Donovan West, Editor-in-Chief
@Dwest_courant
Boys Soccer saw their season end in the first round of the CIAC playoffs on Saturday, November 2, losing to the 6th-seeded Bunnell Bulldogs, 3-2. The 27th-seeded boys entered the game with hopes of it being the beginning of a deep run in the CIAC Class L tournament, but after falling short, their dreams of a Cinderella story will remain untold.
The game started off as a defensive battle, with senior captain and centerback Michael Gabriel making several key interceptions early on to spurn the Bulldogs’ attack. Great defense turned into offense for the Rams as they generated several promising chances in the opening minutes of the game. One of these chances was a free kick off the foot of Marco Tiganelli that ricocheted off of the post, one of four occurrences in the game where the woodwork denied the Rams. The defense could only hold on for so long, and Bunnell put two past senior captain Josef Gashi in the waning moments of the first half to enter the break up 2-0.
Entering the second half, the Rams continued to apply pressure and finally broke through when senior captain Will Hayes headed the ball into the back of the net. It seemed as if this goal had changed the flow of the game, but shortly after, a lightning-quick counterattack from Bunnell had the Rams staring into the same two-goal deficit they faced at halftime. Another goal from Will in the last minutes of the game gave the Rams one last breath of hope, but it was too little too late, and the Bulldogs came out victorious.
“It’s really sad to see our season end like this, but I’m proud of the way we came out and fought every day,” senior captain Rohan Shenoy said about the loss. “We couldn’t get it done this year, but the future of New Canaan Soccer is bright.”
