The Conard boys soccer team defeated Simsbury on Thursday in West Hartford.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Ronni Newton

Thursday afternoon’s home opener between West Hartford’s Conard High School and Simsbury was a physical match – with bodies flying through the air and the trainer making multiple treks across the field – and when the final whistle sounded, the Red Wolves celebrated their well-earned 1-0 win.

Conard, under first-year head coach Greg Smedberg, is now 2-0 for the season. On Tuesday, they had traveled to Portland and came home with a decisive 9-0 win in the non-league game.

“We expected it to be physical,” Smedberg said of the contest with Simsbury. “We set up the team in our defensive shape to handle their shape as well as their physicality.”

At halftime Thursday the Red Wolves and the Trojans were locked in a 0-0 tie. Smedberg said he told the team at the break that they needed to control the game “the way we know how to control games, and that’s by keeping the ball on the ground, being direct when we need to, and using numerical advantages around the field – specifically in the midfield – and getting the ball out to our speed and looking to beat players on the dribble.”

With 27:44 left to go in the second half junior Lucas Hartland got one by Simsbury goalkeeper Shane Small, off the corner kick and with an assist by junior Michael Guilder.

The biggest threat from Simsbury came with just under six minutes to go int he game, but senior goalkeeper Joe O’Connell wasn’t going to let anything spoil his shutout.

“We got the clean sheet. You’ll see in the CCC West lots of one-nothing score lines because it’s just a battle, every single game,” Smedberg said.

“We have spent a lot of time working and developing a system of play,” said the Conard coach. Preseason taught the team a lot of lessons, he said, with mostly wins but also a loss, and he said the experience taught the team what they needed to do.

“This group knows what they need to do and you’re seeing it implement. Now you’re seeing it come to fruition and I’m really excited about this group. We think as long as we keep this momentum going we’re going to be a very big powerhouse in the state of Connecticut.”

Smedberg said MVPs on Tuesday included O’Connell as well as as Hartland, who scored the goal. “But I got to give it up always in the back to Jules Capone. He’s the rock.”

A moment of silence was held at halftime and at the end of the game, the team also presented a bouquet of flowers to Suzi D’Annolfo in honor of her late husband, Frank D’Annolfo, a former longtime teacher in West Hartford and Conard coach who led the boys soccer team to a state championship in 1970.

Conard will travel to Berlin on Tuesday and then host rival Farmington at home on Thursday. Both games begin at 3:45 p.m.

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