Torrington plays to 0-0 tie with Wolcott

TORRINGTON — Torrington’s boys soccer team did everything but score in a 0-0 tie with Wolcott Thursday night at the Robert H. Frost Sports Complex.

“We did everything we had to do. We just couldn’t find the corner,” said Coach Mike Fritch. “That’s the story of this game and it’s been our problem all year.

The Red Raiders (5-4-2) and Eagles (4-5-2), locked into the middle of the NVL standings, looked like a close match on paper, but the Raiders dominated most of the game with a 13-3 shot advantage in the first half, 26-7 by the time a final flurry just missed.

“It came literally down to the buzzer,” said Wolcott Coach Bryan Plona. “Torrington had better possession, but we had some opportunities.”

“But we had more,” said Fritch.

Eagle goalkeeper Jarren Barnes stood in the way of most of them.

Making his first start for Wolcott, the junior goalie (17 saves) stayed active all night, against point-blank Torrington shots and sprints through his defense to break up Raider charges.

“I prefer to stay busy,” grinned Barnes, getting the starting nod after senior starter Tyler Sgrott injured a leg in Wolcott’s loss to Naugatuck Tuesday. “That way, I can stay focused and my muscles don’t tighten up.”

On a cold night, Barnes was thoroughly warmed up by the half.

He just beat Torrington’s offense to Raider passes into the box in the first five minutes, fielded hard shots by Naseem Thompson and Xavier Rodas, then made his best effort two minutes from the end of the half, scrambling after his own deflection.

Torrington goalie Kevin Hidrovo had his first-half moments too, deflecting a shot past the net seven minutes in, grabbing a hard shot by Jonathan Maldonado in the 18th.

Midway through the second half, after Thompson and Rodas gave Barnes back-to-back hard tests, the game had the makings of a stalemate.

Until those last few seconds.

The Raiders had three shots in close. The final one, in front of the goal, seemed destined for Torrington’s Hollywood ending with two seconds to go.

“I saw the ball, called for it, then lost it. I didn’t know where it was,” said Barnes. “One of our defenders got to it.”

In this year’s NVL, there’s no overtime.

“It was a good game,” said a relieved Coach Plona.

“Fortunately, we have a couple of weeks (in the regular season) to work on our scoring,” said Coach Fritch.