Before the Division 2 boys soccer semifinals last Monday night, ConVal players were warming up as the first game concluded, but then gathered at the fence to watch as a winner would be determined by five penalty kicks each. The tension in the stadium was palpable.
“This is no way to end your season,” said one player.
Fast forward to the state championship game Friday night at Exeter High School, where history would repeat. After an all-out scoreless battle in regulation and two sudden victory sessions, fifth-ranked ConVal and second-ranked Campbell lined up to decide their seasons standing still, with one player at a time facing a goalkeeper in a penalty kick shootout. The tension in the stadium seemed even more palpable than Monday.
Like they did against Hollis-Brookline, Campbell emerged one shot better, defeating ConVal five penalty kicks to four. Officially, the final score read 1-0, and while the Cougars from Litchfield avenged last year’s title game loss to Milford, the Cougars from ConVal were disappointed yet proud of how they had played in the tournament. Along the way, they defeated fourth-ranked Kingswood and upset top-ranked and undefeated Oyster River in a game the team will remember for years.
“Against all odds, we played in the state championship,” said captain Max Cail, one of only three seniors who will be moving on, joining defensive stalwarts Brayden Boice and Esben Andersen. “We played amazing during the game and we had a few chances, but honestly, this wasn’t just a team, it was family,” he added.
“I love this team, family and community more than anything in the world. We may have come up short, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing,” he said.
Fellow senior Brayden Boice added, “It was a tough ending, but we went down just like we started—as a team. Not as singular people but together as a whole.”
ConVal (10-5-4) played with the intensity they displayed against Oyster River in the semifinals, and cheered on by a large crowd, continually pressured the Campbell goal. They were perhaps thinking of the end of the regular season—that stretch of winless games when everything seemed to suddenly go wrong—when they scored the go-ahead goal at Campbell late in the game only to see the host Cougars rally for a win. ConVal was determined to settle the score this time.
But it wasn’t meant to be.
During playing time, a brutal collision between speedy junior Parker Trodella and the Campbell keeper left Trodella with a broken leg. He’s on the mend now, and he is already looking ahead to next year when he’ll be among the 18 players who’ll return for another crack at the title.
In spite of the collision, Trodella was proud of the ConVal effort. “It was just an amazing season,” he said.
“I couldn’t have asked to play with a better group of kids,” added Boice. “We are a family and I know that I will continue to see several of these guys for years to come. Although that game may have capped off my organized soccer career, I know I will always find my love for this sport and the memory of this season.”
