East Granby Ousted by Litchfield 4-2 in Quarters

Yes, the boys soccer team’s 4-2 loss to Litchfield in the state Class S quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon stung.

The sixth-seeded Crusaders had visions of a possible state title before running into a quick, opportunistic Cowboys side that overcame an early one-goal deficit with four straight goals - three in the first half - to salt the game away.

But to focus just on the tournament loss would be to ignore the bigger picture: the Crusaders (11-5-1) enjoyed the best season in the history of the boys soccer program, according to head coach Chris Pettee.

“I’m just proud of them,” Pettee said. “This is how the tournament goes. We saw it in the game on Monday, where we might not have been the better team, but we did what we needed to do. But today we came up short.”

Slippery field conditions from Wednesday’s heavy rains coupled with No. 14 Litchfield’s blinding team speed conspired to end East Granby’s season, as the Crusaders defenders oftentimes had to provide the Cowboys’ forwards with too much of a cushion to operate just to keep the strikers in front of them.

“There were some mistakes and poor clearances,” Pettee said. “When the going was our way and we possessed the ball, they switched and they put a senior on one of our guys and he cleared the ball.”

The Crusaders got off to a roaring start, as Andres Restrepo knocked a loose ball into an open net just 23 seconds into the match after Andrew Nigro collided with Cowboys’ goalie Zach Crane.

It was a moment of great concern for Litchfield head coach Rob Andrulis, whose team has seen its share of ups and downs in compiling a 10-6-2 record with Thursday’s victory.

“We have struggled this year at times defensively … we’ve had some trouble in giving up early goals,” Andrulis said. “I said, ‘If the character of the team shows up and we deal with it, we’ll be all right.’”

Indeed, the Cowboys responded with three first-half goals from Nick Hula (7th minute),  Ryan Pickett (19th minute) and Spencer Persechino (30th minute) to build a 3-1 halftime advantage.

“We finished our chances; they kind of possessed it better than us in the midfield in the first half, even though we had three goals,” Andrulis said. “I wasn’t happy with the way they were counterattacking us.”
East Granby goalie Tyler Fricke (11 saves) was peppered with shots throughout the game, and Hula appeared to put the game out of reach in the 48th minute when he scored to give Litchfield a 4-1 advantage.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the rout. East Granby dug in and made an all-out, last-ditch push to extend its season, particularly in the last 20 minutes.

The Crusaders were rewarded when Noah Fersch converted in the 57th minute off a pass from Restrepo to make the game 4-2.

East Granby had several opportunities to pull within a goal, but the finish the Crusaders sought never materialized.

“We fought hard for the last 20 minutes,” Pettee said. “It was the kind of effort I had hoped we would have shown for 80, we really played in the last 20. But it’s a tournament. You’re not going to get blown out, and the games are tough. The other team just won.”

And with that, East Granby bade farewell to its three seniors, midfielder Ryan Aeschliman, sweeper Brian Watterlond and midfielder Sean Rosenberger, all of whom, collectively, formed the team’s heart and soul.

“I’ve had them for four years and they’re very good guys who just played really hard,” Pettee said. “They do everything you possibly could ask of them. I feel bad that we just fell a little short. The great news is, we’ve got a chance to do even better next year. This one stings, but I can’t help but be proud of what these guys have accomplished all season long.”