In its Homecoming game on a rainy, windy Friday night, the Wilton High boys soccer team went toe-to-toe with one of the top sides in the FCIAC and came away with a 3-2 win over Danbury.
Going into the game, Wilton head coach Jim Lewicki knew what his team needed to do to get a victory: Match Danbury’s quickness, physical play and ability to change the field in a flash.
Checking all the boxes, the Warriors came out and played 80 minutes of quality soccer, turning in a strong effort to beat the Hatters.
Action early in the game was limited to the space between the boxes, with each team making runs up and down the field and neither getting off a shot on net.
But once both teams settled in it, the shots kept coming. Senior Harry Allers blasted a long, high shot that the Danbury keeper got just enough of to tip it over the net. That gave the Warriors a corner kick, and this time Allers wouldn’t be denied. Owen Evershed played the ball in front of the goal and Allers put it in the net for a 1-0 Wilton lead in the 27th minute.
The Hatters knotted the score at 1-1 in the 35th minute when Lenin Galarza capitalized on a loose ball to score from close range.
The tie didn’t last long. The Warriors came right back to regain the lead at 2-1 in the 36th minute, as Allers tallied his second goal by heading in a quick pass from David Schneidman.
In the second half, Danbury came out and put consent pressure on the Warriors. But the Wilton defense, led by co-captains Matt Ravichandran and Patrick Prinner, held its line and got great support from the Warriors midfielders. Ravichandran ran sideline to sideline, tracking down balls and looking to start a counter-attack.
Although the Hatters were dominating possession in the second half, Wilton wasn’t without chances to increase its lead. Josh Reeve split the defense and had a clear path to the net, sending his shot wide. Jack Brandt then intercepted a header being played back to the Danbury goalie, but his shot also went wide.
In the 60th minute the Warriors finally converted one of their chances when Daniel Jensen’s shot found the back of the net. Nick Davatzes had an assist on the goal, which gave Wilton a 3-1 lead.
Danbury did close to within 3-2 with a goal in the 77th minute, but Wilton stymied the visitors in the final minutes to earn the win.
The Warriors did give up a late goal to the Hatters (77th minute) giving them hope to gain a tie, but the Warriors held strong for the win.
Notes: Wilton improved to 5-1-2 this season, while Danbury dropped to 5-2-2.
Grey Livingstone (first half) and Mitchell Bascom (second half) split time in goal for Wilton.
Deserving of a shoutout were the ball boys, who were right in step with the play despite the unfavorable weather conditions.
The post Allers scores twice as Wilton downs Danbury appeared first on Wilton Bulletin.