Mariners win NEPSAC title

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On Sunday, November 17, the Rocky Hill Country Day Mariners defeated

Brimmer and May School 2-1 in the NEPSAC Class D Championship at Loomis

Chaffee School in Windsor, CT. This invitation-only tournament brought

together top independent schools from throughout New England to compete for the coveted crown for New England independent school soccer.

Class D schools are those regional independent schools with a male high school population of 1 - 114 students. Rocky Hill Country Day last won this prestigious title in 2011 and it’s been seven years since a day school claimed the top prize.

NEPSAC Championships are the pinnacle of varsity soccer, and for both

teams, the road to the final was filled with strong challenges from other well-matched schools. A thrilling encounter, Rocky Hill dominated the initial run of play, only to face some impressive defensive work from Brimmer and May.

The Mariners thought they’d taken the lead through a deflection from senior Max Lehouiller, but the referee called it back for a foul.

With the scene set, Brimmer and May offered some creative counterattacking, making Rocky Hill’s backline work hard to snuff out the threats. The competition heated-up as the Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts outfit beat Mariners keeper Drew Tamburini only to ricochet off the post, allowing the sophomore keeper to get a hand to the rebound.

The second half saw a determined Mariner team double their efforts. The

break-through finally came when senior captain, Andrew Zito rounded the

Brimmer and May defense on the left flank allowing sophomore Andrew Fuvich to complete the well-positioned drive scoring the first goal of the game.

Rocky Hill doubled the lead when Zito found junior Marlon Monterroso at the edge of the box as he darted past his defender to slam home his effort and set-off a wild celebration.

With less than 10 minutes remaining, a well-struck shot from distance halved the deficit, bringing the score to 2-1 Rocky Hill Country Day.

The Mariners maintained their poise, defending well and winning some timely free kicks that helped run down the clock. RHCD’s Man of the Match was awarded to senior Kobe Polley.

Members of the championship team were: Garrett Corsi, Bennett Fine, Andrew Furvich, Julian Gross, David Gutierrez, Jake Krikorian, Dylan Lehouiller, Max Lehouiller, Marshall Lind, Jeremiah Malone, Marlon Monterroso, Keanu Palavra, Kobe Polley, Chase Schulte, Jasper Summer, Drew Tamburini, Dax Tassone, and Andrew Zito.

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