Hall erased two one-goal deficits in the second half before coming back to beat crosstown rival Conard.
By Marlon Pitter
Liam Wilson might have picked the perfect time to score his first two goals of the season.
Wilson scored twice – minutes apart – to lead the Hall boys soccer team to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Conard on Monday night at Robert S. Chalmers stadium in West Hartford.
Down 2-1 with 4:37 to play, Wilson notched a bicycle kick to the game. He followed up with the eventual game-winner with 2:17 left to stun crosstown rival Conard, which led twice on the night.
“It was just a Hall-Conard game where everything is wild, loud, crazy, and emotional,” said Conard head coach Adam Linker. “We knew coming in that they were going to be a very strong team. We tried to play compact. We tried to play a counterattack style of play and limit our mistakes and counter on their mistakes, and for about 70 minutes it worked.
“They finished pretty well in the last 10 minutes. They had their opportunities and they capitalized on them,” Linker said.
The Warriors launched a slew of shots throughout the contest, but the Chieftains struck first on a Justin Rivas goal with 10:26 left in the first half to go up 1-0.
Drew Seguro tied the game for Hall with 13:52 remaining in the second half, the first of four goals in a dramatic second half.
Jude Sargent gave the Chieftains the lead once again, scoring from a set piece for a 2-1 lead with five minutes to play, just 23 seconds before Wilson answered for the Warriors.
Hall outshot Conard 7-6 and dominated in corner kicks 8-0. Chieftains goalkeeper Michael Costello stopped a number of chances for the Warriors to prevent them from breaking the game open early in the second half. Evan Jones led Hall with three shots on goal.
“I thought my boys did a good job and showed a lot of resiliency to come back from a 1-0 deficit when [Conard] was just sitting and sitting,” said Hall head coach Zeke Seguro. “I’m proud of them. It doesn’t matter the records. Whenever we play – one team could be .500, the other team could have 12 wins and two losses – it’s always going to be a tough match.”
Hall improves to 7-1-0 this season as Conard drops to 5-3-0.
The Warriors will head to Plainville (4-3-0) on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. matchup. The Chieftains will host Farmington (5-1-1) Friday afternoon at 3:45 p.m.
Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford!
