Things looking up for Torrington, Wamogo

TORRINGTON — Better times are coming for at least two area girls soccer teams who struggled through last year’s COVID-19 modified soccer season.

Torrington and Wamogo came out with 3-8 records, but in a world of relativity, anything’s better than a season in which each team — the Raiders in the NVL and the Warriors in the Berkshire League — had to cancel several games because of the pandemic.

A scrimmage at Torrington High School Thursday afternoon between the two schools showcased possibilities for improvement beyond that, even as Torrington coach Mario Longobucco stated everyone’s new mantra:

“I just hope we can get through the season. We keep dodging the (COVID) bullet,” he said.

Longobucco’s best news for the Raiders is numbers. The team is up to 46 players from 29 a year ago and down to 15 in one of the five previous years in which they couldn’t get enough kids out.

Wamogo coach Becca Pope’s best news might be herself. The goalie for a Nonnewaug team that made it to the Class M

finals and a walk-on basketball player at UConn, the 2010 Chiefs graduate, in her third year at Wamogo, brings a wealth of winning experience and enthusiasm to a 20-girl Class S Warrior team she describes as “very young.”

“We focus on skill building and fundamentals,” Pope said. “We have kids who haven’t played before and we’re just trying to improve game to game.”

Longobucco, in his 13th year as Torrington coach, knows what winning is like as a coach — inheriting a team with the likes of Sarah Royals and Aly Otis that went 13-1-1 followed by another string of strong years before the numbers slipped.

Even last year, the Raiders produced a goalkeeper, Abby McCarthy, good enough to now play for the University of Hartford and another, Peyton Graham, who “could have played in college but decided to focus on academics,” Longobucco said.

But Thursday, that — and hopefully the Covid threat to their teams — was all in the past.

The Raiders, with numbers to justify their Class L status, dominated the scrimmage with players like senior Leah Darby and juniors Rachel Brewer-Karnit, Haley Burger and Vanderee Fritch with athletes like Brianna Murelli behind them.

Murelli is the favorite to start in goal for the Raiders while Wamogo senior Sam Brady made some great saves in the Warriors’ net.

Both are the kind of natural athletes that breed hope for their teams.

Murelli was the catcher for Torrington’s up-and-covering softball team last spring.

Brady is a Warrior basketball player in just her second season in goal.

Other building blocks for Wamogo come from its youth: Sea Higgins, a freshman striker from Torrington (“We could have used her,” said Longobucco) and Marina Mucka, a sophomore center midfielder.

Each coach cites the usual probable leaders in their leagues — Housatonic, Nonnewaug and Litchfield in the Berkshire League; Naugatuck, Watertown and Woodland in the NVL.

“We’ll probably be in the middle of the (NVL) pack,” said Longobucco.

“In the Berkshire League, there’s the top tier battling for the title, then the lower half with its own battles,” said Pope. “That’s where we’ll hope to beat some teams.”

Meanwhile, the prospect of a season with no cancellations is its own reason for optimism.

Peter Wallace / For Hearst Connecticut Media Good news for Torrington and Wamogo at Thursday’s girls soccer scrimmage at the Robert H. Frost Sports Complex: no positive COVID tests for teams that had to cancel several games last year because of the pandemic.

Peter Wallace / For Hearst Connecticut Media Becca Pope, in her third year as Wamogo’s girls soccer coach, stresses fundamentals for the young team she brought to a scrimmage with Torrington at the Robert H. Frost Sports Complex Thursday afternoon.