Hall continued its quest for a state title, defeating Fairfield-Warde at home Thursday night to move on to the Class LL quarterfinals.

By Marlon Pitter

The No. 2 Hall boys soccer team battled to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over No. 15 Fairfield-Warde in the second round of the CIAC Class LL Tournament Thursday night in West Hartford.

Jamie Cowan found the net early with 32:33 left in the second half, breaking through on a rebound after two different Warriors were denied successively.

“Evan Jones hit a bomb – it knuckled,” said Hall head coach Zeke Seguro. “There was a rebound to Drew Seguro. Drew Seguro hit it. He [Mustangs goalie Cameron Millington] made a nice save, and luckily Jamie followed and was there for a tap-in. We talked about on game film, he will bobble every now and then. He’s a great keeper, but there wasn’t much he could do.”

Jones gave the Warriors multiple opportunities to score earlier in the game.

One-on-one with Millington, Jones sent the ball just over the crossbar less than five minutes into the first half. Six minutes later, he put a shot on goal from inside the box, but Millington made the save to keep Hall off the board.

“I wish we would have put the early chance away,” Zeke Seguro said. “It might have settled us down a little bit, but this is Class LL. The next game will be equally as hard.”

Max Kalsner Kershan did his part backstopping the Warriors as well. Kershan posted three saves and wasted no time corralling balls sent in to prevent further opportunities for the Mustangs.

Hall outshot Fairfield-Warde 14-6 and posted a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks. Jones and Clay Courtmanche led the attack for the Warriors, leading the team with five shots each.

Hall continues its quest for a state championship with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 7 Cheshire Saturday afternoon (1 p.m.) at home at Chalmers Stadium. Seguro said he expects just as difficult a game from the Rams as the Mustangs this weekend.

“They’re a very good possession team,” said Zeke Seguro. “They’re going to look to keep the ball. It’s going to be another tough match.

“I’m so grateful the team has an opportunity to play in the quarters. They deserve it, and hopefully we can take care of that game and go from there.”

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford!