Eagles Go 1-1 to Bring Record to 7-2

The Tolland Boys Varsity split a pair of home matches last week to raise their record to 7-2, 5-2 in the CCC East. 

On Tuesday evening, the Eagles played their first match in the newly renovated THS athletic stadium against longtime rival EO Smith.  An exuberant crowd of close to 800 created a tremendous soccer atmosphere.

The Eagles opened the scoring less than 7 minutes into the contest as Zac Parracino finished a Jordan Smith throw.  The Eagles dominated the early possession and had several other scoring chances, but could not finish.  EO Smith leveled the score with a Zachary Aukerman goal at 25:59 off a feed from Patrick Briody.  The first half finished with the score tied at 1-1.

The second half saw the visiting Panthers jump out to a 2-1 lead on a Gage Rondeau goal at 15:58.  The sophomore drilled a 25 yard shot into the upper half of the net.  Gabe Lopes extended the lead to 3-1 with a volley off a set piece with just 13:24 left.

Tolland fought to the end, clawing back to within one at 28:05 of the 2nd half as Alex Weekes sent a ball across the face of the goal for Tyson Bridge's diving header.  That was it for the scoring as the Eagles dropped only their second contest of the season.

Thursday evening saw CCC South leading Bristol Central visit Tolland HS for the first time.  The Rams came in at 6-2 with a big 5-1 win over ranked Plainville on their resume.  The hard fought contest was tight throughout, but the homestanding Eagles used Tyson Bridge's header off a Jordan Smith throw to gain the advantage.  The goal, with less than 4 minutes left in the first half, was one of three headers on target, the other two cleared off the BC goal line by well positioned defenders.

The Eagles return to action today, Monday, at RHAM against the league leading Sachems.  On Wednesday, THS hosts Rockville for a night contest.  Finally, on Friday, THS hosts its first ever Soccer/Football doubleheader as the boys soccer team plays host to Bloomfield and Football takes on Northwest Catholic.