Bobcats Eliminated in Tourney, Seniors Leave Legacy

Senior captain Dante Ricci controls the ball during the Bobcats quarterfinals loss to Cromwell at Bacon Academy on Nov. 11.

Playing on a dreary, damp afternoon Bacon Academy High School, the Bobcats boys’ soccer season came to an end after the team fell to visiting Cromwell 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Class M tournament on Nov. 11.

Cromwell senior captain Jacob Salafia scored a goal less than three minutes into the game to give the Panthers a lead they would not relinquish.

Salafia scored again midway through the first half and Jack Wood added an insurance goal in the 67th minute. 

“We knew how they played and we were prepared, but we didn't execute. They executed their plan a little better than we did,” Bacon Academy head coach Skip Starks said following the defeat. “No excuses; they made a couple of opportunities go in and we did not.”

Stark’s Bobcats had several scoring opportunities in the first half and more chances in the second half, but all the shot attempts were either off the mark or saved by Cromwell’s standout goalie Thomas Garcia. 

Following Salafia’s first goal, Bacon had the next seven shot attempts with senior captains Nico Matteucci and Keegan Appleby each shooting twice on goal. 

Bacon also had five of the first six shots in the second half with senior Steven Laliberte firing two shots that were both saved by Garcia. Laliberte also had a shot hit off the post with 3:20 left in regulation. 

The elimination game ended the high school careers for eight influential seniors, who Starks said have left a legacy that will go beyond this season.  

“This senior class has turned the program around,” stated Starks. “Their ability to bring the younger guys along has been unsurpassed by any senior class ever. We are now poised for next year and the year after. We’ll be standing on their shoulders for a bit.”

When the seniors were freshmen in 2019, the program was in the middle of a coaching transition and won four games, missing the state tournament. As sophomores, the team won three games during a COVID shortened season.  

Starks said the Class of 2023 resiliently pushed through the rough start and began to hit their stride as juniors.  

Over the last two seasons, the team won 26 games, including three in the state tournament. 

This fall the team won 14 games, most notably knocking off Stonington in the second round of the state tourney on Nov. 9. Stonington was the two-time defending Class M state champion and had previously eliminated the Bobcats from the state tourney a year ago and the Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament this fall. 

Bacon got revenge in the semifinal triumph in November, getting a goal from Colby Butterfield and a game-winning goal from Tyler Pulse to end Stonington’s two-year reign.    

Starks said that the team’s morale was “at an all-time high” following the victory over Stonington, adding, “The boys have been clicking quite well and not just with soccer. We have great leadership on this team.”

The team’s motto this fall was ‘SideB4Self’ and Starks said the entire team bought into the slogan, adding, “We support each other through thick and thin.”

On the field the Bobcats were dynamic too with six of the eight seniors making All-ECC.  

Matteucci, Appleby, Laliberte, Ian Sargent, Dante Ricci, and goalie Evan St. Louis earned all-conference, while Starks was named the ECC Division II Coach of the Year. 

Starks noted that his award was a reflection of the players, crediting them for the success this fall.      

​“I told them there is no reason for them to hang their heads,” Starks said of his message to the team after the disappointing loss. “I am proud of them. I know they are upset about today, but we’ll get together again another time and celebrate what we did do.”
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