Wind can make a difference in soccer and it didn’t help the Shelton High girls soccer team on Friday.
In the Class LL quarterfinals at Westhill High, third-seeded Westhill had the wind at its back in the first half and controlled possession, outshooting sixth-seeded Shelton 4 – 0.
With 20:16 remaining in the half, Lady Viking junior Aulona Velaj received a throw-in and dribbled in and scored to give Westhill a 1 – 0 victory and raise its record to 14 – 2‑2.
The Gaelettes finished their season at 14 – 4.
“This is the furthest the seniors have gone in the tournament and they went one round deeper than last year and we’re proud of it,” said Shelton coach Marvin Miller. “Of course, we’re disappointed with the result and it was a winnable game.”
The Gaelettes came out stronger in the second and senior tri-captain Jen Spicer used her speed to get to the net and fired consecutive shots, one off the rebound, but the Lady Viking goalie stopped her both times. Both teams had four shots in the second half and Westhill finished with an 8 – 4 shots on goal advantage.
Junior Melissa Brouillette played well in net for Shelton, making seven saves. Gaelette senior tri-captain Ali Ferro and Emily Malay along with juniors Sonali Rodrigues and Alexandra Farley played well defensively and repelled the Lady Vikings many times.
Senior Chloe Ashcroft won balls in the midfield for Shelton and broke up plays there as well. Ashcroft also helped keep the ball in the attack zone and rushed in a few times off nice feeds from senior tri-captain Jenna Filakovsky. Junior Danica Foglio fired a shot off a left wing angle that Westhill’s goalie caught.
With 19:30 left in the game, senior Kelsey Manning fired a shot from the left wing that the Lady Viking goalie caught. Foglio had a chance to tie it with 4:09 left but hit the upper post.
“It was our toughest game but we never gave up and it’s a testament to how hard we work as a team,” said Spicer. “I can’t ask for anything more.”
Filakovsky said, “We met our goal this year and I could not ask for more.”
Ferro said, “We played together as a team and we left our hearts on the field.”
Spicer, Ferro and Farley earned All-Housatonic honors.
