Another clean sheet for CGA
Defensive-minded Bears post seventh shutout of season
New London — No one had to tell senior Austin Read that Coast Guard Academy recorded its seventh shutout of the season on Monday.
Read and his fellow men's soccer teammates keep close track of their clean sheets.
"That's something we definitely take pride in," Read said.
Coast Guard received a shot of confidence with a 5-0 non-conference shutout of winless City College of New York (0-9). The Bears (7-2-1) not only recorded their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference-leading seventh shutout in 10 games but also scored a season-high for goals while showing off their quality depth.
Junior Alex Hall scored twice while junior Griffin Klages added one goal and freshman Seth Anderson scored his first collegiate goal. An own goal capped the scoring.
"It's good to get our confidence up for our game (against Clark) on Saturday, "Read said. "It's a much-needed win and another clean sheet."
CCNY didn't manage a shot against goalies Dakota Harich and William Bragaw, a junior and East Lyme graduate. Thanks to a stingy defense, CGA goalies have had to make only 14 saves overall this season.
The Bears have allowed just five goals — none in the last four games — and two of those came off of set pieces in a 3-0 loss to Springfield. Even in that loss, they held the Pride to well under their average for shots attempted per game.
"We're disciplined in our defending," Read said. "We know how to defend as a unit and as a group as well as individuals in one-v-one defending. As you can see, not many teams get a lot of shots or chances against us."
Read, who's started 63 of 65 career games, anchors a strong back four that features sophomore Brock Hassett, and juniors Noah Harper and Greg Burnham. At 6-foot-5, 225-pounds, Read provides a physical presence as well as a calming influence. He also has a high IQ — on the soccer field and in the classroom where he was an Academic All-American last season.
Hassett was named the NEWMAC defensive athlete of the week. Senior Jake Sorenson, a Montville High School graduate, is the primary starter in goal and owns a 4-1-1 record with a sparkling 0.65 goals against average. Junior Garrett Magill, a holding center midfielder, also has played well but sat out Monday's game to heal a minor injury.
"It's the same back four as last year and the same goalkeeper," coach Chris Parsons said. "Everybody has continued to mature and the goalkeeping has gotten better. (Austin) is a two-time all-conference and should be three-time all-conference. He's kind of a steadying force."
A smothering defense is usually at the heart of any successful CGA men's soccer team. The Bears are regularly among the best in that department in the conference.
"For us, that's the way it's always been here," Parsons said. "We're a blue collar, hard-working group. We pressure the ball and we don't give people time and space to play. Over time, we've done well with it, the last few years anyway."
Now if only the Bears could polish their finishing skills around the goal. Their leading goal scorer only has two goals.
As long as the defense continues to shine, Coast Guard will remain competitive. The next three games — at Clark, Williams and at WPI — will tell a lot about the Bears, according to Parsons.
With seven regular season games still remaining, they have a shot at the program record of 11 shutouts set by the 2014 team.
"We'll get there," Read said. "I'm confident in that." g.keefe@theday.com The Blue Devils’ Latrell Best returned a fumble for a TD on the first play of last Friday’s game against Bassick. Many more touchdowns followed as the Westies won, 48-0. at Cheshire, Friday, 7 p.m.
Ordinarily, a match-up between an unbeaten team (Masuk) and a 3-1 team (Notre Dame of Fairfield) would be an intriguing mid-season game. Masuk is involved, though, so, yeah. vs. Notre Dame-Fairfield, Friday, 7 p.m.
The Cadets beat Wilton 41-21 on Monday night, but only games through Saturday count towards this week’s Top 10. vs. Ridgefield, Oct. 14, 1:30 p.m. Ditto, but replace “Cadets” with “Cardinals.” and “Wilton” with “Norwalk”. vs. New Canaan, Oct. 14, 4 p.m.