Battle-tested Fitch plays for first state title
It is through the dad lens that Fitch coach Jay Wolfradt will appreciate the timeless lesson of delayed gratification.
Wolfradt, whose son plays in the Stonington program, watched the Bears win Saturday's Class M boys' soccer championship before his Falcons play for the Class L championship today at Hartford's Dillon Stadium against 15-time state champion Wethersfield at 1:30 p.m.
It was the Bears who provided Wolfradt and 14th-seeded Fitch a little foreshadowing earlier this month. Fitch had already defeated future Class M finalist Ellington and thenNo. 1 Ledyard during the season.
But as Wolfradt felt the sting of losing the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I title to Stonington on a
FITCH VS. WETHERSFIELD
1:30 p.m., Dillon Stadium, Hartford
penalty kick in overtime, he also realized the opportunity to apply the painful outcome to the season's future.
"This will make us better," he said. "Tough day, but I think we're starting to understand where we are as a program."
That understanding developed as the season progressed. Fitch didn't receive a vote in the state top 10 poll, despite beating Ellington and Ledyard.
"Twelve years ago when I took this job, I never imagined being as strong as we are and not even being talked about. So we tuck that away and go 'now we'll show you on the field,'" Wolfradt said. "We don't mind being the guys nobody talks about. We want to be the team that is so battled tested, we'll look at a tournament opponent and go, 'just another game for us.'"
Here is that opportunity, in the finals on what will be Wolfradt's last day coaching at Fitch. He's leaving to watch his son finish his high school career.
If the Falcons (14-6) win the program's first title, they'll have earned it. No. 12 Wethersfield (14-3-3) competes in the perennially competitive Central Connecticut Conference, with many Class LL schools, including Farmington, a finalist in Class LL. The Eagles, who have 20 seniors, have yet to allow a goal in this postseason.
Fitch, meanwhile, has 12 seniors: Luke Noreika, Thomas Forde, Micah Diggs, Alex Bacchiocchi, Sebastian Duffy, Douglas Cardona, James Miner, Peter Petropoulos, Tim Lynch, Jayden St. Louis, Kyle Potenciano and Anthony Guardamino. m.dimauro@theday.com