For the first time since 2018, the Morgan girls soccer team competed in the class S state championship, losing in overtime to state champions Coginchaug regional high school.
The Morgan girls had been preparing for this game since their win against Thomaston in the Semi-Final game on Tuesday, November 12th. In the Semi-final game, Morgan won against Thomaston 2-0. Olivia Ruotolo scored the first goal of the game in the first 30 seconds of the second half, and Sadie Passante had a smooth assist to Senior Rachel Spaziano to make the game 2-0.
On Sunday, November 17th, Morgan played an intense game versus Coginchaug at the Hartford Trinity Health Care Center. Coginchaug beat Morgan in PK’s 5-3. 
Morgan started the state’s game with two shots on goal, and one of those being a goal in the first half from Rachel Spaziano. Coginchaug did a better job possessing the ball in the first half, with lots of shots within the box, but no goals made. The key player of the game in the first half was senior captain forward Rachel Spaziano. Spaziano stuck out a lot while Morgan was on offense, leading Morgan to score and controlling the ball very well against Coginchaug. She created several give-and-go combinations down the sidelines with the midfielders to get the ball in the box.
Spaziano had an incredible season to end her high school soccer career at Morgan, scoring 15 goals during the season.
“I’m so proud of this team for everything they have accomplished and making it this far. Even though it was not the ending we wanted, to be able to have this experience was incredible, and I’m so thankful for that,” said Spaziano.
Both teams came out in the second half with high energy, but Coginchaug overpowered Morgan to score, making the game 1-1. Coginchaug’s goal was from an offside 1v1 with goalie Lili Novicki. The refs did not call the offsides play so that led them to get the advantage of scoring. Offsides is when the opponent player is standing be hide the other team’s defense line. Even though Coginchaug scored to tie the game, Morgan did not lose their motivation and kept attempting to possess the ball as much as they could to score. “I am extremely proud of how hard we worked together until the very last minute. We used our team chemistry by connecting passes and doing what we have done all season.” said Junior Kate Gardner.
During the second half, there was a lot of back and forth with the opportunities on both sides to score. With eight minutes left in the game, Coginchaug had a scoring opportunity off a free kick right outside the box, which led Morgan to pack their defense. The free kick was caused by Morgan fouling a Coginchaug player. Thankfully, the ball did not find the net, landing past the left back goal post. As time ran out, the score stayed 1-1 which led to overtime with both teams being super competitive to get the ball in the net. During overtime, there were no major scoring opportunities from both teams. Throughout overtime, there were many handballs from both teams that were not called by the refs, which gave no team big advantages to score.
Despite two, 10-minute halves, neither Morgan nor Coginchaug scored, resulting in a penalty kick shoot-out. Morgan scored three PK’s against the Coginchaug goalie, and Coginchaug scored 5 PK’s against Morgan senior keeper, Lili Novicki. The game ended with Coginchaug winning the Class S State Championship for the 2024 season.
Morgan has not experienced heavy pressure from taking PK’s in a regular game all season. Leading up to the two tournaments, in the beginning of each practice, the 10 shooters would practice for 20 minutes on Novicki to get prepared. “Practicing our PK’s I think really helped us and I think it made us a little less worried about taking them if needed, which we had too. I also think it was good practice for our goalie, so she was ready as well.” said Passante.
A fan bus was provided for Morgan students to attend the state game, and 23 Morgan students chose to take the bus to support the athletes. Sophomore Trevor Powell attended the game on the fan bus and could feel the energy when stepping off the bus. “I was so excited to be able to attend the state game, so I could support my friends and support our school,” said Powell.
Out of the 22 games this season, the Morgan girls won 15 games, lost four, and had three tied games. Although the season came to an end, the team produced one of the most successful seasons on record. The expectations for the girls’ soccer team are very high every season. After the season ended, Assistant coach Bill Lindsey said, “I am extremely proud of the team and their success this year. But I was not surprised at all. This is the most talented team I have worked with in 8 years at Morgan, but more importantly it is the team with the best chemistry. They really play for one another, and you can see the love in everything they do.”
Junior starter Sadie Passante was very passionate all season and felt very motivated every game. “It was a very sad ending to a great season, but I am so proud of the team for how far we came and everything we accomplished together. Most of all, I will miss the seniors the most,” said Passante. Passante ended the season with 23 goals and brought the team a lot of success.
Although five seniors are graduating from the team, the other athletes are already looking forward to the 2025 season and will use this loss as motivation to make history next year. “Although we did get the final outcome we had hoped for, I hope we take how we are feeling and use it as fuel for next season.” said Junior Cora Deming. Cora has a lot of confidence that the team can perform just as good if not better than this past fall season. “Already with the immense talent we have on our team, my fellow seniors and I are excited and looking forward to leading the team and welcoming the incoming freshman.” said Deming.
