Yesterday, on Tuesday, November 10th, the Masuk Girls Soccer team continued their long-standing bid to win back-to-back state championships. Compared to Friday’s opponents, #10 Rocky Hill put up a stronger fight, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Panthers as they won 3-1. The Panthers came into the game with a 14-3-3 record against Rocky Hill’s 7-5-4.
The Panthers took the lead early in the game with sophomore Olivia Fanning scoring three minutes after the start of the first half, followed by a second goal with 28 minutes in by junior Tiny Fabryk. Incredibly, both Fanning and Fabryk assisted each other’s goals. The team continued to utilize plays through the middle and up the sides, as Sophomores Elena Granata and Claire Fulchino made great runs in attempts to secure the ball and send it to the middle.
Rocky Hill certainly didn’t just roll over, though. Despite Masuk’s dominance, they managed to earn many free kicks and create plays that could have been game changers, but thankfully led to nothing. Masuk ended up playing back to their goal a few times, something that did not occur in the entire 90 minutes of last week’s game, and when the ball did reach that area, it was sent back out by senior goalie Callie Rubin. While Masuk did deal with challenges in every area of the field, there was one thing that set them apart from their competition: their drive to get the ball.
The entire game, no matter where the ball was, Masuk stepped. They were on the ball at all times; they either got to it first or made sure they were the next to have it, something that clearly played a huge part in their success in this game. The kind of energy they put into their possession was a key factor in their ability to move the ball up the field and make plays into the box.
Another important piece of Masuk’s play was once again their communication. Even without speaking, they still knew what they had to do, where to go, and who they were with. At the high school level, that ability is absolutely crucial to any winning play, and based on the score, Masuk has proved they are not afraid to go after the ball.
As with all halftimes, the coaches-this time including assistant coaches Alex Cota and Giovanni Bacchio- took the time to go over important details of the game.
“Just playing our game, making sure we went out in the second half just as strong as we did in the first half. Continuing to make big switches and just utilize our offense because they’ve been playing so well,” said Head Coach Katy Kreiner.
While Masuk had little to no free kicks given in their favor, they proved that they didn’t need it with Fanning scoring again around the 28-minute mark of the second half. The second half also saw an increase in physicality from both teams, with Rocky Hill in a race against time to score at least an equalizer.
“I was very, very happy tonight. Rocky Hill is a much stronger competitor. We played them last year in the semifinals, but the girls came out super strong. Scored in the first three minutes, which is just what we needed to do, and executed there and then, just stayed strong the whole game, so I’m very happy,” said Kreiner.
Masuk is set to play Conference Rival Pomperaug in Southbury on Friday, November 13th at 2:00. Pomperaug also won their game yesterday against Bethel. The momentum the team has shown over the course of the season and in these first few championship games should tell everyone that they are prepared to win.
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