Going into Friday’s boys soccer state tournament action, there was still an
outside chance of an all-Mum City Class L state final on Nov. 23.
Bristol Eastern, the top seed, and Bristol Central,
No. 14, played in quarterfinal round matches. Unfortunately for the Lancers and Rams, the results didn’t come up in their favor.
Eastern suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss at Alumni Field to eight-seeded
Guilford, the SCC tournament champions. It was heartbreaking because Indians junior captain Aidan Buchanan scored on a loose ball in the box as time expired. It was heartbreaking because of the magical run that the Lancers had been on to that point. Eastern had faced 17 opponents leading into Friday’s quarterfinal, and none of those matches resulted in a loss (15-0-2). For the Lancers, the first loss was their only loss, and it was one that stung badly. It was the final match for Eastern seniors Jake Woznicki, Dante Costantiello, Drew Dauphinee, Patrick Regan, Jonathan Loja, Adam Poniatowski and Kyle Cyr. The Lancers finished with an overall record of 15-1-2.
“Dante Kyle Drew Jonathan Adam and Jake had a special season and a great
four years for the Lancers!” read a tweet on from John Stavens on the Bristol Eastern athletics account. “It was a pleasure to watch them as a fan. The skill was great but the effort and attitude was impressive.”
Central also lost, 1-0, in a match at sixth-seeded Wethersfield. The Rams
had reached the quarterfinal round with back-to-back 4-0 victories over No. 19 Bethel and No. 3 Prince/University. Giankarlos DeJesus scored in the second half for the Eagles for Friday’s lone goal. It was the final match for Central seniors Danny Gaudoin, Tyler Manzone, Dante Rivera, Diego Naranjo, Adam Jones, David Bowes, Kaan Tomak, Joshua Fiorito, Andrew Oren, Alex DeKow, Keegan Curtis, Adam Deville, Noman Chaudry and David Suazo.
