In a battle of West Hartford crosstown rivals Monday afternoon, Hall defeated Conard 1-0.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

Zoe Buffat scored the game’s only goal with 13:10 to play in the first half as the Hall Titans held off the Conard Red Wolves 1-0 Monday in a girls soccer matchup. The two sides tied in their first meeting in September.

Hall could have scored a few more goals if not for the efforts of Conard goalie Evelyn Black who had six saves in the first half alone. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 in the Class LL rankings and the game featured quality play from both teams with wide swings in momentum.

The host Titans had the better of play early on, forcing Black and the Conard defense to be at its best. Just six minutes in Kyra Baun launched a dangerous corner into the Conard box. Black got a punch on the ball and then was in place to gobble up the header on goal that followed. Hall used their wings to move the ball deep into Conard territory with Baun and Aliza Schleif working in tandem to create some dangerous opportunities. One of them came 12 minutes into the half when Baun let rip a 25-yard shot ticketed for the lower left corner, but Black laid out and managed to push the ball wide of the net.

It was one of the sideline runs that earned Hall the game’s only goal. Maya Reilly made a brilliant overlap run from her defensive spot down the right side. She managed to fire off a cross that found Buffat in front of the goal and she knocked it home for the lead. Conard’s offense had a trouble stringing together passes to challenge the Hall defense for much of the first half and never really threatened goal.

“We were in control in the first half,” said Hall coach Scott Ferguson. “They did not get a lot of time in our half of the field.”

The second half was a different story though, as the Red Wolves put it together on offense and controlled things for the opening 10 minutes. Conard looked like a different team on offense as they were confident and moved the ball well, challenging Hall for every loose ball on the field. “In the first half we were not organized and they overmatched us with their speed of a play,” said Conard coach PJ Louis. “We had a lot more energy and pressure that gave us a lot of good chances in the second half.”

Despite the early hard work, the visitors could not get anything past Hall goalie Annabelle Butterfield in the early going. Hall managed to regroup after the opening 15 minutes of the second half, and started applying offensive pressure on the Conard back line. At one point the Conard defenders blocked back-to-back-to back shots inside the 20-yard mark of their goal. The Titans defense also stayed strong, stepping up to challenge Conard’s attacks, and getting strong support from the midfield to turn defense into offense. Conard – like many other teams – concentrated on trying to keep Baun from getting open looks at the goal.

Jacquie Capone was Baun’s shadow, refusing to give an inch, playing physically on the ball, and getting support from her teammates. “Jacquie worked hard to try and deny Kyra the ball and I think that helped slow them down,” Louis said. Baun did manage to get off a rising shot that just cleared the crossbar with 20 minutes to play.

Conard had a golden opportunity five minutes later when Marren McNamee split a pair of defenders and ran onto a diagonal pass in the attacking zone. The two defenders kept up the chase and caught up with McNamee as she was letting her shot go on Butterfield, and deflected it away from the target. Later in the half Capone launched a rare Conard corner into a dangerous spot in front of the Hall goal, but Butterfield hauled it in. Conard started playing with a desperate level of energy with a about 10 minutes to play, controlling the ball more, forcing Butterfield to come off her line to grab loose balls ahead of onrushing attackers.

With :10 to play Conard was awarded a direct free kick 24 yards out from goal, but the try sailed over the crossbar, ending the game at 1-0 for Hall.

“Conard had a lot of fight,” Ferguson said. “They outplayed us in the second half and their will to win was impressive.”

Both coaches now turn their attention to the post season as they will each be seeded in the state tournament. “They now have a confidence to know that they can play with the better teams in the CCC and win those games,” Louis said. “We did not have that at the start of the season.”

Ferguson said his team is still working on some things, especially in picking up the scoring when other teams focus on trying to shut down Baun. “We need others to produce,” said Ferguson. “12-2-2 is a great season, but we’ve got to step up in other areas for a tournament run.”

Looking at the team he has now compared to the one he saw on day one of practice back in August, Ferguson said the biggest change is the closeness of the players. “There is real sense of camaraderie and there is a real togetherness,” he said. “ They are really willing to learn and get better and are a fun team to coach.”

Game notes

• Hall was ranked 9th in Class LL after the game, Conard was 10th.
• Both should host first-round games when the seedings and schedules come out for the post-season.
• Unbeaten Glastonbury is the only other CCC team ranked in the top 10 in Class LL.
• Hall will also host a CCC Tournament game on Thursday. Time and opponent are TBA.
• On the season Hall posted eight shutouts, including the last three games on the season.
• The Titans were 8-1 over their last nine games in the regular season. They went 8-0-2 between their only two losses on the season.
• Conard had 11 shutouts over the regular season, finishing 9-2-5.
• The loss was the first in eight games for the Red Wolves.

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