Boys soccer: Griswold looks for redemption

The common theme when talking to Griswold High boys soccer coach Vin Laraia on Thursday could be described in one word; redemption.
The Wolverines are looking for that in more aspects than one this season.
Griswold downed Montville, 2-1, Thursday afternoon which Laraia thought could serve as a confidence boost for a team that came so close last season to winning the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division title.
"Our guys are really happy about this win (Thursday) because they were questioning themselves after last year," Laraia said.
That's because the Wolverines only lost to Lyman, a team which has never lost an ECC Small Division game in its three-plus years in the league, 1-0 twice last season.
"Our goal this year is to win the ECC Small and beat Lyman," Laraia said. "They want to go into the Lyman game undefeated and they want to beat Lyman this year. They're very bitter about those 1-0 losses and they feel they can beat Lyman."
The Wolverines will get two opportunities to do so, on Oct. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Lyman and again on Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. on the football field in Griswold.
Laraia said the team is not the only ones looking for redemption, there's also an individual with something to prove this year; keeper Brandon McNeil.
The senior captain kept Montville at bay after the Indians took over the momentum halfway through the second half courtesy of a penalty kick. McNeil shut them down thereafter, turning aside seven consecutive chances including a pair of bullets by Tyler and Connor Leeman.
"He's got something to prove, he finished second in the (ECC) voting last year for All-ECC and he wants to be that," Laraia said. "He worked hard over the summer and he's trying hard out there."



Note

HS Football

Last week's Killingly-Wolcott game was the last scheduled football game between the two long-distance opponents.
The two schools had a home-and-home agreement and there was talk on the sidelines last week that a new two-year deal had been struck, but nothing is official yet.
"I don't have an answer for that," Wolcott coach Patrick Russo said last Saturday night. "There's been talk but we won't (finalize) anything until the end of the season. People here have been great to us, I take my hat off to coach (Chad) Neal and the hospitality both last year and this year. We've built a little relationship with him, we've been to the same coaching clinics with him and hung out with him and had dinner. There's good people here in Killingly, we really respect what they do."