Naugatuck boys soccer wins third straight NVL title on penalty kicks against Watertown
· Yahoo Sports
WATERBURY - The Naugatuck boys soccer team claimed an NVL championship three-peat on Tuesday night at Ray Snyder Sr. Field, but Watertown made them earn it.
The Greyhounds outscored the Warriors 3-1 on penalty kicks to win a game that seemed like a rollercoaster ride to all involved.
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It finally ended when Naugatuck's Deric Eshaghi made his penalty kick and set off a big celebration for the Greyhounds (15-1-3).
"The feeling is unmatched. Right when we scored the (last) penalty, I started crying. I was fist-patting other guys that were crying," said Naugatuck senior captain Antonio Guerreiro, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player. "I couldn't wish for a better night. These boys, we worked so hard for this, all season. We worked so hard. Watertown gave us a great challenge, 3-3. I'm just so happy we could be here and win this game."
For Watertown's Warriors (12-6-1), there were tears shed for what might have been.
"My boys, they never quit, they never stopped. They wanted it, they played with their hearts, they didn't want to lose this game, and they showed it," said an emotional Watertown coach Rob Perugini after the game. "Naugatuck is a great team, hat's off to them, but I'm proud of my boys, I'm proud of what they did, I'm proud that they didn't give up, and they just hung in there."
Perugini and his Warriors were gutted, with several players kneeling or laying on the turf in disappointment.
"When you get down to PKs, it's just horrible that a game needs to end that way," Perugini said. "You take a team sport and you put it on the shoulders of one individual, and it is what it is. It is a tough thing."
Naugatuck coach Jose Sendra isn't the biggest fan of penalty kicks, either.
"I don't think, especially the way they played, the fairest thing would have been to share that. Look at the scoreboard. They gave it to us, we gave it right back," Sendra said. "To walk away feeling like you lost something is terrible, and they didn't. That's a tie, and I've been on the other end. Four years ago, against Wolcott, we lost on PKs. I 100% took that to heart, and it hurt."
In the penalty kicks, Naugatuck got goals from goalkeeper Gabriel Laszkiewicz, Julian Visciano and Deric Eshaghi.
"He had the highest percentage in the practice on PKs," Sendra said about Laszkiewicz.
Laszkiewicz also made a save during penalty kicks. For Watertown, Christian Kuzia converted his penalty kick and Anthony Melaragno made a save.
Elvin Mani got Watertown on the board first just 4:01 into the opening half. Naugatuck's Jayden Dechane scored the equalizer at 29:15 left in the first half by redirecting a Visciano corner kick into the goal.
The Greyhounds went ahead, 2-1, with just over 22 minutes left in the first half on a goal by Cristian Paniagua off a great feed from Guerreiro. The score remained 2-1 at halftime.
It took until 6:23 left in regulation, but Watertown got its equalizer on Mani's second goal of the game off a beautiful free kick from Gianni Melaragno.
Regulation ended at 2-2, then Naugatuck took a 3-2 lead with 1:15 left in the first 10-minute overtime on a goal by Eshaghi off an Enzo Medina assist.
Just 15 seconds into the second 10-minute overtime, Watertown provided a stunning equalizer when Quinn Delaney played a terrific ball forward to Arian Loga, who scored to make it 3-3.
"It's hard to not have your head go down, but as a captain, I know I had to keep my boys up," Guerreiro said about the tying goal. "I told my boys, keep your head up, let's fight. We knew we still had 10 minutes to fight in this game, and we fought."
"These boys stepped up, and I'm so proud of them for having done it," Sendra said.
Player of the Game
Antonio Guerreiro, Naugatuck: The tournament's Most Outstanding Player assisted Cristian Paniagua's goal in the final. He also scored a goal in the quarterfinal and semifinal victories.
Quotable
"We'll take tomorrow off, but then we're going to regroup and we're going to make another run for states. We still got soccer in us, and we're going to show it. We're going to show it at the state level, too." - Perugini about his team and the state tournament.
Naugatuck 3, Watertown 3 (3-1 PK)
WATERTOWN 1 1 0 1-3
NAUGATUCK 2 0 1 0-3
Scoring:Goals: N-Jayden Dechane, Cristian Paniagua, Deric Eshaghi; W-Elvin Mani 2, Arian Loga.
PK scoring:Goals: N-Gabriel Laszkiewicz, Julian Visciano, Eshaghi; W-Christian Kuzia.
PK saves:N-Laszkiewicz 1; W-Anthony Melaragno 1.
Records: N 15-1-3; W 12-6-1.
This article originally published at Naugatuck boys soccer wins third straight NVL title on penalty kicks against Watertown.