The Chieftains climb above .500, moving to 3-2-2 with the win. 

By Marlon Pitter

Behind two first-half goals from sophomore Colin Wright, the Conard boys soccer team defeated Hartford Public 3-0 Friday afternoon in West Hartford.

“I was very proud of them – mainly Colin to bury the first two of his career here, two important ones to get us up in the lead,” said Conard head coach Adam Linker. “It was nice to get that security blanket before halftime came in.”

Wright scored first on a cross from Justin Rivas just under the 31-minute mark. His second goal came on a header from a cross by Anthony Catanzaro with 8:18 left in the half.

“It feels good,” Wright said of scoring his first career goals. “I was waiting for it and finally got [two].”

While youth have been carrying the team in recent games, Linker said Rivas’ return from injury added a spark for Conard (3-2-2).

“It’s just a world of difference for us when he plays,” said Linker. “He’s a tremendous player. He’s a great playmaker. He commands attention when he’s on the ball because he can play any position on the field, but for us, he takes more pressure off of Sam [Musto] where everyone can’t just focus on Sam and he can create opportunities for others with assisting and cutting from the outside.

“He was a welcome addition today. I was very happy when I saw him come back and play.”

Musto scored on a penalty kick with 9:15 remaining in the second half to put the Chieftains up 3-0.

Conard maintained a steady attack throughout the game. The Chieftains outshot the Owls 9-2.

With a crosstown rivalry game against Hall looming Monday, Linker said he reminded his team to not look past Hartford Public (0-6-1).

“I had to tell them yesterday that their brains better be on today so we can get to Monday,” he said. “In the big picture, it’s always a wild, crazy, emotional game. … It’s extremely important because they return a heck of a team. They have a majority of their guns back, and we have to make sure that we are staying more composed and more compact than we did today.

“Today, we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities, but if we have these opportunities against Hall, we’d better capitalize or we’re gonna be in trouble.”

Conard will host Hall (6-1) Monday night at 5:30 p.m., following the girls soccer game between the two schools at 3:15 p.m.

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