The Hall High School boys soccer team hosted RHAM Tuesday in West Hartford.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

 

By Hadley Smith and Madison Geraghty

On Tuesday afternoon, head coach for the Hall High School boys’ soccer team Zeke Seguro looked torn as he witnessed the ending to the game. The beginning of their season, riddled with challenging matches against teams like RHAM, has tested the team’s ability to connect.

Players from both sides had struggled with building dynamics around their efforts. But, Hall was able to pull the 3-1 win, despite astounding competitiveness by players such as the RHAM goalie, and because of Hall players Lincoln Bush and Diego Lemes De Souza.

For most of the first half, tussles for possession over the ball left it in the air and in the middle. Some misconnections, such as a foul on Hall player No. 33, resulted in a missed scoring attempt caught by the RHAM goalie. Over and over, RHAM anticipated and kept Hall’s team and coaches on their feet, playing defense for the whole first half as RHAM gained a goal and went ahead 1-0.

At the half-point, Hall’s team needed advice from their head man: an intensity switch. They had come out flat, needing motivation and an oomph of courage to excel them to their full potential.

Coach Zeke Seguro commented that for this match to finish, Hall would need three refinements: 1. Winning more balls. 2. Playing behind RHAM. 3. Adding pressure to RHAM’s efforts. These three standards could assist the team in directing their enthusiasm back into the game, back into winning on their home field.

The referees watched the Hall team huddle, chatting about the plays in the game so far; from their perspective, most commented that the match was “too fair,” and that the outcome of this game relied on who made a mistake and who didn’t. “These teams aren’t in league with each other. We’ve got players that are trying to decide whether or not to trust their teammates, whether to go for it or back off,” one said.

The dynamics of these plays did not go unnoticed; added to that, RHAM’s team showed remarkable effort – especially when an impressive jump catch made by the RHAM goalie left Hall stunned. At the second hour, though, it would be Hall’s effort that dominated the field.

Hall’s offense could be seen swerving between RHAM players, collectively passing and offensively moving the ball further and further down the field. Hall scored their first goal off a corner kick, with Zach Debin attempting a header. Helping him out, Bush maneuvered to head the ball into Hall’s territory within the net, settling the score with RHAM’s team 1-1 and – what wasn’t as obvious – bringing spirit back into the second half.

RHAM’s coach at the end of the game phrased it as such: “Our first half was a B-plus, but by the second, it quickly turned into a D-minus.”

Playing mostly defensively, RHAM’s store of effort quickly depleted as Hall ramped up their attempts and went after the ball, continuously working to get the ball upfield and past the wall that had halted their efforts for the first half of the game. Players such as Ben Goldstein kept the ball from bleeding back into Hall’s side, playing an aggressive defense that steadily drained the RHAM players, with help in the midfield from Marco Leonidas. The head coach for the RHAMs simply stated that in the second half, they were “out-worked and out-played.”

Shortly after their opener, Hall grabbed a 2-1 lead from Ryan Rogorzenski’s corner kick, with Christain Almedia nodding it home with a header.

Finally, a clean upfield cross from Zach Debin found De Souza in the corner. They demonstrated an understanding between a winger and his striker, and with a low cross De Souza set up Liam Deloreto to tap it in, bringing Hall’s lead to 3-1 to settle out the game. 

This win didn’t leave Seguro’s face any less determined once this game had ended.

“I want this team to not only succeed, but to grow and trust success,” he said.

Players trusting their training and proving their trust in one another was one of the attributes that the coaches and referees of this game alike agreed was the factor for losing or succeeding in these matches. While Hall won this game against RHAM, many matches lie ahead that will test their team’s strength. MVPs and bench players alike will have to come together to support each other if they wish to continue to other games.

With Hall’s stirring energy in the second half, there’s always hope for them to find their cadence, as they proved to do in this incredible win against regional-school team RHAM.

Hall, now 2-1-2, travels to meet crosstown rival Conard (1-2-1) on Thursday evening.

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