The Morgan Huskies boys varsity soccer team took another step forward in their championship dreams with a 10-0 win over the Portland Highlanders on Tuesday. Skies were clear as the game began. Andrew Randi scored a goal in the first 2 minutes. however Morgan slowed down later.Despite starting the game possessing the ball for the better portion of 10 minutes, they only came away with one goal.
Looking back at the start of the game, Coach Ross Demay said that they could have done a better job capitalizing on opportunities.
“We were missing opportunities and not finding good shots at times, not finding holes that we needed to at times, but obviously, it’s something to build on. We didn’t necessarily need it today, but it’s something we need for the better teams in getting into states.” said Coach Demay
The turning point of the game came thirteen minutes in when before the goal, there were thirteen minutes of missed chances.
Sophomore starting left back, Jay Scoppa said, “Jonny played an amazing game, scoring three times in the first half.” Another goal was made by Gutierrez with thirty-eight seconds left on the clock which got him his third goal and and hat trick. Gutierrez made three goals in the first half and was the leading scorer for the game.
Junior Captain Colten Landino said that they did a good job of keeping their heads in the right place. “Definitely not stooping down to any other level, playing our game, and only our game, if people were having an off day, you know, I tried to help them, saying you got this and supporting them.”
Morgan seems to have a good future with lots of young, talented players like freshman midfielder Rocco Passante and sophomore starting left back Jay Scoppa. But as for this season, Morgan has a lot of hype surrounding the team’s potential to go deep in the playoffs.
According to Coach Demay, Morgan has one of the best offenses in the entire state with returning players like senior captain Jonny Gutierrez who was elected for all New England and All State; as well as Senior Emilliano Miranda who was elected for All State and should be competing for a Shoreline Championship. Hopefully leading Morgan all the way and helping them bring one back to Clinton, CT.
Morgan is on a good path to bring home a shoreline championship. Left back, Jay Scoppa said, “The communication was better that game, I believe that we did a great job communicating and our team work was excellent.”
In the second half, Morgan started to empty their bench, putting in freshmen such as Rocco Passante; Landino said, “definitely, when our freshman, Rocco Passante, got two goals, you know, it just shows that we really, we really try to incorporate, like everybody in how we play and the team.”
In the second half, after 15 minutes without any goals scored, senior attacking midfielder Emiliano Miranda scored after taking the ball back and counter attacking from midfield, gaining Morgan their momentum back with 25 minutes left on the clock in the second half. Miranda scored again from outside the box less than two minutes later, with 23:26 left on the clock. The final score was 10-0, leaving the Huskies with a huge win and shutout.
Coach Ross Demay left the game with an eye on improvements saying “We were missing opportunities and not finding good shots at times, not finding holes that we needed to at times, but obviously, it’s something to build on. We didn’t necessarily need it today, but it’s something we need for the better teams in getting into states.” Said Coach Demay
