By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern and New Britain boys soccer programs posted a combined seven goals over a very competitive CCC interdivisional bout on Monday night in Bristol.
But in the end, the Golden Hurricanes ended up scoring the victory over the shootout.
New Britain was able to scoop up a 4-3 win from Alumni Field on the campus of Bristol Eastern High School.
The Kingstreeters fell to 3-4-1 while the Golden Hurricanes, after starting the campaign at 0-4, improved to 2-5 – winning two of their last three bouts.
New Britain’s Jesus Vega notched half of his squad’s goals to stave off pesky Eastern.
The Hurricanes zipped up the first two goals in the first half to grab and keep the lead throughout.
Omar Alwishah scored halfway through the first-forty while Vega also added a late goal to give the visitors a quick 2-0 edge.
The Kingstreeters halved the score soon after as Rocco Barbino headed in a Justin Sanchez corner kick with 9:24 left in the first to get back into the game at 2-1.
But Eastern could never get over the hump to square up the showdown.
New Britain scored early in the second half as Vega tapped home a score with 33:33 to play to make it a 3-1 game.
The Lancers answered when Connor Policarpio trimmed the deficit to one again as
he converted a Cody Greger cross with 21:01 remaining – making it 3-2 as Eastern was hanging around.
And with 14:20 to play, the visiting aggression zipped up the game-winning goal.
New Britain’s Steve Guerrero converted a failed Lancer clearance that made it a 4-2 tilt.
Eastern pressed and got it to 4-3 with 5:10 on the clock when Eddie Ansah put home a Ty Borry
pass.
However, the Lancers couldn’t get one more goal to fall in as New Britain came away with an impressive one-goal victory in Bristol.
“Our defenders made some poor choices, and our shooters were off the mark,” said Eastern coach Bill Sweet. “Credit New Britain for a quick attack and some great saves from their goalie Max Szczepanik.”
Szczepanik tallied 14 saves while Eastern keepers Peyton Cummings (four saves) and
Carlos Portillo combined to stop five shots.
After a bit of a break, it will soon be city series time for the Lancers.
Eastern hosts Bristol Central on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. from Alumni Field.
The Rams, winners of three straight, hope to beat Platt on Wednesday to bring some serious momentum into the BC/BE showdown.
It will be a single game challenge as the BC/BE girls tangle on Thursday.
Match time for the girls contest is at 6:15 p.m.
All TBE readers, supporters and donors
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access eight (8) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access eight (8) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.
