Eagles Soccer Makes Tourney Run

Fitch traveled to Wethersfield as heavy underdogs for their Class L first round match and almost drew first blood, but their first shot on goal was just off the mark and sailed high.

Less than two minutes later, Wethersfield had scored twice and cruised the rest of the way to a 4-1 victory over the visitors from Groton.

Kenan Mujic and Max Karkos each netted two goals for the #7-seed Eagles, who ended the season for the #26 Falcons on a damp evening on Cottone Field last Tuesday.

Unlike in recent seasons when prolific point producers Lukas Szymecki and Brendan Barry carried the scoring load, it has been a committee that has supplied the offensive this fall.

“This year we have three guys, Dino [Alihodzic], Kenan and Max that have 12 or more goals each after today, so it’s spread out a little bit more,” said head coach Rob Jachym, who was without the services of Alihodzic for the opening-round victory, “It’s good and it’s bad. Sometime you want that superstar to step up and get it done, but this year different guys have stepped up in different games. They’ve been lifting each other up. If Dino is a little off, Kenan kicks one in and Max is always dangerous with his speed.”

Mujic got the tourney party started, scoring at the 31:29 mark of the first half on an assist from Karkos.

Less than a minute later, Karkos added his own goal on a header.

Fitch’s Tyler Cady narrowed the margin to a single score, but Mujic quickly added his second and Karkos finished off the scoring with 1:13 left in the first half.

“Even at 3-1 it didn’t feel comfortable because #7, Tyler, is so dangerous. We scored two goals in two minutes and there was no reason they couldn’t,” Jachym said of the team’s mindset, “They’re high school kids and some of them get nervous when it’s a close game, but once we got that fourth one the coaching staff took a sigh of relief on the sideline.”

Junior Riley Carlson assisted on two of the goals, setting up Karkos on his first and Mujic on his second.

“Riley stepped in as a center back this year because Brendon Mansaku was coming back from ACL injury, so he played a little deeper and did a real solid job for us,” Jachym said of Carlson, who changed positions after the return of Mansaku, “The team needed him to push up a little bit and he’s done really well with that too. He’s grown a lot in one year. He’s shown a lot of maturity on the field and looking ahead he’s going to have a huge year for us next year.”

Jachym’s defense polished off the victory with a flawless second half.

Senior goalie Mark Accarpio was again solid in net and the Eagle defenders thwarted every Fitch attack over the final 40 minutes.

“Mark has done great, last year he split games and this year he knows it’s his position,” the veteran coach said of Accarpio, who shared the goaltending duties with Enrico Gionfriddo in 2017, “He’s confident because the guys in front on him are confident and we’re playing more balls back to him. Early on last year his footwork was a little off but now we feel comfortable playing back to him and that he’ll be able to play the ball forward.”

Mansaku, Rei Koni, Michael Manousos, Christopher Scacca and others have solidified a defensive unit that registered six shutouts in the regular season.

“The best way I can put it is that our defense has matured,” stated a smiling Jachym, “We knew Brendon was going to come back eventually, so now with him back we have the lineup that we wanted. Now we’ve settled in a little bit, the guys know their roles. The group is comfortable together now and they know each other and they know Mark’s strengths and weaknesses. Brendon and Rei have helped him along.”

Late in regulation, Accarpio sustained an injury and versatile team player Dante Burgos finished the job in goal.

“We had used Dante in goal for the last ten minutes against Newington, just to get his feet wet. We’re always preparing ahead just in case someone gets hurt, to have a backup plan.”

With a comfortable lead, Jachym was able to rest some of his starters early in the second half, keeping his players fresh for their round-two tilt with Hartford Public. It was a rematch of the regular-season finale when the Eagles and the Owls from the capital city came to a 1-1 draw on Oct 30.

The rematch wasn’t as competitive as the Eagles blanked the Owls 3-0 last Thursday at WHS, earning a trip for the quarterfinals round where they again were victorious by the same 3-0 score on the road at Weston last Saturday.

 
The Starting Five: Local Athletes of the Week

Ethan Arcata- Rocky Hill (Cross Country): Arcata ran one of the fastest times ever recorded among Rocky Hill athletes at the Class M state meet at Wickham Park. The junior finished the state meet in sixth place with a time of 16:33, qualifying him for the State Open, where he again performed well. His efforts this fall earned him all-conference and all-state honors.

Reagon Pelton-Newington (Soccer): Pelton scored the go-ahead goal in the Indians second round Class L match again Masuk. Newington would eventually lose the game 4-3 in overtime, but Pelton had a productive junior season for an Indians team that won 11 games, including a 3-1 victory over Guilford in the opening round of the tourney. 

JJ Tracy- Cromwell (Soccer): Tracy tallied a first-half hat trick during the Panthers 5-1 victory over Thomaston in the first round of the Class S tournament. In the second round, the senior also assisted on a goal during a 2-1 win over Lyman Memorial. Teammate and fellow senior Nate Sousa added four goals in the two tourney wins. 

Mitchell Quadrato- Wethersfield (Football): Quadrato has been a quarterback’s worst nightmare this season and last Friday he had a season-high four sacks, helping the Eagles blank Northwest Catholic 33-0. The senior also shined on the offensive side, scoring from 24 yards out on the ground as Wethersfield improved to 6-3.

Kenny Fountain- Middletown (Football): Fountain intercepted a pass, knocked down three others, and helped the Middletown defense make a thrilling last-second stand during a 21-18 road win at Platt. The junior also made an impact offensively, nabbing three passes for 69 yards and a score as the Blue Dragons improved to 8-0.
 

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