Trumbull Boys Soccer Defeats Norwalk 3-1 To Advance To Class LL State Finals

The Trumbull boys soccer team completed an impressive daily double for the school on Saturday.

One day after the Trumbull girls soccer team punched its ticket to the state final, the boys followed suit, defeating No. 3 seed Norwalk 3-1 in the Class LL semifinals at Ken Strong Stadium.

Yale-bound Keith Bond had a goal and an assist for the seventh-seeded Eagles, who will take on top seed Pomperaug next weekend in their first finals appearance in school history. The Panthers advanced with a 2-1 overtime win over Guilford on Saturday, scoring the winning goal with 26 seconds remaining.

Bond also was involved in the play that set up Shay Neary's penalty-kick goal with 16:35 remaining in the second half that put away the contest.

The speedy Bond was tripped in the box and Neary cashed in, drilling a shot inside the far post to restore the Eagles' two-goal advantage.

"That was a huge goal," Bond said. "Right after we scored the second goal they were kind of killing us all the way up to that point. Getting that two-goal lead really put the nail in the coffin."

Trumbull, which defeated Staples earlier this month to win its first outright FCIAC championship, also continued its success over Norwalk (16-3-2). Two of the Bears' three losses this season came to the Eagles (18-1-4).

"I knew the third goal would be the dagger," Trumbull coach Sebastian Gangemi said. "I knew the third goal would be everything to them. It would really demoralize them."

The Eagles stunned the Bears by scoring twice in the first six minutes. Bond set an early tone, sliding the ball inside the far post after a strong run
down the right wing to give Trumbull the lead just 2:19 into the contest. Zachary Chase made it a two-goal game when he converted Bond's cross at 6:18.

Bond was asked if he thought the Eagles caught the Bears off guard by scoring the two quick goals.

"We caught ourselves our guard," he said. "We didn't even expect to be up two goals in the first six minutes." 

Faced with an early 2-0 deficit, the Bears regrouped and applied considerable pressure. After a great move, Mike Broncati had a chance to halve the deficit but his shot from close range hit the right post.
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"Sometimes it's a cruel game," Norwalk coach Chris Laughton said. "I thought we had some pretty good opportunities in the first half. They made the most of their chances. I thought we controlled a lot of the play. They were able to put the ball in the back of the net and we weren't able to that enough. Unfortunately, we gave them two goals that first six minutes."

Trumbull goalkeeper Nick Weinstein was sharp with seven saves in the first half, which ended with the Eagles still up 2-0.

"They definitely reacted well to (the deficit)," Bond added. "They started moving the ball well. We adjusted to that, too, so give the defense some props."

Norwalk continued to press in the second half, and Nicholas Zuniga converted a free kick to finally get the Bears on the board with 25:17 left in the second half.

Norwalk came close to equalizing, but Neary's goal killed the Bears' momentum.

"I really felt the momentum was changing," Laughton said. "We dug ourselves an early hole. They came out and put two balls in the ball of the net and we weren't able to respond."

When the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Eagles could start thinging about the finals.

"Trumbull is here," Gangemi said. "We're going to try out best for the club, for the school and for the town."

"We broke the school win record," Bond added. "No team had been past the quarterfinals for us so we're just trying to erase as many records as he can and hopefully win a state championship."