After defeating Trumbull in the semifinals, Hall prepares to take on Greenwich in the Class LL championship game.
By Marlon Pitter
For the second consecutive year, the Hall boys soccer team will represent West Hartford and compete for a state title.
Hall staved off Trumbull’s second-half comeback effort to earn a 5-2 win in the Class LL semifinals Monday night at Xavier High School in Middletown.
“We felt good, but we [said] at halftime, ‘This game is not over,’” Hall head coach Zeke Seguro said. “We [said] that the first 10 minutes were going to be critical because if they got one, they would get all the momentum back. Sure enough, about 12 in – 28-minute mark – they got that goal and it gave them a lot of life. But if you want to be a champion, you’ve got to be able to deal through adversity, and if that’s what we want to be, you have to be able to grind out games like this today.”
Trailing Hall 3-0 at halftime, the Eagles scored twice in an eight-minute span to draw the game within one.
Tiago Frazao scored for Trumbull on a header with 28 minutes left. Roberto Echenique added a goal off a corner kick with 20:41 to play.
Matthew Bagley had a chance to tie the game for the Eagles, sending a shot over the net from inside the box with 11:15 to play.
Conlan Wilson crashed the net to score and extend the lead for Hall with 8:59 remaining. Drew Seguro notched his second goal of the game at the 3:19 mark.
Liam Wilson put Hall on the board first with a header off a free kick from Evan Lombardo at the 23:36 mark in the first half.
Four minutes later, Drew Seguro found Jamie Cowan with a centering pass to help the Warriors tack on another goal. Evan Jones assisted Seguro to push the lead to 3-0 15 minutes before halftime.
The fifth-seeded Warriors will take on No. 14 Greenwich in the Class LL championship game Saturday at a time and location to be determined.
“I believe they’re going to present a more different, complete style,” Zeke Seguro said. “They’re more physical, so we have to watch some game film on them and see what we have to do. We’ve gotta see where we’re playing, what size the field is – that will play into it. But hey, it’s Greenwich. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Seguro said returning to the championship game is an accomplishment, but the team is determined to finish the season on top.
“I’m just so proud of my guys,” he said. “In Class LL, it’s not easy, and to get back to the final two years in a row, it’s all these guys. They’re just a great group of individuals that are focused, but our job is not done yet.”
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!
