Granby Boys Soccer Advances to Class M Semis

Don’t call the boys soccer team’s run to the state Class M semifinals “surprising” or “unexpected.”

It’s just not true.

No, the Bears, despite their four losses, 17th seed and three postseason road victories, aren’t really so much a Cinderella story than they are a product of a tough schedule coming out of the North Central Connecticut Conference.

Indeed, Granby Memorial, which struggled to score in the first quarter of its schedule, eventually notched regular-season victories over Somers and Suffield, and earned a draw against Avon. All three of those teams are in their respective state tournament semifinals as well.

“We’ve gotten things figured out [on the offensive end],” Granby Memorial head coach Dave Emery said on the phone Thursday, one day after the Bears defeated No. 9 Holy Cross-Waterbury 4-2 in the Class M quarterfinals at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury. “It was clear we had the talent. We just needed to find the combinations in the right spots. Credit the players for rolling with the variations.”

The end result has been was four goals scored on a rainy night that made the artificial turf slick and defending more difficult.

Danny Clark, Mike Noyes, Brent Goldman and Devin Smith scored goals in the victory, as the Bears (11-4-3) advanced to play No. 4 Montville (17-2) on Saturday at a time and place to be determined.

While the goal scorers grab most of the attention, Emery credited the play of junior central midfielder Peter Brodeur as a key reason behind the Bears’ resurgence.

“He is a tremendous player,” said Emery, noting that Brodeur not only sets the table on offense, he also plays a “rugged” defense that is atypical of a player who likes to push forward. “He played 80 minutes in midfield against [No. 1] Woodland, and it was as fine a game as I have seen, and we’ve had some tremendous midfielders [in the past]. It was very impressive.”

It doesn't hurt, either, to have an experienced, athletic goalkeeper like David Gottschalk, whose incredible diving save against No. 1 Woodland on Monday has quickly become the stuff of local legend.

Emery also said that he may have shortchanged his team in one respect at the beginning of the season.

“I maybe underestimated the mental aspect of the game,” he said. “They’re an intelligent bunch. They’re flexible. … It’s been a heck of a ride. We just want to keep it going.”

So now the only thing standing in the way of an appearance in the finals is Montville, a team that Granby Memorial hasn’t faced much in the past, according to Emery.

“They’re another quality team,” Emery said. “The game will likely come down to who makes a couple of mistakes. By the time you get to the semifinals, your opposition is going to be quality at that point in the tournament.”