Battle-Tested Terriers Eye Postseason

Rocky Hill’s Danny Roach competes with RHAM’s Nicholas Chmielewski for the ball during the Terriers 1-0 win over Oct. 6.

Paul Horta is in his fourth season on the sidelines for the Rocky Hill boys soccer team, coaching the current crop of seniors since they first stepped foot onto McVicar Field. 

The strong bond between coach and players is paying dividends this season as the Terriers have posted a 5-3-3 record against a scheduled loaded with the premiere teams in the state.

With the state tournament right around the corner, Horta likes how his team has responded against the elite competition.

“I am humbled and privileged to be coaching these kids, because they are unselfish,” Horta said of his 2023 squad. “We circled this as the year when it all came together.”

On Oct. 6 the Terriers tallied a defining conference victory, defeating RHAM 1-0 at McVicar Field in what turned out to be a nail-biting battle for 80 minutes. 

In the 57th minute, Noah Kazmierczak broke a scoreless tie when senior captain David Czubat fired a long shot that slipped through the hands of RHAM goalie TJ Machowski before Kazmierczak hammered it home. 

“I was trying to put it near the post,” Czubat said of the play. “I was just trying to get someone to get a hit on it.”
Senior goalie Kyle Demarest preserved the shutout by making a couple of key saves down the stretch. 

Horta called Demarest “a great kid” that would do anything to help the team, noting that Demarest was a former field player that shifted to keeper. 

The win over RHAM was the Terriers third straight, also beating Hartford public (7-0) on Sept. 29 and Lewis Mills (3-2) on Oct. 3. 

With seven senior starters, Horta said the Class M Terriers have been competitive in every game with their only losses coming to Class LL powerhouses Hall, Glastonbury, and Farmington. 

Because of the team’s success the last couple of seasons, Rocky Hill was moved up to tier one in the Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) and have went toe-to-toe with the conference powerhouses, which Horta has welcomed. 

“This team’s character is great,” added Horta. “They’ve played hard in every game.”

Horta is leaning on what he called a “senior-laden” team, with all levels of the field littered with the class of 2024 players.

It is also a defensive heavy team with Czubat and fellow senior captain Jaiden Daigle starring as center backs, helping protect the backend with Demarest. 

“In my opinion, David and Jaiden are as good as any two center backs in the state. I will go to battle with them any time.” Horta said of his defensive captains, who each earned all-conference as juniors last fall. “They have played every single game in high school. It’s been building and every year we’ve gotten more competitive with good teams.”

Czubat said that because of the experience from the last couple of years, the team hit the ground running this fall. 

“We’ve been working hard in practice and now we’re playing much better as a team and getting those results,” added Czubat. “Our chemistry is very good.”

Senior forward Jason Nadeau is also back following an all-conference junior season, leading an offense that is getting timely goals in crucial moments.

Last Tuesday, the Terriers defeated Newington 2-1, earning their second victory against the Nor’easter this fall. 

The program last won a state championship in 1999 and Horta said the players know the task at hand, which is to compete at the highest level once the state tournament starts next month.

“We need everybody in order to do great things that haven’t been done here in 20 or so years,” added Horta. “We have a chance, and that’s all we want is a chance.” 

Senior captain David Czubat boots the ball as senior goalie Kyle Demarest looks on.