There were many, many tears shed by members of the Wolcott boys soccer team following the end of their season on Friday night at a cold and very blustery Joe Monroe Field. That’s what happens when you put all your heart into something with people you care about and you come up just short.
The final score Friday night was No. 24 Weston 2, No. 1 Wolcott 1 in two overtimes. What that score meant was the end of an era for the Eagles. It was the final game for 13 Wolcott seniors – Sam Berninger, Parker Zynda, Axel Kelsey, Alex Dias, Daniel Cleary, David Cardinale, Jonathan “JT” Plona, Logan Miklavzina, Nicolas Andrade, Mandjou Keita, Aaron Ehmer, Jackson Strileckis and Dean McDonald.
“With my son being a senior, I’ve been coaching and helping with these guys for, not the last four years. It’s literally been the last 12 years, so I’m just really proud of them,” Wolcott head coach Bryan Plona said. “They’ve done more for this program than any other class. They won their first NVL championship (in 2023), they were seeded No. 1 in the state, they’ve broken a million school records, and they left it all on the field. That’s what you want them to do, so I just tell them that I’m super proud of them, and that’s all I can say.”
Weston brought a possession style of soccer that included a physical edge. The Trojans earned their stripes in the rugged South-West Conference, which claims three of the 16 semifinalists who will play this week for spots in the finals at Hartford’s Trinity Health Stadium.
“We knew they were going to be physical, but I’m really proud of our guys,” Plona said. “They left it all on the field. We had a lot of injuries today, that didn’t help. Thomas got hurt, Logan was hurt, Axel was hurt, David got hurt. We had a lot of guys down.”
When Cardinale got hurt during overtime – he was unable to return – it was the hobbled Miklavzina who subbed in for him.
Wolcott did what it could, and it had the lead more than midway through the second half, thanks to a first half goal from sophomore sensation Tyson Brenes. Brenes scored when Cleary played a ball back into the defensive end after Weston unsuccessfully cleared a free kick by Cardinale.
The Eagles had the league for a pretty substantial period of time, but the consistent control of the ball by the Trojans threatened. Berninger was strong in goal as usual for Wolcott (10 saves), but Weston got its equalizer with just over 17 minutes to play in regulation on a shot by junior Kaan Doganasksoy. He would be heard from again later.
“We knew they were good up the middle. They like to make combo passes and keep the ball, and they did,” Plona said.
The teams remained scoreless through the rest of regulation and the first 10-minute overtime. With just 1:03 gone in the second overtime, however, Doganasksoy got his left foot on a loose ball in the box and flicked it into the goal. Wolcott never really got a good chance for an equalizer, and an incredible season ended in heartache. The 2024 Eagles finished with a record of 15-4-1.
GALLERY: Here are my photos from Friday night’s game.
