Conard boys soccer hosted Stamford in West Hartford on Saturday morning, losing 5-1.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

Looking to turn things around after a 1-3-1 start, the Conard boys soccer team welcomed Stamford to town on Saturday morning. Unfortunately for the Red Wolves, Stamford was not in a giving mood as the Black Knights dominated the midfield and the scoreboard in a 5-1 win.

“We are going to learn from or mistakes today and get better,” said second-year head coach Greg Smedberg. “I have full confidence in them.”

Stamford used its midfield to push the ball to the wings and generate its scoring chances from there with crosses or through balls inside. They got on the board 3:24 into the game when Sergio Gloria went high to nod in a corner kick to make it 1-0. Conard’s defense was attempting to hold the line and play an offsides trap that at times was effective, but at other times was broken by the Black Knights’ passing.

The Wolves had a good scoring chance when Michael Guildner sent a through ball into the box for teammate Frankie Figueroa to run onto. Stamford goalie Magnus Smail came flying off his line and just beat Figueroa to the ball and cleared it away.

The visitors kept up the pressure at both ends of the pitch, and were able to get a second goal 10:30 into the first. Conard was unable to advance the ball from a goal kick, and Rory O’Halloran gained control on the left side and sent a ball over to teammate Jared Relayze flicked it with the outside of his right foot past Conad goalie Nate Dubois.

Seven minutes later it was Conard scoring off a great solo effort from Guildner.

It started with a long clearing goal kick by Dubois down the middle of the field. It skimmed off the head of a Stamford defender and Guilder turned and one-touched it past the last marker, then calmly one-touched it past the goalie as Smail challenged – finishing it off by depositing the ball into the back of the empty net.

“I am proud of the way Michael has rebounded from being sick and missing games last year,” said Smedberg. “His goal gave us some confidence.”

Conard did pick up the offense after the Guildner goal, pushing forward and showing some speed along the outside to get the ball into position to set up more scoring chances. Figueroa and Guildner nearly combined to tie things up with just under 13 minutes to go as Figueroa slid the ball inside to Guildner, but Smail was equal to the task for Stamford. The Conard momentum was silenced with 5:01 to go when once again they struggled to get the ball out of their defensive zone. Stamford capitalized and sent Matt Atiencia in at a sharp angle and his shot to the near side deflected off a defender and into the net for the 3-1 lead.

In the half Conard’s defenders had at least half a dozen blocks on Stamford shots, giving up their bodies to protect the goal.

The backbreaker for the Red Wolves came just :12 into the second half when Stamford took the kickoff and sent a pass back to a midfielder. He quickly played it forward to O’Halloran who found space and delivered a low shot to the right of Dubois and it was now 4-1. The Black Knights closed out the scoring with 13:51 to play when Diago Cerna tapped in a loose ball that had squirted across the box and onto his foot.

Guildner nearly  picked up a second goal  30 minutes in when once again he took control of a ball over the top, moved past one defender, cut back on a second the fired a low shot ticketed for the low left corner. Smail went full extension and got his hand on the ball to deflect it wide of the goal.

“I know we have talented players, and we have a lot of goals for the season, “Smedberg said after the game. One of the team’s talented players has been limited in his playing time due to injury. The absence of midfielder Cam Robinson was exploited by Stamford in Saturday’s game, but  Smedberg said missing a player is not an excuse. “I think if we are fully fit today and have Robinson, it would be a different game. We have to do better as a team to make up for him when he is out.”

Game notes

• Conard is back in action Monday when they travel to Wethersfield.
• Jack Clayton was selected as the Conard player of the game. Unfortunately, he had to leave play in the second half with a lower leg injury suffered on a 50-50 ball with a Stamford player.
• Saturday’s game was a makeup from Sept. 6 when their game in the CT High School Soccer Challenge was postponed due to weather.

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