By Michael Letendre
WETHERSFIELD – The Bristol Eastern boys soccer team was one victory away from qualifying for state tournament play when the program traveled to Wethersfield on Thursday afternoon.
And by the completion of eighty minutes of Central Connecticut Conference battle, the Lancers were the ones hitting the pay window.
Over a CCC-Tier 1 challenge, Eastern won in a big way – spinning the Eagles by a 6-1 final on the road.
The winners improved the Lancers to 5-7-3 overall with one match remaining on its docket.
The victory ensured that Eastern will make up part of the Class L playoff field in early November.
Wethersfield fell to 3-11-1 over the losing effort.
Connor Policarpio and Ty Borry led the Lancers with two goals and an assist apiece as the locals showed some scoring zest.
Policarpio got the scoring going at 28:39 of the first half, taking in a Borry pass and hitting a hard shot to the far-right side that glided into the Wethersfield net for a 1-0 push.
However, Wethersfield had a response.
The Eagles evened the score as Sean Kahn drilled a long shot into the back of the Eastern net just about four minutes after Eastern’s first tally as the match was suddenly a 1-1 stalemate.
From there, the Kingstreeters scored five unanswered goals.
Sam LaMar gave Eastern a 2-1 edge, converting a Rio Fernandes throw-in with 6:30 left in the half.
With that one-goal lead in hand, Policarpio opened the second half taking in a Fernandes pass and beating his man, eventually knocking home a goal with 36:05 remaining to make it 3-1.
Borry then notched his first goal as Policarpio sent a cross that Borry put home with 33:19 left, and a 4-1 lead ensued.
Anthony Rogers later upped the Wethersfield deficit to 5-1 as Liam Sanchez-Barreto sent a through ball to him.
Rogers got ahead of the field and beat Wethersfield keeper Nathan Morris (three saves) on the breakaway at the 28:36 mark of the second forty.
Borry then completed the scoring with a strong header off Landon Kraut’s corner kick with just over half the second forty to play as Eastern nabbed a 6-1 cushion.
“Making the tournament was one of our goals and an important one for our seniors,” said Eastern coach Bill Sweet. “We were able to dictate play most of the game and the goals came from sharp passes.
Wethersfield goalie Anthony Faienza made a half-dozen saves as the program stopped nine shots overall.
Eastern’s Peyton Cummings collected six saves over the winning effort.
The Kingstreeters finish the regular season on Tuesday in the second game of the girls’/boys’ doubleheader at Bristol Central High School in city series play with a scheduled start time of 7 p.m.
