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Sports

Fairfield Ludlowe Girls Soccer Shocks Top Seed Glastonbury

Falcons advance to Class LL quarterfinals after 1-0 victory over previously unbeaten Tomahawks

There probably weren't too many people who believed the Fairfield Ludlowe girls' soccer team could actually beat  Glastonbury, but the Ludlowe players believed and made it happen.

Freshman Krissy Bradley scored the game's only goal with just under 16 minutes remaining in the first half Thursday, as the 16th-seeded Falcons shocked the top seeded and previously unbeaten Tomahawks, 1-0, in the second round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament.

Glastonbury reached the Class LL final last season, losing to Westill, 2-1.

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"We came into this game looking to win it," said Ludlowe senior goaltender Blakely Zecher, who was briefly knocked out of the contest early in the first half. "We all said, 'This is our game, we're going to win it.' We didn't have a doubt about anything."

The Falcons (11-5-2), who avenged a 3-1 loss to the Tomahawks in the semifinals last season, advanced to take on No. 8  seed South Windsor in the quarterfinals on Saturday.  The Bobcats moved on with a 2-1 victory over Pomperaug on Thursday.

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It was an especially satisfying win for Ludlowe coach Tony Samuelian. Dating to his days as the Trumbull boys' coach, Samuelian had made numerous trip to play at Glastonbury in the state tournament,  only to come home a loser every time.

"It gets tiring, coming up here and not winning," he said. "But I tell you what, there was a feeling.You knew after awhile, it had to happen. It's tough on this grass. We play most of our games on turf. We're quick. I think our speed helped us."

Of course, Samuelian probably didn't figure that a freshman would score the winning goal in a state tournament game.

After surviving a flurry by Glastonbury (15-1-1) in the opening minutes, the Falcons played the Tomahawks on mostly even terms and got an early goal they were looking for.

Just prior to the goal, the Glastonbury goalkeeper made a save on Mary Kamovitch's original shot, but Bradley blasted home the rebound. 

"I just nailed it, hoping it would go in," Bradley said. "It's so exciting, just to be out there with my teammates. This is my first year of playing high school and I just love it."

Because the ball came out of the net so fast, Zecher, perched in her net at the opposite end of the field, wasn't sure at first if it was a goal. But it definitely was, and it gave the already confident Falcons an added boost.

"I was so happy," Zecher said. "Getting a lead in a game like this was really big."

The Falcons still had to survive Glastonbury's physical -- perhaps chippy - play. On four different occasions, Glastonbury players made contact with the goaltender.

In the second half, a bleeding Allyson Doyle also was forced off the field for Ludlowe.

"Yes, it was a physical game," Samuelian said. "You have to expect that when you play away."

Just over a minute into the game, Zecher accidently was kicked by Glastonbury's McKenzie Hollenbaugh and had to leave the game. She was not seriously injured, however, and re-entered eight minutes later.

Backup Maddie McArthur, who was run into once, held the fort, making a pair of key saves.

"I have a lot of faith in her," Zecher said. "We have some of the top keepers in the league and she's one of them."

In the second half, the Tomahawks pressed for the equalizer, firing nine shots on goal, but the Falcons' defense did a phenomenal job in front of Zecher.

Even though the ball was in Ludlowe's end for the most of the second half, the Falcons looked comfortable protecting the one-goal lead.

"Once they took the field, once the whistle blew, it seemed like everybody played their game," Samuelian said. "I just think we were relentless. We were persistent. We played a very solid defensive game. We kept the ball wide."

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