'Family' values: East Lyme boys' soccer reaches Class L title game
Nov. 15—GUILFORD — This was more than a state semifinal soccer game Wednesday night. It could have also been a documentary titled, "How A Man Spends The Longest 30 Minutes Of His Life."
It would have starred Paul Christensen, the coach at East Lyme, who paced like an expectant father, taking off his white cap with the maroon "V" on it several times, running his hands through his hair. And the time appeared to pass slower than an arthritic snail as the Vikings protected the 2-1 lead that they earned with about 30 minutes remaining.
Ah, but the maroon-colored, postgame pig pile suggested it was worth the wait for Christensen and his boys, who advanced to the Class L title game with a 2-1 win over defending champion Cheshire.
The No. 3 Vikings will play at Dillon Stadium in Hartford this weekend at a day and time to be determined later this week.
"That felt like a long time," Christensen said. "But our defense really hunkered down. Tristan (Seguin), Ryan (Novick), Calloway (Scott) and Ben (Johnson) were outstanding. They had to be. We just beat a really good team."
That really good team tied the game on the Vikings in the 43rd minute when Ryan Markarian's goal ruined all the good vibes that Rob Stoddard's first-half goal gave East Lyme. But then a funny thing happened on the way to a meltdown. The Vikings, who often snipe at each other, rallied with each other this time.
And two minutes later, Novick's majestic throw-in was headed home by Stoddard, giving the Vikes the lead they'd never relinquish.
"The whole week, and throughout this whole tournament, we've talked about acting like a family," Stoddard said. "Sometimes, we don't really act that way. But we've been playing together our whole lives. We need to stay together."
Johnson, the goalkeeper, was stout, particularly in the second half when Cheshire grew desperate.
"For this team to get here," Christensen said, "we haven't played like a team most of the year. We've been preaching teamwork, teamwork. Tonight proved what happens when we play together."
Then Christensen paused and said, "three weeks ago, we wouldn't have won this game. No way."
