Soccer: South Windsor Bounces Back Against East Hartford

Just one day after suffering a difficult 2-0 defeat at the hands of Glastonbury High, the South Windsor High boys soccer team had its best practice of the year.

“We took a big step forward on Tuesday,” head coach Dave St. Jean said. “The kids spent some time talking about some things that are important to them. They brought it [Tuesday].”

The Bobcats took what St. Jean said was another “small step” forward Wednesday with a 5-1 victory over East Hartford at home.

“We talked a little bit about being resilient, a little bit more about being mentally tough, after not our best performance in those areas on Monday,” St. Jean said.

South Windsor’s mental toughness was challenged in the early going Wednesday.

Indeed, after allowing an own-goal off Mauricio Salazar’s ball into the box in the 17th minute, the Bobcats scored five consecutive goals, including three in the second half, to hand the Hornets their seventh straight loss against no victories.

Christian Lopes led the Bobcats with two goals, while Andrew Smith, Zachary Heckt and Casey McAndrew each scored to help South Windsor to improve its record to 5-1-1.

Despite the loss, East Hartford head coach Brendan Boyd, acknowledging South Windsor’s advantage, said he was pleased with his side’s performance.

“There’s only so many stones you can throw at a glass before the window breaks,” he said. “We’re young and I play pretty much 11 guys. This is how the season’s gone. Usually we’re in the game in the first half, one goal we kind of let down. …

“We started three freshmen and a lot of kids coming in from different countries. It’s tough to get them to mesh. In the second half of the season, it’s going to be a different story.”

Girls win 5-0

The South Windsor High girls soccer team also returned to form after a tough defeat to Glastonbury, winning 5-0 over East Hartford Wednesday night.

Christine Allard had 3 goals and 1 assist; Amy McConnell had 2 goals and 2 assists; Auna Harvey had 1 assist. Goalkeeper Hanna Basile had 2 saves for South Windsor to earn the clean sheet.

East Hartford goalie Cassie Quattropani made 15 saves in the loss.

The Bobcats face a tough test Friday against Tolland, which is undefeated and ranked in the top 5 of the state for Class M/S.