William Hamill, Josh Resnick and Ian Sohan. Midfielders Tristan Anderson, Ethan Werstler and William Liscomb did their part to contribute to the offense, but Ellington’s goalie seemed to be everywhere and kept NECONN from doing any further damage in the half.
In the second half, although NECONN continued to dominate field position, Ellington would periodically counter with dangerous runs at the NECONN net. NECONN defenders Collin Singleton, Garrett Sward and Zach Gagnon thwarted the ensuing rushes, and when Ellington was able to unload shots at the net, goalie Elijah Dufour was in position to make the save. Late in the second half, sixty-five minutes since NECONN’s lone goal, Sam Paul was finally able to give the team some breathing room when he settled a loose ball in the Ellington box and blasted home a shot to put NECONN up 2-0. The remaining minutes of the game were all NECONN. With 10 minutes left, Paul took the ball down the right flank and slot it back to the top of the box where Redfield calmly knocked the pass into the back of the net. Three minutes after that, Travis Hayward found Paul open in the middle. Paul’s shot was initially saved by the Ellington keeper, but Paro was on the far post to finish off the afternoon with his second goal of the game.
The win gave NECONN a 9-2-1 overall record and a home seed in the CJSA U14 tournament. They host Hebron’s U14 team in a semifinal matchup Nov. 3 on the Pomfret School campus.