The two West Hartford teams met Wednesday night.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

“Sometimes you are going to have some games like that.”

That’s how Hall girls soccer coach Scott Ferguson summed up his team’s first half against Northwest Catholic on Wednesday night. “I told them at halftime it was the worst half we have played. But credit to Northwest they were all over the place, winning 50-50 balls.”

That from a coach who saw his team take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. But it was what happened between the opening three minutes and the final 40 seconds that had Ferguson deliver a strong message to his players at halftime. “I challenged them to match Northwest’s intensity.”

Things started out well enough for the Titans as just three minutes in Aliza Schleif found herself on the end of a Kyra Baun cross that she calmly headed past Lions goalie Alison West for the 1-0. But what took place over the next 36 minutes is what led Ferguson to say that his team “needs to be more consistent” all game.

The Lions, who lost in last year’s Class M final after winning it in 2024, 2022, and 2021, also lost a number of solid players like Gatorade CT Girls Soccer Player of the Year Maeve Staunton and goalie Abby Casper to graduation. But what they may have lacked in experience, they made up for in speed, strength, and willingness to go after the ball.

Freshman Eva Peterson nearly tied the game two minutes after Hall took the lead. She and teammate Avery Lenz timed a pair of perfect runs to catch the Hall backline off guard, and the duo came in with only Hall goalie Anabelle Butterfield to beat. The junior keeper forced a quick shot from Peterson that went wide. Maisie Boucher would follow with a nice volley from 25 yards out that Butterfield handled as well.

Hall just could not put together any sustained pressure on Northwest’s goal. Some promising transitions were broken up by Sara Jane Devor on defense for the Lions. At the other end, Northwest – technically the visitors for a game played at Conard High School while construction at Hall’s stadium continues – had good pressure but fell just one just one touch short several times. Hall made them pay for that when Maya Reilly, running an overlap from defense, picked up a pass from Baun, carried it from the sideline towards the near post, and managed to hit a high shot under the crossbar that beat Peterson to make it 2-0 with just :38 to play in the half.

From the first touch of the second half, it was clear that Hall had gotten the message and encouraged each other to pick it up at the break. First it was Baun making a long run and firing a shot that went just over the bar on the far side. It was those kind of plays and those kind of opportunities that were missing for the Titans in the first half.

Moments later it was Ella Peterson who had the chance for Hall, but her shot carried wide. Then it was Hall’s most dangerous combination working together to create a scoring chance. Baun sent a ball down the right side for Schleif to run on to. The senior striker let a shot fly as she carried in on goal, but West was equal to the task. The nearly constant pressure for Hall paid off with 7:09 gone in the half as Baun let fly a shot from distance that found the back of the net for the 3-0 lead.

Four minutes later it was Baun again, this time dropping a corner kick right on the 6-yard mark, but West was there to cover the ball in a scrum of players. Then it would be Zoe Buffat who had the scoring chance as she tracked down a loose ball off a corner and had the clear shot, but hit it just over the top of the goal. Later it was a hustle play by Isabel Solis stopping Hall’s Aricela Vargas in a one-one matchup in the Northwest defensive box.

Despite the pressure against them, the Lions kept fighting and worked hard to try and flip the field, but Butterfield managed to come away with nine total saves in the match.

It would be Baun putting the final ball in the back of the net with 6:27 to play. The senior ,who has committed to play D1 soccer at Monmouth University, took a great pass from Leila Parker, and went high under the crossbar at the back post for the 4-0 final score.

“I really like this team,” Ferguson said of his 2026 group. “They work well together, they work hard and say all the right things to each other and support each other.”

Hall came into the contest ranked 10th in Class LL before picking up their third straight win after a 1-0 loss to Glastonbury in the second game of the season.

Game notes

• Next up for Hall (4-1) is a visit to Enfield (1-4) on Friday.
• On Monday it should be a great game as the Titans meet up with Conard.
• The Red Wolves are a different team this year and picked up their fourth win against no losses and one tie this season.
• Conard (4-0-1) sits in fifth place in the Class LL rankings.

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