GRANBY – The goal for the Granby boys soccer team was clear from the moment the Rams stepped on the field Thursday – just get the win.
There wasn’t any other option for the Rams, which still felt the sting a little from an early exit in last year’s Western Mass. tournament.
“[We wanted] to secure the win. Last year we ended up getting kicked [out in the] first round of Western Mass.,” Granby’s Johnny Santiago said. “We wanted to get redemption.”
The No. 2 Rams did just that, besting No. 7 Ware, 3-1, in the Class E quarterfinals on their home pitch. The win means the Rams will face off against No. 6 Monson, which upset No. 3 Hopkins Academy 1-0 in another quarterfinal contest on Thursday. Granby will host Monson on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the semifinal round.
Ware threw all it could at Granby, but the defensively-minded team shut down the visitors like they’ve been doing to opponents all season.
“No change in our game plan. We’ve been defensively very strong all season. So we maintained that positioning, that posture, trying to create those opportunities where we could get in scoring chances,” Granby head coach Todd Dorman said.
Those scoring chances have, at times, been hard to come by for the Rams this season, but it didn’t take Granby long to get its offense firing against Ware. After a few good scoring chances, Santiago dished off a pass to Robert L’Abbee, who unleashed a rocket of a shot that hugged the near post to make it 1-0.
Six minutes later, Benjamin Berger doubled Granby’s lead, splitting two defenders and beating Ware keeper Jack Gaudreau for a 2-0 cushion.
“The offense was – it’s cliche – was clicking today,” Dorman said. “They found each other, they were able to take advantage of open space to send the cross in and have people in a position to finish.”
Ware made it a tight contest late in the first half. With Granby holding on to a somewhat comfortable 2-0 lead, the visitors cut their advantage in half in the 34th minute. Owen McKeever unleashed a long, high arching shot that Granby goalie Daniel Gauvin managed to get a hand on but couldn’t stop.
“We had to realize that switch of momentum they had coming in. They had all the talk… all the effort,” L’Abbee said. “We realized it, we came in and got the job done.”
Granby never relinquished its lead, fending Ware off and re-establishing its two-goal lead on a goal from Santiago, assisted by L’Abbee. Ware peppered Gauvin in the final 10 minutes, forcing him to make several key saves with the clock winding down, and between he and the team’s defense, Granby managed to run out the clock to earn the win.
Dorman credited Cody White in particular with shutting down Ware striker Tanner Fontaine all game long, keeping him off the score sheet and limiting any chances on net.
This year’s Granby squad is a more experienced group than last year – there were a number of players on the 2021 team who hadn’t played in a big tournament game before. Between their Western Mass. loss last year and advancing to the second round of the state tournament, this year’s Rams is more experienced playing in ‘do-or-die’ contests.
“Getting into the second round of the state tournament as well, high pressure match, making it competitive – they learned a lot,” Dorman said. “The bulk of the team returned. So it was good experience last year.”
They’ll get a chance to keep their postseason run alive against Monson on Saturday.