The Westhill High School boys' soccer team's game against New Canaan could have been a summary of its entire season. The Vikings came out sluggish in the first half, falling behind early. Then the urgency set in and they started to fight back. When it counted most though, they could not score the key goal. Westhill needed a win to make the FCIAC playoffs, but could only manage a 1-1 tie, and were eliminated on the season's final day for the second year in a row.
"Not to make FCIAC's is discouraging and we came up short today," Westhill head coach Joe Andrews said. "We played a great second half and had great chances, but couldn't capitalize. That's been a big part of our issue all year."
New Canaan's Steven Valente, playing with a broken left wrist, put a nice touch on the ball past the Westhill goalkeeper. Thirty seconds into the second half, however, Westhill's Christian Olivia raced up the right sideline unopposed, fed the ball to a waiting Christian Esquivel, who slammed it past Levene.
Westhill played the rest of the second half with an urgency that had not been present for much of the season. With their FCIAC hopes on the line, the Vikings got off shot after shot, but they either went wide or Rams goalie Scott Levene was there to make the stop. Sebastian Rozo had the best chance for the Vikings, catching Levene off guard, aiming for the upper-left corner. Levene just barely got a hand on the shot and it ricocheted off the post, missing the net by inches.
"One of our biggest problems all seasons is not being able to finish games and put the ball away," Oliva said. "That's what it came down to today too. We still have states, though, and we have to come together as a team."
Westhill finishes its regular season at 6-4-5 and 23 points. It will have to sit out the FCIAC tournament, but did manage to grab a berth in the state tournament, which begins Friday, Nov. 5.
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