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The Cinderella run in the state tournament by the 12th-ranked Black Knights came to an end against the top-ranked team in the conference and the state as they ran out of gas after Norwalk took a late lead.
“We played hard. This team has grown a lot, and it showed today,” Stamford head coach Mario Caminiti said. “We respect Norwalk, but we’re not afraid of them. It’s been a fantastic run, and we enjoyed it.”
Norwalk’s Kevin Joslyn was a thorn in the side of the Black Knights, scoring both goals for the Bears. Both came on soft shots lofted over the head of Stamford goalie Ron Andre, who played the ball aggressively all night.
Steven Lopez put Stamford on the board with 2:45 to play in the first half after a failed clearing attempt found his foot. Lopez drilled a 20-yard shot into the net to knot the game at 1-1 going into halftime.
But Joslyn’s second goal proved to be the dagger in Stamford’s heart with 21:30 to play. The Black Knights never had a serious offensive threat after that goal.
It was a physical game, leading to more than a dozen combined free kicks, a Stamford yellow card and an apparent broken wrist for Lucas Laria.
Caminiti was not happy with the physicality and not shy after the game about criticizing the referees’ calls.
“I thought we were short-changed on some of the calls,” he said. “In the long run, the calls did not equal out.”
Stamford finishes the 2012 season with a 14-4-2 record, capping the Black Knights’ best season in 15 years.
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