Montano's Four Goals Powers Avon Past East Granby

There’s an old adage in soccer that says that goal scorers aren’t made, they’re born.

Indeed, while many players may have the physical skill set necessary to put the ball in the back of the net, a true goal scorer also possesses a sporting assassin’s mentality who’s willing to drive a dagger in the hearts of their opponents’ collective spirits.

Avon High forward Andrew Montano is one such player, evinced by his four goals Tuesday afternoon in a 4-0 victory over East Granby High in East Granby.

It was a performance that left Falcons head coach Patrick Mulligan grinning from ear to ear.

“Wasn’t he on fire again?” Mulligan asked rhetorically. “He’s been taking it on himself and knocking it in. … He sees it - where to put pressure on an opponent, when to put pressure [on a defense], and how to put pressure [on a defense].”

And Montano scored in just about every fashion.

He put Avon (8-1-1) up 1-0 in the first half by out-hustling an East Granby defender and its goalkeeper, Tyler Fricke (10 saves), to the ball, flicking it into the net in the 26th minute.

Up to that point, East Granby (5-4-1) had done an admirable, if not stellar, job of slowing down an Avon High offense that had scored 48 goals in nine games going into Tuesday’s action.

“I thought that we did really well in keeping our composure,” East Granby head coach Chris Pettee said. “You can tell the difference between an experienced, fundamentally sound team and one that is more inexperienced.”

The Crusaders makeshift backline that included Sean Rosenberger, a central midfielder subbing in for injured Brian Watterlond, frustrated Avon’s high-octane attack for the better part of the first 40 minutes, as the Falcons went into halftime with just a 1-0 lead.

But Montano exploded for three goals - winning a 50/50 ball and firing a laser into the back of the net in the 52nd minute, breaking through the defensive line just over a minute later for his hat trick and nodding home his fourth in the 58th minute - to salt the game away.

While Montano was amazing, Mulligan was quick to point out that his teammates also had great games as well.

“He’s got quite a supporting cast,” said Mulligan, noting the play of Tyler Bonini, Conor Lanahan, Zac Cesaro and Michael Dorney.

“I call [Bonini] the pass master,” Mulligan said. “He doesn’t get the assist, but he makes the pass that sets up the assist. … He’s just a great passer of the ball.”

Cesaro and Dorney managed to clog the middle, slowing down a normally aggressive East Granby side, which left forward Andres Restrepo to take on two and, sometimes three, defenders when he managed to possess the ball.

Avon goalkeeper Alex Andrews made three saves to earn the clean sheet.

As for East Granby, Crusaders midfielder Ryan Aeschliman enjoyed a solid performance, nearly scoring in the second half on a hard shot that curled left of the goal.

“Andrew Nigro also did a phenomenal job at center mid,” Pettee said.

Avon is scheduled to face Ellington Thursday, Oct. 13 at 3:45 p.m., while East Granby is set to play Windsor Locks under the lights at 8 p.m.