West Hartford’s Hall High School boys soccer team tops unbeaten Farmington in a game decided by penalty kicks.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

Farmington and Hall boys soccer have played three times this season.

Unbeaten on the season, the River Hawks – the defending state champs – demolished the Titans 6-1 in the first game. The two played to a tie the second time around and Saturday they met in the CCC semifinal at Sage Park in Berlin.

Playing without top scorer Liam Deloreto (injury) and Ryan Rogorzenski, Hall faced an uphill climb, but relying on confidence, team play, and effort, they kept Farmington scoreless in regulation, then hit each of their penalty kicks, and got a save from goalie Rodrigo Ballesteros to win the third matchup.

“This was a full team effort and it feels great,” said Marco Leonidas, who took the fifth penalty kick for Hall to clinch the victory.

Hall (the tourney’s No. 5 seed) came in with a record of 12-2-3 after a quarterfinal win over Middletown on Thursday, while Farmington (the tourney’s No. 1 seed) was 14-0-3, having shut out Berlin in their opening match. The level of skill and play from both teams showed why they are two of the top 10 teams in Connecticut in Class LL.

“These are two great teams,” said long-time Hall head coach Zeke Seguro. Both have players that can dominate on offense and defense, and the teamwork displayed was top notch. It was clear early on that the fans were going to have a game to remember no matter what the final outcome. They got that and more.

The opening 10 minutes saw the River Hawks get the better of play, earning several dangerous corner kicks. Hall’s defense was up to the task and managed to prevent any good scoring chances on the net of Ballesteros. Keane Muphy of Farmington did get a shot through in the opening quarter of the first, but Ballesteros was able to easily smother the ball.

The Titans were using the left side of the field to try and get their offense going with Diego Lemes and Grady Doyle. Lemes – who possesses speed and skill – had a good run along the backline, but was doubled-teamed and couldn’t get a cross off.

At the 16-minute mark Hall began to find a better balance in play and the midfield began to be the spot for most of the action. Farmington kept up their pressure and Ian Manton managed to get off a rocket shot on the turnaround volley, but it went harmlessly wide. Hall’s Eric Samuels was causing trouble for the River Hawks’ defense and managed to get his team’s first shot on goal that was stopped by Dante Fierro.

As Hall continued to try and connect passes on the ground to generate offense, Farmington relied on trying to play a longer ball over the top and allow their forwards to run on to it. But Hall’s taller defense with Ben Goldstein, Lincoln Bush, and coverage from Zach Debin, won the majority of the balls in the air. Other balls were either played back to Ballesteros or allowed to run to the keeper. Despite the up tempo play from both sides, neither could break the ice and get a goal and the half ended tied at 0.

At the start of the second half, Hall came out with a strong first 10 minutes of high-pressure offense, but the River Hawks handled it, getting some exceptional play from right back Jacob Carter. Farmington got their offense back in gear and began using their left side with a lot of success. Carter was making transition runs and beating Hall players, and midfielder Cody Raeburn was also playing a strong game, getting long runs and dangerous crosses off.

Goldstein of Hall had to come across the area and side foot away one of the more dangerous balls played. The offensive push continued for Farmington and their efforts earned them a corner about 12 and a half minutes in. The possession led to their best offensive chance of the day when Alex Kutz labeled a shot for the right side of the net, but a diving Ballesteros was there to push it wide.

Throughout the second 40 minutes, both teams probed the other’s defense in every imaginable way, but the defenses on each side were on their game. Hall got a very strong effort from Debin as he was able to drift back on defense when needed, but also led many of the pushes forward by Hall by racing up the right-hand side. His efforts resulted in multiple throw-ins and free kicks for the Titans. The lanky midfielder also delivered several long throw-ins to dangerous areas for his team, but Hall could not make them pay off.

“We counted on staying in our defensive shape, and it giving us opportunities up front,” Seguro said. “We replaced our missing players by committee.”

By rules, there was no overtime period, just a coin toss and straight on to penalty kicks. Farmington had the call on the coin toss, but guessed wrong, giving Hall the choice of shooting first or last. They chose to shoot first.

Christian Almeida went first for Hall and buried his shot in the left side of the net. Farmington made an interesting call and had their goalie, Fierro, take their first PK that Ballesteros got a hand on but could not stop. Next up for Hall came juniors Aiden Winiarsky and Tom Hennessy, who each converted, before Debin – a sophomore – calmly drilled his shot past Fierro.

Farmington also converted on their second and third shots, but Ballesteros made the save of the game when he denied Manton’s attempt. Leonidas cooly approached his shot and sent it past Fierro for the win, setting off a celebration on the field by the Hall players.

“I knew I was going to make it,” said the senior. “It feels great to finally have beaten them this year.”

Soccer purists still debate the fairness of having a game decided on penalty kicks. But Seguro and his team knew it could always come down to that. “Those guys were deadly,” he said of the PK-takers. “We have been training on them the last three days.”

As for Ballesteros, it was confidence that led him to stopping Manton’s try. “I was confident I could stop it. But, I couldn’t have done it without my defense, Ben and Lincoln especially are two of the best. This was just a total team effort.”

Seguro said it’s not the first time his senior goalie has made a difference this year. “He’s been fantastic,” said the coach of his keeper. “There were four or fie games this season that he has won for us.”

Game bites

• After the win, Seguro said that during the run up to the game he had a penalty kick tryout to see who would take them. Part of the process involved members of the Hall girls team also taking shots on Ballesteros. Turns out he didn’t stop any, but told his coach he was “just going easy” and not to worry.
• Lemes – who picked up a yellow card for dissent – was often double-teamed, and took several bumps from defender, at times frustrating him. But in the end, the result was all that mattered to him. “We are together and working hard, but our work is not finished.”
• In the CCC final Tuesday night at Sage Park in Berlin (7 p.m.), Hall will play Tolland, which defeated South Windsor in two rounds of penalty kicks in the other semifinal on Saturday.
• The Titans tied with Tolland 0-0 in the regular season.
• In the Connecticut Class LL Championships, Farmington was the winner in 2021 and 2024. Hall won it all in 2023, after losing in a shootout to Greenwich in 2022.
• Hall will begin play in the Class LL Tournament on Friday or Saturday. Pairings, location, and times of games won’t be released until Tuesday.
• Right now, as a No. 9 seed in LL, Hall would host the 24 seed which currently is 7-8-1 Brien McMahon (Norwalk).

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