New Canaan outlasts Avon, 1-0
to capture Class L championship
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Collinsville Press.com
WATERBURY, Nov. 21 – It’s been a few years since the Avon High girls soccer team took some hits on the field.
For the previous three seasons, the Falcons had few challenges, winning 44 games, losing one and tying three in the NCCC, capturing two league championships and earning three straight semifinals berths in the CIAC tournament.
This year was different. With only four starters returning, a new identity needed to be forged. And it took some time. Suffield took advantage by sweeping a pair of games from Avon by a combined score of 7-0, including a 5-0 loss in the season opening contest. Injuries also challenged the Falcons.
Avon responded by continuing to work hard. “We stuck with everything all season long,” long-time coach Jim Murray said. “We had some adversity. But we kept moving forward and here we are in the finals.”
The Falcons won eight straight games to earn a spot in the Class L championship game against New Canaan. Avon earned its first berth in the finals since 2003 with four one-goal victories against defending champion Wilton, last year’s runnerup (Joel Barlow) and two teams that were undefeated entering the tournament (Berlin and RHAM).
However, there was no fairy tale finish in the championship game. No. 6 New Canaan used its skill and talent to limit Avon’s offensive chances in a 1-0 victory at Municipal Stadium.
New Canaan’s Caroline Murray slipped and lost the ball in the corner to Avon’s Lyndsey McNamara. But Murray scrambled to her feet, regained the ball from McNamara and turned quickly to fire a cross into the air toward the goal.
New Canaan senior Liz Bruno, one of the shorter players on the Ram squad, was open near the near post. She got her head on the ball and directed it into the net with 19:51 remaining for the game-winner. Avon’s freshman goalie Kaylan Conrad (11 saves) had no chance.
“Unfortunately, Caroline Murray got open and she had a nice cross,” Avon’s Murray said. “New Canaan was phenomenal in the air and we that coming in. We just couldn’t match them on that. Their headers and first touches (on the ball) were phenomenal. We played hard and gave it our best shot.”
New Canaan (19-1-3) outshot Avon by a 15-5 margin but the Falcons had a few opportunities.
With 23:46 remaining, Avon’s J.J. Gower raced after a loose ball and headed the ball toward the net. New Canaan’s sophomore goalie Holly Burwick deflected the ball, collided with Gower and fell to the turf. Lying on her side, she made a save on the shot from Katie Zambrano.
Burwick lay on the turf for a few minutes afterward to shake off the effects of a bruise or a charley horse from the collision.
Molly Brown had a nice shot into the box with 11:17 remaining but Burwick (5 saves) was able to gobble it up. With 4:37 remaining, Zambrano made a nice cross into the box for Gower, whose initial shot was deflected by Burwick. It went right back to Gower, whose shot sailed just over the top of the goal.
Burwick made another great save with 2:20 remaining on a shot from Sarah Gerali.
A reporter asked Murray what more could he expect from his team. “I can’t ask any more,” he said. “I’m so proud of them. We’re going to take a group photo with this trophy because it is like first place for us. We worked so hard to get here. Not many teams make it to the finals like we did. I’m so proud of the way we played.”
The reporter continued and asked what he said to his team after the final whistle. Murray paused. And his emotions bubbled to the surface.
“I’m very proud of the way they played,” he said, fighting back a tear and trying to keep his voice from breaking. “They’re a great group of girls. It was a great effort on their part.”
He smiled. It was time to get back with his team and get that photo.
Previous coverage
Semifinal
Avon 2, RHAM 1
MIDDLETOWN, Nov. 18 – After four straight years in the semifinals, Avon is going to the state championship game. Senior J.J. Gower ripped a pair of second half goals to lead No. 8 Avon past RHAM, 2-1 on Tuesday night at Middletown High. Avon (16-3-1) has earned four one-goal decisions. They’ll face New Canaan in the Class L finals. The Rams blanked Masuk on Wednesday, 3-0. It’s Avon’s first trip to the finals since 2003 .
“This was kind of rebuilding year for us, but from Day 1 they’ve done an outstanding job developing, every practice and every game,” Avon coach Jim Murray told the Manchester Journal Inquirer. “We emphasized keep working, keep building, and good things would happen.”
Gower gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead, taking an assist from Grace Lennon and ripping a shot from 20 yards away with 26:52 left in the game. She made it 2-0 with another blast from 25 yards away with 11:46 remaining. “This whole season people were talking us down, that we weren’t good enough and we couldn’t do it,” Gower told the Journal Inquirer. “We wanted to prove to everyone and ourselves that we are good.” Gower has scored a team-leading 17 goals for the Falcons, who have won eight straight since dropping a 2-1 decision to Ellington on Oct. 23.
2nd round
Avon 1, Joel Barlow 0
AVON, Nov. 11 – There are no more easy matches left on the schedule for Avon. The No. 8 Falcons (14-3-1) moved into the Class L quarterfinals with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over No. 9 Joel Barlow at Fisher Meadow on Wednesday. Sophomore Erica Primovic had the game-winning goal with 9:05 left in the first half. Her left-footed shot from just inside the top of the penalty box slipped to the right of Barlow goalie Jessica Khamarji.
Avon freshman goalie Kaylan Conrad made a game-saving save with 24 minutes left in the game. Barlow’s Taylor Auger ripped a rising shot that Conrad tipped up in the air. The ball hit the top of the cross bar and bounced into the air. Conrad caught the ball for the save.
Class L championship preview
Avon plays Rams with a state title on the line
WATERBURY, Nov. 20 – The regular season was a bit different for the Avon High girls soccer team this year. In the previous three years, the Falcons won 44 games, lost just one and tied three. This year, Avon lost three games and was outscored 7-0 in a pair of losses to NCCC champion Suffield.
But the No. 8 Falcons (16-3-1) have ripped off eight straight wins including four one-goal victories in a row to earn a chance to play for the Class L state championship Saturday at 3 p.m. at Waterbury’s Municipal Stadium against No. 6 New Canaan (18-1-3), the FCIAC co-champions.
On Tuesday, Avon outlasted RHAM, 2-1 to earn its first trip to the finals since 2003. “This was kind of rebuilding year for us, but from Day 1 they’ve done an outstanding job developing, every practice and every game,” Avon coach Jim Murray told the Manchester Journal Inquirer. “We emphasized keep working, keep building, and good things would happen.”
Senior J.J. Gower had two goals for Avon in the game, scoring her first goal with 26:52 left in the game and adding an insurance goal with 11:46 remaining. “This whole season people were talking us down, that we weren’t good enough and we couldn’t do it,” Gower told the Journal Inquirer. “We wanted to prove to everyone and ourselves that we are good.” Gower has scored a team-leading 17 goals for the Falcons.
New Canaan shutout Masuk on Wednesday, 3-0, to return the finals for the first time since 2004, when they beat Suffield. Three Ram players had goals and New Canaan posted its sixth shutout in seven postseason games.
“Masuk showed early on they’re a capable team if you give them space and time,” New Canaan coach Kirk Bamford told the New Canaan Advertiser. “But my girls have shown time again that when they face teams that you think might be a bit too much, they come out and play out of their skin.”
“They’ve had a great season,” Bamford told the Advertiser regarding Avon. “They beat a lot of teams so they’ve obviously got something going for them. But the final is the final. Records go out the window and it’s just down to how you turn up that day. The girls have applied themselves to every situation enormously well and I just hope we can take that next step and do it on Saturday.”
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