Naugy Boy's Soccer Advance in State Action

It wasn't supposed to be this hard but sometimes in the state tournament teams step up to the plate in a one game or go home scenario.

The 31st seed East Hartford Hornets gave the No. 2 seed Naugatuck Greyhounds all they could handle in the first round of the Class LL boys soccer tournament on Tuesday at Veterans Field in Naugatuck.

Sometimes it's better to be luck than good as the Greyhounds escaped with a 2-0 win advancing to the second round on Thursday against Ridgefield. Naugatuck came in as the clear favorite with a 15-1-3 mark while the Hornets of East Hartford barely qualified with a 4-7-5 ledger.

With 11:39 to play in a scoreless deadlock the Greyhounds got the one break they were looking for. Adam Branco worked the ball down the near sidelines looking for an opening into the box.

The East Hartford defender Renzo Orellano cut off the advance and tried to clear it over the middle. The ball glanced off his foot and was aided by a stiff breeze that blew the ball backwards towards the East Hartford goal.

Before the Hornets goal keeper Matt Aboumrad could respond the ball had settled into the back of the net to put the Greyhounds out in front by a 1-0 margin.

"East Hartford comes out of a tough league and they are use to battling some of the top teams in the state," said Naugatuck head coach Art Nunes. "Their goal keeper was phenomenal and he kept them in the ballgame. We kept the ball in their end of the field for much of the second half."

"We maintained our composure and we got lucky on the first one but we'll take it because it was our pressure that caused it," Nunes added.

The Hornets had a rough time setting up any threats as they were out shot by a wide margin of 14-3. Dan Bronko stopped all three shots on the net with his counterpart Aboumrad of East Hartford making nine saves in the net.

When East Hartford did break into the Naugatuck end of the field they were met by a stiff resistance from the defensive unit of Ignacio Ponce, Riker Mitchell and Andres Jimenez.

At 22:05 left in the first half Naugatuck had its first real threat when Luis Carvalho intercepted an advance at midfield. A quick pass to the sidelines caught Jason Goja in stride. Marcos Soares broke into the box to receive the crossing pass but the ensuing shot glanced by the far post.

The Greyhounds were the aggressors in the first half holding the possession for most of the 40 minutes but the teams went into the halftime break in a scoreless deadlock.

Minutes into the second half Branco sent a corner into the box that Tiago Martins put a header on as the shot skidded by the far post.

Naugatuck was on target creating pressure but the Hornets were hanging on. Jamal Fruster and Miguel Salazar were a force to be dealt with out in front of the East Hartford goal. Sweeper Kwasi Boatang disrupted more than his share of balls trying to make it across the middle.

Finally Naugatuck caught a break as East Hartford put it in their own net with 11:39 to go. After the lucky bounce handed the Hounds the lead you could see the change in momentum.  

Naugatuck picked it up a notch and East Hartford dipped its shoulders a bit. At 9:07 to go the Hounds came within inches of putting it away. Branco sent a high line drive pass to Martins who put a header on it catching Soares with a full head of steam coming into the box.

The shot headed for a wide open net after Aboumrad fell down in the process of hustling over to the other post to defend the close up blast. Anthony Quattropani came over and made a sliding save at the post to keep it a one goal game.

With 3:10 left to play Naugatuck locked the door and threw away the key when Richard Mitchell beat a Hornet defender to a 50/50 ball down the far sideline. Nolan Kinne directed a pass to Martins breaking into the box.

Martins and the Hornets defender went shoulder to shoulder for possession of the ball when the defender slipped and fell inside the box. That gave Martins the opportunity as he wound up and sent a laser past the diving keeper for the mustard on the hot dog goal making it a 2-0 lead.

"They gave us a battle no doubt," Nunes said. "Now we have Ridgefield and they also come out of a tough league."

"They have a big defender and a real quick forward, so we will have our work cut out for us," he added.