Suffield Boys Drop Ellington 3-0 In Soccer Shutout

The Suffield Wildcats boys varsity soccer team shut out the Ellington Knights Tuesday, taking home a 3-0 victory in a North Central Connecticut Conference game.

The game was closer than the score indicated, with back-and-forth action carrying the ball towards each team’s goal throughout the contest. Class M Suffield (3-0) had an edge in one-on-one confrontations and ball control, but Class M Ellington (2-1) was very much in the game up until its final minutes.

Goals from Suffield sophomore Sean Sullivan and senior Alex Biederman gave the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage going into halftime. Seniors Dalton Peck and Jake Picard provided assists, respectively, to the scorers.

“I thought we were flat,” said Suffield coach Mark Beigel. “We had a couple of great shots, that was the difference maker. “

A shot from senior Alex Drake, assisted by fellow senior Dalton Peck, found the net in the final minutes to seal the game at 3-0 for Suffield.

“Obviously, Suffield’s a pretty good side,” said Ellington coach Roy Gurnon. “[In] the first half they kind of dominated play.”

The Knights looked more aggressive in the last 40 minutes of action, taking more trips to Suffield’s side of the pitch and controlling the ball and the game’s tempo for longer stretches.

“I thought, in the second half, we made some adjustments and our kids played a very good second half,” Gurnon said.

Despite the lack of goals, Beigel was still impressed with the play of his opponents.

“Three [to] nothing, I don’t think [that] is really the way this game went,” he said. “I feel like they had some good opportunities that just missed.”

Gurnon singled out two Knights as having especially good performances in the game, seniors Zach Topor and Ryan Whiting.

“I thought Ryan Whiting played his best game in a purple uniform. I also would probably say the same for Zach Topor. Very good stuff.”

Ellington captain Cameron King, a senior, also had a strong effort, displaying tenacity and hustle throughout the contest.

For his part, Beigel pointed to Drake’s play in the second half as a highlight for his team. He also stressed how close the game was, despite the score.

“Ellington always brings high intensity against us,” he said. “We got up and they didn’t back down. They pressured us, they played several … stretches on us where we couldn’t get the ball out of our end. And that’s a typical Suffield-Ellington game. “

Suffield plays next on Friday, travelling to Somers High School to take on the Spartans at 3:45 p.m. Beigel gave the Spartans due credit when discussing the upcoming game.

“We play [Somers] every year so we know that they’re returning essentially everyone,” Beigel said. “They’ve got a lot of fast [players] and they play with a lot of intensity and physical play. We’ve got our work cut out for us. We’ve got to bring our game and our focus.”

Ellington also has their next match at home, battling the Granby Bears on Friday at 3:45 p.m. Gurnon will work with his team on shooting and scoring before Friday’s contest.

“We had a few opportunities and we didn’t even test [Suffield’s] goalie so we certainly want to do better when we get to that point,” he said.