Pictured: The Old Lyme boys soccer team celebrates Saturday’s 3-2 Shoreline Conference win in Cromwell. (Photo by Paul Augeri)
By Paul Augeri
middlesexcountysports@gmail.com
CROMWELL — The Shoreline Conference boys soccer tournament field was set on Saturday with Old Lyme’s 3-2 victory over host Cromwell, the Panthers’ fifth straight defeat.
The host Panthers needed to beat the Wildcats to get into the six-team field, but Old Lyme held firm on defense after seeing Cromwell erase a 2-0 deficit. Anders Silberberg scored the winner with 8:34 left in the match.
The outcome pushed East Hampton (5-5-2 overall) into the Shoreline tournament with Old Saybrook (13-0-2), Morgan (11-2-2), Valley Regional (11-3-1), Portland (8-4-2) and 2020 champion and No. 6 seed Haddam-Killingworth (8-7-1). The conference will formalize the pairings at the end of the week.
An own goal by Cromwell put Old Lyme (5-9-0) in the lead early. The Wildcats went up 2-0 on freshman Brenden Landry’s goal, but the Panthers battled back with scores by Logan Fox and Jacob Salafia to pull even.
Old Lyme keeper Jonah Lathrop had 7 saves, while Cromwell’s Donnie Hermann finished with 6.
Cromwell was 5-2-1 over the first half of the season, but with its schedule backfilled with four of the Shoreline’s strongest teams as well as non-conference heavy hitters Lyman Memorial, Bolton and Coventry, the Panthers won just one match over their last eight to finish 6-9-1.
The Shoreline tournament schedule:
Oct. 30, first round: 6 seed at 3 seed; 5 seed at 4 seed.
Nov. 2, Semifinals: First-round winner at No. 1 seed; First-round winner at No. 2 seed.
Nov. 5, championship match: Site TBD.
In other action around the county:
Xavier 2, Fairfield Prep 1
The Falcons posted one of their better wins of the season in defeating the Jesuits for the second time. John Milardo and Ryan Gerry scored in the victory at Larry McHugh Field on Friday. Jack Polke assisted Milardo, who scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Daniel Hand on Wednesday.
“Solid game for us,” said coach Brian Fitzgerald, whose squad currently is the top seed in Class LL. “The boys are playing well – very unselfish play.”
Xavier (12-0-2) had three matches in the past week, starting with Monday’s 5-0 rout at Amity. Its win over Prep clinched first place in the SCC’s Hammonasset Division.
“3-0 is a great result for that kind of week,” Fitzgerald said. “I hope they can keep it up for the rest of the regular season and into the postseason.”
Xavier (12-0-2) has home matches remaining against Shelton (3-8-2) on Monday and Ellington (10-2-0) on Wednesday. The Falcons already have qualified for the SCC tournament.
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Middletown 4, Maloney 3
Highlights: The Blue Dragons clinched the CCC South title and improved to 9-1-3. Marshall Butler scored 2 goals and Dario Rigano and Andrew Lazich also scored. Butler, Lazich, Rigano and Seshank Sekar had an assist each, while Middletown keeper Tyler Hahn finished with 4 saves.
Next Match: Middletown hosts Rocky Hill on Monday, 6pm.