For the first time since 2010, when the Huskies lost to Immaculate 1-0, the Morgan girls soccer team is headed to the State Finals after defeating Thomaston 2-0 in the Semi-Finals this Tuesday, November 12 held at Wethersfield High School.
The girls were focused and determined going into the game, confident that they could beat any team ahead of them if they executed their plan. Junior #22 Riley Febbroriello said before the game, “I feel we know what we have to do, and we know we can do it, it will just take a lot of hard work, and we have to want it more than the other team.”
Both the Morgan Huskies and the Thomaston Golden Bears started the state tournament with a bye, resulting in not playing in the first round. Thomaston was seeded at #3 and had a regular season record of 12-3-1 (.781). They earned the title of Berkshire League Champions after defeating Nonnewaug in the finals. Previously in the state tournament, they beat Portland 3-0 in the second round and beat Somers 4-1 in the quarter-finals
Morgan, seeded at #7, completed the regular season with a 10-3-3 record (.718) and in the post-season won the title of Shoreline Conference Championship for the fourth time in a row, beating Old Saybrook in the finals. Morgan defeated Valley Regional 5-0, in the second round of states, and destroyed Coventry 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
The Huskies started off the game strong and were faced with a hard match. At the end of the second half, the score was still 0-0. Thomaston started with the ball in the second half, but it did not take long for Morgan to get it back.
Morgan struck first just 30 seconds into the second half. Senior #32 Rachel Spaziano rebounded a shot and passed the ball off to Senior #18 Olivia Ruotolo, who put it into the back of the net, putting the score at 1-0.
The final goal of the game was scored by Spaziano, assisted by Junior #10 Sadie Passante, the game concluding in a win 2-0 for the Morgan girls.
Freshman #5 Mia Zhiminaicela said, one of the most memorable moments from the game was, “When the game ended, and we all ran up to each other and the student section.” This is Zhiminaicela’s first year on the team and starts at the wing position, helping her team on the outside. She is very excited to play in her first State Championship, hoping to be there more than just once in her high school career.
After the game, Ruotolo said, “I had no doubting thoughts in my mind about our ability to dominate in both halves of the game, but I am most proud of the intensity and absolute electricity that came out in the second half.”
Ruotolo gives credit for her goal to the fire and hype that the team gave each other. “I’m overall super proud of this team and how well we worked together; everyone contributed, especially the amazing support we got from our teammates on the bench.” she added.
The Morgan girls soccer team will play #5 Coginchaug on Sunday, November 17th, 2024, at 12:45 p.m. in Hartford at the Trinity Health Stadium. This season, the Huskies have played the Blue Devils twice and won both times with scores of, 7-2 and 5-1. The Morgan girls soccer team has never won a State Championship. Could this be their year?
