Immaculate #ctgsoc advances to the Class S finals, defeating #Coginchaug 3-0 @GameTimeCT @Reg13Athletics @CRHSDevilNation pic.twitter.com/7iUqpS1tXA
— CRHS Devil's Ad (@crhsdevilsadv) November 12, 2018
WATERBURY — It has been a lifetime for some Immaculate students since the Mustangs sat out the girls soccer state finals two years in a row.
As much as they controlled the first half of Monday night’s Class S semifinal, though, Coginchaug nearly took a lead.
Immaculate scored three in the second half and beat the Blue Devils 3-0 at at Ray Snyder Sr. Field at Municipal Stadium, reaching a CIAC final for the 12th time in the past 16 years after bowing out in the second round last season.
CIAC GIRLS SOCCER TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD
“We knew we had to come out harder than we did in the first half,” said Immaculate senior Kayla Mingachos, who broke the tie 3:59 into the second half.
“Coginchaug gave us a run for our money in the first half. It seems like they wanted it more. We knew if we wanted to play another game together as a team, we had to work harder than we did the first half, win every ball.”
Immaculate scores again; Devils #ctgsoc trails 0-3 with 18:30 left in the second half of Class S Semifinals @Reg13Athletics @GameTimeCT pic.twitter.com/dAkWYSaHsG
— CRHS Devil's Ad (@crhsdevilsadv) November 12, 2018
Mingachos and freshmen Maddie Bourque and Kayla Ondy scored for the Mustangs in the second half.
The fourth-seeded Mustangs (16-4-1) will play 14th-seeded Old Lyme (12-5-4), the three-time defending Class S champion, in the final on Saturday at a site and time to be announced.
Coginchaug (12-7-1) played a semifinal game for the first time.
“They had an awesome game today,” said Blue Devils assistant coach Kate Germond, running the bench for Megan Kavanaugh, who had a baby last month.
No call on a diving save by #Coginchaug's Claire DeFlora in goal; Devils tied 0-0 with Immaculate with 19:30 left in the first half of #ctgsoc Class S Semifinals @GameTimeCT @Reg13Athletics pic.twitter.com/y6hYKIteww
— CRHS Devil's Ad (@crhsdevilsadv) November 12, 2018
“To keep it at 0-0 at half and be battling all through the second half, they worked their tails off. They left everything on the field for 80 minutes. I’m proud.”
Immaculate keeper Aimee Cirella stopped two shots from the 17th-seeded Blue Devils (12-7-1) in sequence in the last minute of the first half, their two best chances. And four minutes after Mingachos’ goal, Coginchaug put a shot off the crossbar.
“Unfortunately we just didn’t get it into the back of the net today,” Germond said. “You can’t score, you can’t win. They put all their heart and soul into it. We just didn’t get the finishes.”
Immaculate had the better of possession and shots in the first half. Still, coach Nelson Mingachos said with a laugh, “I don’t think the kids were happy with my halftime talk.
“I thought we came out real flat. I thought (Coginchaug) worked their butts off, credit to them. … I thought we came in a little lazy.”
They came out harder in the second. Kayla Mingachos set up Bourque for a right-side shot that Coginchaug keeper Claire DeFlora stopped. DeFlora stopped Hailey Dubbioso off a steal moments later.
But Mingachos’ hard run up the left side got her free to open the scoring.
“At halftime my coaches told me, if you’re with the last defender, take them on,” Mingachos said. “I remembered those words as I had the ball.”
Dubbioso led Bourque into the box, and Bourque followed up her own blocked shot to make it 2-0 with 28:17 left. Ondy, fresh off the bench, pounced on a loose ball in the box to finish it off nine minutes later.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Kayla Mingachos set up a few scoring chances and scored the game-winner herself.
REGULARS
This is Immaculate’s 14th CIAC final; the Mustangs are 9-1-3. They have 11 titles since 2003 (8-0-3), the first nine in Class S, a 2014 title in Class L and a shared Class M championship in 2016.
The Mustangs and Old Lyme were co-champions in 2009. Immaculate beat the Wildcats in finals in 1995 and 2004.
QUOTABLE
“It’s nice to get back to the finals. We’ve been away from S for a couple of years, so to be back, it’s nice. To be back in any class in any finals, it’s awesome, so for the younger kids, they can experience getting to a state championship and seeing what it’s all about.” —Immaculate coach Nelson Mingachos
IMMACULATE 3, COGINCHAUG 0
COGINCHAUG 0 0—0
IMMACULATE 0 3—3
Records: Coginchaug 12-7-1; Immaculate 16-4-1. Goals: I—Kayla Mingachos, Maddie Bourque, Kayla Ondy. Assists: I—Hailey Dubbioso. Goalies: C—Claire DeFlora (11 saves); I—Aimee Cirella (7). Shots: C—9; I—24.
