The Conard boys lacrosse team defeated Simsbury 16-14 in a state tournament quarterfinal match-up in West Hartford on Saturday afternoon.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

Conard boys lacrosse came back from three- and four-goal deficits and scored the games final five goals for the 16-14 comeback win over Simsbury in the CIAC Class L quarterfinals on Saturday. The win puts the Red Wolves in the semifinals for the first time since 2010.

“It feels great,” said head coach Matt Cersosimo. “It is just one more step towards our ultimate goal and we are excited for the next opportunity.”

The No. 4 seed Wolves got on the scoreboard first when Brady Cersosimo spun off his defender, came around the side of the cage, and beat goalie Gillie Baxter just 3:22 into the game. Simsbury, the No. 5 seed, came right back and just over a minute later it was Max Mutarelli scoring the first of his four goals to tie it up.

Conard then ran off the next three goals – the first coming off the face-off. Braden Gainey kicked the loose ball ahead to teammate Torin McGoldrick, who then found Cersosimo for the 2-1 lead. Ben Walsh scored the first of his five goals in the game at 6:20, and then it was Luke Shaffer scoring the first of his five goals to make it a 4-1 game.

Playing with the man advantage late in the first Simsbury cut it to 4-2 when Drew Martin beat Conard goalie Matt Russo low to his right. Both goalies would have big saves as the clock headed toward the end of the first. First it was Russo stopping Maximus Konopka and Baxter returned the favor by denying Walsh’s try.

The Trojans came out on fire in the second period and dominated much of the 12 minutes. They ran off four straight goals to turn a two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead. The first goal saw Konopka impose his will and size on Conard by winning the face-off and carrying the ball down field, taking on Conard defenders, before scoring just :08 into the period. Under more pressure, Russo made a big save two minutes in but Mutarelli chased down the rebound, carried it in back towards the net, and scored to tie things at 4.

Gavin Bulger scored the first of his three goals just over halfway into the second when he carried the ball from the left to the center of the field and fired a 15-yarder that smacked off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net. Mutarelli would make it a two-goal lead to Simsbury with his goal with 5:54 to go. Ryan Barnum stopped the onslaught when he scored for Conard to cut it to a one-goal game.

Konopka – who Conard did not seem to have an answer for in the first half – drew two penalties from the same Conard player to put his team up a man, and it was Mutarelli scoring again on the advantage to restore the two-goal lead. The Trojans would get their final goal of the half with 2:16 to go when Cam Peltz, who had a big day on assists, found Reid Anastasio for the team’s eighth goal. Walsh would blister a rising shot past Baxter to close out the first half scoring at 8-6 in favor of Simsbury.

“We knew that we could get back to the level we played in the first quarter,” said senior co-captain Jules Capone. He then led by example taking over aspects to the game in the final two periods, helping the Red Wolves turn the game around.

“He was the difference for us, “ said his teammate Shaffer.

A defender by trade, Capone usually centers the Conard defense but was moved off to go solo on the Trojans’ biggest offensive threat. He also was moved into the face-off circle against Konopka and turned the possession game around. Many times, there was no clean win on the face-off but Capone tied up Konopka long enough to allow a teammate to get possession of the ball.

“He is the ultimate leader and does whatever the team needs,” Cersosimo said of his player. Simsbury started the third quarter as they had played the second and scored twice in the first 1:48 to have a four-goal lead.

After an exchange of goals, the Wolves ran off four straight goals to turn it into a an 11-all game. The first came from Walsh as he dropped down and let go a shot that went to the far side of the net. Thirty-four seconds later it was Liam Alver making it a two-goal game – and then it became the Luke Shaffer show.

The school’s all-time leading scorer showed why when he scored the next two for the Wolves to tie things. On his first goal he slipped trying to cut in to goal, but managed to bounce back up, took a step back then unleashed a shot to make it 11-10. Just over :30 later it was Alver feeding Shaffer for the tying goal with 4:22 left in the third.

“He is such a consistent, high performer,” Cersosimo said of his senior.

As a penalty on Simsbury was expiring, the Trojans scored when Bulger found Peltz alone in front of Russo for the goal. With :17 left to play it was that same combination working again as Bulger drew defenders as he moved towards the goal. Peltz snuck out from behind the cage, took the pass, and deposited it into the back of the net to make it 13-11 Trojans after three.

The final 12 minutes would decide which team was going to advance and which would see its season end in the rain. Both Russo and Bulger had turned in big saves for their teams throughout the first three quarters and would be called on to do more of it over the final minutes of play. Simsbury would score its 14th – and final – goal of the game early in the fourth when Ryan Goodwin picked up a ground ball near midfield and ran through the defense to score.

Over the next five minutes, Conard would reach deep and score five times and hold Simsbury scoreless. Shaffer scored the first one from Cersosimo at 10:31. Playing up a man, Walsh made it a one-goal game just :49 later with his 15-yard bullet to make it 14-13.

The tying goal came from a solid team play which on started with Capone forcing a turnover along the far side. He carried the ball forward and found Cersosimo across midfield. As Cersosimo moved in on goal he had Nick Katsaros low on the opposite side, but he held the ball and found a streaking Shaffer racing down the middle of the field. He hit him with the pass and Shaffer made no mistake when he buried the shot to tie it at 14.

“I was thinking I had to fake and go low,” Shaffer said of the play. With the score tied and Conard having regained the momentum it was Alver converting the game winner on a pass from Cersosimo less than a minute after Shaffer tied things up.

“Brady is an unselfish player and knows his role is to draw defenders to him and then find the open players,” said the Coanrd head coach. That is exactly what he did on the go-ahead goal and what he had done several times over the course of the game.

His efforts were rewarded with five minutes to go when an isolation play was called for Cersosimo. Staring behind the Simsbury goal in a 1-on-1 matchup, the junior beat his defender, cut into the center, took a big hit, and managed to get the goal.

After that Conard played one of the longest games of keep-away as they worked the ball around and around the Simsbury cage as the Trojan coaches pleaded with their players to double- and triple-team the ball, but the Wolves were moving it too fast. Even after a turnover behind the net, the Wolves managed to regain possession quickly and ran out the clock – setting off a celebration on the field.

“This is the best we have played in many years,” Capone said. “It feels like it is our destiny to get there, but it really is surreal to be two games from a championship.”

Conard is making the run without its senior starting goalie, Brayden Mangini, who has been out since the end of the regular season with a high ankle sprain. Russo has stepped in and kept up the solid goalkeeping that put saw the Wolves go 13-3 on the regular season. “He has fulfilled his role and been the consummate teammate,” Cersosimo said. “He always prepared to be a starter.”

Game notes

Conard, the No. 4 seed, will face Fairfield Ludlowe, the No. 1 seed, in the semifinals. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but due to a graduation conflict the game is being moved. It will still be played at a neutral site.

In Class L, the top four seeds have all advanced to the semifinals as the other bracket has No. 2 St. Joseph meeting No. 3 Cheshire for the right to play for the title.

With the Conard girls lacrosse team having been eliminated Friday night in a heartbreaking 15-14 overtime final at Ridgefield, only the Conard volleyball team (the only unbeaten team in the state) and the boys lacrosse team represent West Hartford in the state semifinals.

Simsbury at Conard scoring:

• Shaffer 5/1
• Walsh 5/0
• Cersosimo 3/4
• Alver 2/2
• Barnum 1/0

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