Hall Outlasts Conard in Intense Girls Soccer Match - We-Ha

Conard hosted crosstown West Hartford rival Hall for the last game of the regular season on Thursday night.

Conard goalie Meryl Rung was aggressive in the goal. Conard vs. Hall girls soccer. Oct. 26, 2023. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

By Ted Newton. Photos by Ronni Newton

On a balmy late October evening, the Conard and Hall girls soccer teams brought extra heat to a hard-fought game in which the Titans beat the Red Wolves 3-1.

“It’s Hall-Conard,” said Titans coach Scott Ferguson after the game, “so you want to end up on a good note and I knew they were going to be ready to go. And then you add our intensity about wanting to win.”

Immediately before the game, there was a moment of silence for former Conard girls soccer coach Kerrie Massaro, who died in 2021. The Red Wolves wore pink uniforms in her honor. “I just miss her. Great coach, great friend, and every time I come here I think of her,” Ferguson said. “But I know that team is in good hands with PJ [Conard coach PJ Louis]. He’s a great coach.”

During the first half, Hall’s crisp short passing and frequent long balls to their outside forwards were well-defended by Conard, with the Red Wolves’ backs repelling the Titans’ advances. Senior captain Meryl Rung played aggressively in the goal, making several critical saves in the early going to keep the game scoreless.

With about 9 minutes to go, Hall’s Sarah Punt found the back of the net. Conard vs. Hall girls soccer. Oct. 26, 2023. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

With 9:00 to go in the half, however, Titans’ senior captain Sarah Punt found the net from 10 yards out to put the Titans up 1-0. Then, just over a minute later, Punt did it again – this time finding the upper right corner of the goal from 20 yards out on a direct kick following a Conard penalty. Her beautiful arching shot put the Titans up by two.

Despite some pressure by Conard during latter part of the half, the Red Wolves couldn’t get a shot on goal and went into the halftime break knowing they had their work cut for them.

The second half featured the same intensity as the first, but this time it was Conard that struck first. About 12:00 minutes in, senior sweeper Taylor Yepes received a back pass from her midfield and boomed a 25-yard shot that glanced off the top cross bar and into the goal mouth to put the Red Wolves within one.

Conard celebrates Taylor Yepes’ goal. Conard vs. Hall girls soccer. Oct. 26, 2023. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

With the home crowd and Yepes’ goal giving them some energy, the Red Wolves continued to pressure the Titans, buzzing around the goal, the ball ping-ponging between the pink and white players with about 16:00 to go in the game. But Conard couldn’t even the score.

Five minutes later, Hall senior captain Sally Kritzman, taking a pass from Punt, found the back of the Red Wolves’ net to give the Titans an insurance goal and dash the Red Wolves’ hopes for a comeback.

Hall players celebrate their win. Conard vs. Hall girls soccer. Oct. 26, 2023. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

“One thing we’ve done every game is we seem to never give up,” said Conard coach PJ Louis. “These girls have a ton of perseverance. They came out in the second half and they outworked them, they outplayed them, and we got ourselves back in the game,” he said.

“Taylor [Yepes] had an unbelievable goal. That was the goal of the season for us. And really our senior captains – Mari Temponi, Meryl Rung, and Lilli Sardilli – really set the tone. All the girls on the bench, too. They really came together and were a great team.”

Said Ferguson: “Sarah [Punt] is like the real engine on this team, she just works and works and works. I love coaching her … she has such energy and is really coachable.” And Sally Kritzman got her first goal of the season, Ferguson said. “She was happy to have that as a way to cap things off.”

The loss ends the Red Wolves’ season at 4-12, whereas the Titans now head to the Class LL playoffs with a 6-6-4 record with their opponent TBD.