The Hall girls soccer team defeated Enfield Friday afternoon in West Hartford in the CIAC Class LL tournament first round.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

Junior Maya Reilly scored the game’s only goal with under seven minutes to play as Hall defeated a scrappy Enfield in the first round of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) girls Class LL Soccer Tournament.

The play started on a long throw-in by Aliza Schleif from the left side. The ball made its way to Reilly near the right post, and her one touch rolled across the goal and into the far corner. “That is a play we have been working on in practice,” said Hall head coach Scott Ferguson.

The goal saved what could have been an embarrassing loss for the Titans, who are ranked No. 9 off a 12-2-2 season. Enfield was seeded 24th with a 6-8-2 regular season mark – but that included a 1-1 tie between the two earlier this season. “They outworked us in that game,” Ferguson said. “They did the same thing in the first half tonight.”

The Eagles had the better of offensive play throughout the opening 40 minutes, but did not get any dangerous chances on goal. Hall was reduced to some long chances from Kyra Baun as they could not make connections on their through passes. Another problem for Hall was the lack of control on passing, with many first touches bouncing away as turnovers. “It might have been nervousness, and it was a little slick out there but our touches were terrible,” said Ferguson.

 

The halftime intermission seemed to settle down the Titans and refocus their efforts on offense. They came out stronger and dominated the opening 15 minutes of the second half. But once again they were unable to get anything past goalie Aubrey Griskus.

Enfield had one of its best chances to get on the scoreboard with 28:20 to play in regulation. Desiree Rodriguez made a great run along the far sideline, working past two defenders and getting off a dangerous cross that teammate Reese Coffey blasted with a right foot back against the flow of play. Hall’s Alex Reilly was in the right place and took the shot off her stomach as she stood next to the post. Reilly then cleared the ball out of danger.

Two minutes later it was Hall getting the good chance as a Baun free kick into the box ended up being chipped into the middle of a group of players but went just out of reach of Maya Reilly’s header attempt.

One thing that was consistent throughout the game was the physical level of play. There was close marking all over the field and the Eagles were chopping away at Baun’s legs like lumberjacks on trees throughout the contest. It lead to several free kicks for Hall, but no cards for Enfield.

Hall goalie Annabelle Butterfield had a quiet first half, but was ready when called upon in the second half. At 21:10 it was Enfield’s Coffey setting up a good chance when Butterfield bobbled Coffey’s original shot. The ball fell to the turf, bounced up on Butterfield, who was on the ground, before the junior goalie secured it right in front of an onrushing Enfield attacker. Twelve minutes later Coffey gathered in the ball near midfield and turned on the jets. She got off a low rocket ticketed to the left corner of the Hall goal, but Butterfield went full out on the stretch and parried the ball side of the goal.

Three minutes later it was Maya Reilly’s goal putting Hall on top at 1-0. The goal forced Enfield to throw everyone forward in an attempt to tie things up. The Eagles put a lot of pressure on the backline of the Titans, but the defense held strong.

Enfield’s Arabella Herron got a head on a well-placed corner from Grace Pacholski, but Butterfield was in perfect position to take the ball into her arms to deny the chance.

The physical play got out of hand as the clock was winding down. Hall was sending the ball down field forcing Enfield to chase it as time ticked off. On the last play of the game Baun took a heavy hit from one defender before getting trucked by another which left her on the ground as the final whistle sounded. With help from a teammate, she made it to the bench after the game.

“They were really physical with Kyra and I give her credit for fighting through it all game,” Ferguson said.

Talking about his team’s less than stellar start, Ferguson said he addressed it at the half. “I reminded them it was still a nil-nil game. I was not worried about making changes, as I felt we would have our moment and we did.”

He was also pleased with what he saw from the subs he sent on in the game. “I was trying to get some energy and Tessa Lynch came on and worked hard for us.”

Game notes

• The Hall girls’ second round game will be Tuesday when they travel to No. 8 Staples (Westport).
• No. 12 Conard opens tournament play on Saturday when they host No. 21 New Canaan at 4 p.m.
• Hall’s boys team begins it title quest on Saturday when the No. 19 Titan’s play at No. 14 Hamden Saturday at 3 p.m.
• The Conard boys soccer team lost its first-round matchup 2-1 to Amity in double overtime.

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