Newington girls’ soccer entered Cottone Field at WHS undefeated and after 80 minutes of a defensive slugfest they exited with their first loss of the season, a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Eagles last Tuesday.
Annie Klementon scored the game’s only goal at the 18th minute of the second half when she sailed a kick above the defense and just over the outstretched hands of freshman goalie Ella DePase, scoring from 90 feet away. “Give {Wethersfield} credit, they worked hard defensively and they were first to the ball. From the start of the game it was obvious that they wanted it more than us,” said Newington coach Adam Wilkinson, “They were quicker to the ball and then when we settled down our decision making was off. We made some poor decisions, technique let us down, we just didn’t execute. We have a very bad day at the office.” Wethersfield first-year head coach Tony Leone said his team had the right mindset prior to the game, “We were coming off a disappointing game, against a very good Southington team no less, but we were still disappointed that we didn’t perform as well as we thought we could have. We had a lot that we could use to motivate us, and it’s a conference game.” Leone is very familiar with the rivalry, having previously coached girls’ varsity soccer at NHS. The two head coaches go back 20 years, having coach in the same communities and coaching for the same club team. Wilkinson, who is a Wethersfield resident, also has a daughter, Cam Wilkinson, who is a sophomore playing for Leone on the varsity team at WHS. Klementon’s goal, which was her sixth of the season, was the difference maker. She and her twin sister, Emma Klementon, have helped the Eagles right the ship after dropping their first two games this fall. “Emma unfortunately is coming off an injury that she had earlier in the season and she’s finally starting to get out of it and Annie has been a regular starter for us. I’ve been trying to find where she can help us the most and she’s starting to settle in as an attacking-mid, and today she gets to score that big goal. She’ll have some bragging rights between her and her sister,” joked Leone, who also has a second set of twins, Gabriela and Victoria Villagra, on his roster, “They’re very technical. They’re year-round soccer players, so they’re around the game a lot. Obviously being sisters, they’ve played together for years and they have that little bit of a connection that I have nothing to do with.” Junior Ava Bielenda earned the win in goal, slowing down a Newington attack that had scored at least three goals in each of their first five contests. Bielenda has continued to battle freshman Vanessa Venditti for the permanent starting position between the pipes. “Neither of them has really come to me and said I want the spot. It’s driving them crazy, it’s driving me crazy, it’s driving their teammates crazy. Vanessa had a great game against Southington, none of the goals were hers and she made some great saves. One of Ava’s not as confident areas is coming out and picking up those balls and today she had a lot of those and dealt with them very well. If you stay glued to your line those are breakaways, so she dealt with those really well and I’m proud of her.” Other than Klementon’s goal, DePase was flawless in goal for Newington. She too has been splitting time with fellow goaltender Brianna Norton. The pair of goalies had shutout their previous four opponents prior to the Wethersfield game. “I don’t have a #1 and #2 right now. They’re just both different kinds of keepers. We’ve been very good defensively and I thought we were good defensively tonight,” said Wilkinson, who wasn’t sure what to expect from the team prior to the season, “I didn’t know what the goalkeeper situation was going to be, so that’s was a big question mark, but as the preseason went on I could feel there was a balance to the team and they bought into the system. A lot of kids have been with me for a long time, they play club for me. We’ve also brought in some of the freshman to future proof the team. That’s how I’ve been trying to build it for seven years play, everyone is going to contribute to this team.” Newington started the season with five straight wins, outscoring those five opponents by a combined score of 22-1. Olivia Mullings, Reagan Pelton, Abby Corcoran, Cassidy Gilchrest, and Sabrina Soler led the offensive charge in those victories. Pelton, Soler, Gilchrest, and defensive standout Gabriella Gray are the team’s four captains. Against Wethersfield, Wilkinson wasn’t happy with the team’s offensive performance or a controversial no-call prior to Klementon’s goal, but thought the team’s first loss could serve as a wake-up call. “Sometimes when you’re running on undefeated they have this aura about them and they get a little complacent, and they got to that point. We had a practice yesterday and it was a little casual, opposed to the practice before our Simsbury game when we were flying around, we were sharp, and those practices translated into the game. We were a little sloppy today but the good thing is we get another shot at them. Today we ate a little humble pie. We’ll restart, reassess, we’ll go from there.” It didn’t take long for the Indians to rebound, defeating Windsor 5-0 last Thursday and then closing out the week with a 3-2 triumph over Enfield on Friday, improving to 7-1. Leone’s Eagles finished the week with a 3-1 loss to RHAM on Friday . It was only the team’s second loss in the past eight games. “I always preach that we want to be at our peak for November. I was very adamant at the beginning of the year that it was going to get uglier before it got prettier and now they’re signs that it’s getting a lot better. We’re heading in the right direction regardless of the results. We try and not get too caught up with wins and losses and keep the bigger goal in mind.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorSports Editor for the Rare Reminder, Glastonbury Citizen, and Rivereast News Bulletin Archives
April 2024
Categories |