Coaches, players happy to get back on the field
For all the upheaval that came with the 2020 fall high school sports season in Connecticut, including masking, a shortened season and frequent COVID-19 shutdowns, one change may have been hardest for Southington girls soccer coach Mike Linehan.
There were no state championships.
For the Blue Knights, Class LL runner-up in 2019, contending for a title is the goal, year in and year out. Not last season, however, as high school soccer teams were limited to a 12-game, regionalized schedule with a conference tournament as the highest postseason achievement.
But the return of fall sports in 2021 equals a return to something a little more normal. Masks aren’t required for outdoor sports, a full regular season is scheduled to be held and, most importantly for Southington, the state tournament is back on.
“We’ve got something to play for,” Linehan said.
The Blue Knights’ hopeful road back to the state title game began Thursday with a 4-2 win over Conard. Southington trailed 2-1 at halftime but scored three goals — two of which came from sophomore Julia Rusiecki — in the final 13 minutes.
“It was unbelievable,” Rusiecki said. “During halftime, we had our captains lifting us. I’ve never had
that before. I don’t know how to describe it. … Our captains lifted us up, and we came.”
Even as things have begun to feel more like 2019 than 2020, the effects of the pandemic still exist.
Southington had a COVID-19 scare in the preseason, and Linehan is preaching personal safety to his team. On the bus ride back from Conard, he said, they would be masked up.
“A little bit back to normal,” Linehan said. “We’re still dealing with it, right? Being mindful. It’s not over. The girls are mindful of it. It’s in the back of their minds, and I’m being very careful.”
In Farmington, where the boys soccer team has won four class titles since 2010, a state championship is also the goal. But the Riverhawks, who won their conference championship in 2020 despite spending the first two weeks of their season in quarantine, are just
thankful to have — hopefully — a more controlled season.
“After the quarantine last year, we were just happy to get whatever we could get,” Farmington coach Nick Boorman said. “It was a really meaningful year. But, hey, this year is all about getting better and better every day.”
The Riverhawks kicked their season off with a 6-0 win at home against Newtown — a team from the FCIAC which they weren’t able to play last season.
They did so in front of a rowdy fan section at Tunxis Mead Park, an atmosphere which was unseen last year.
“We get to play the best teams around,” senior Ben Cosentino said. “The fans tonight, it was just an awesome environment, and lots of fun for the first time in two years. It was a great experience playing in front of them.”
In Coventry, the volleyball team, which has won 11 state titles since 2003, played in front of no fans last year and played the same three teams over and over — Bolton,
Rockville and Ellington.
So to open up Thursday against NCCC rival Granby, with fans in the stands, was pretty exciting for Coventry.
“There’s a little more juice. There’s something more at stake, with the state tournament and the conference tournament,” Coventry coach Ryan Giberson said.
On Thursday, there were postponements due to the rainy weather, and there were issues with the shortage of bus drivers — Coventry’s three volleyball games had to be moved to a later time because Granby couldn’t get a bus until 4:30 p.m. — but the athletes were all happy to be able to get out and start to play a more normal type of season.
“Last year, we were lucky to play a little bit, but this year, we can keep going into states so we’re excited,” said Hall senior field hockey midfielder Bridget Mcgann, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime to beat Glastonbury 2-1 on Thursday.
Hall was also happy to get another shot at Glastonbury, even though the teams played three times last fall. Hall lost all three, including a season-ending 8-0 loss to
Glastonbury, which stung.
“It was the championship for our cohort. We came here and lost 8-0,” Hall coach Jenna Behan said. “After the first couple goals, we just fell apart. We didn’t have the depth and maturity to bring ourselves back up, which we had this year. We went down 1-0, but we came back.
“The kids are so excited to get out there and play.”