Boys Soccer Team Loses to Tolland 2-1

Ethan Culver scored two goals Tuesday night as Tolland High School beat the Rocky Hill High School boys’ soccer team 2-1.

Rocky Hill jumped out to an early lead with a goal by Nick Carreira with 8:19 left in the first half. However, about two minutes later Culver scored his first goal of the game.

In the second half, play got chippy and one Tolland player even received a yellow card. With 13:47 left in the second half, Culver added his second goal of the game and Tolland's defense was able to hold off late pushes by the Terriers' offense.

"In the first half, we let down for about 15 minutes in the middle and that resulted in a Rocky Hill goal," said Tolland Head Coach Jim Leahy. "In the second half, we started to and we got it back." 

Leahy said the Rocky Hill is a "more technical" team, but his players are "bigger,  stronger and faster."

"As the game goes on that helps."

"Officiating didn't stay on top of it because I thought some calls were made in their favor," Rocky Hill Head Coach Victor Santos said. "There was too much from the physical aspect and I don't think the officials ever took care of it from the beginning."

Santos said he could deal with the "favorable officiating," but he could not accept his players "not playing up to their full capabilities." His defense played "poorly," especially in the second half, Santos added.

The biggest weapon for the Eagles was their throw-ins, which lead to both goals, Santos said. One player was able to get extra distance and force behind the ball because of his unusual throwing method.

Tolland has ten seniors who play significant minutes and needs to "run the table" to be in the mix for the league. They are currently 6-3-4. Rocky Hill drops to 5-9 on the season.