BY KEN MORSE
CITIZEN’S NEWS
Naugatuck boys soccer charged into the season looking to finish what they started last year.
After missing out on the NVL tournament for the first time in 2022, the Greyhounds were adamant about getting back there. Naugatuck didn’t just qualify for the 2023 tournament.
The Greyhounds reached the championship game, only to lose a heartbreaker on penalty kicks to Wolcott.
That has not sat well with the Hounds as they look to erase last year’s heartache and finish the job. Naugy started out in determined fashion, earning a 3-0 win over Watertown on Sept. 3.
It was only the first game of the season, but the Greyhounds checked off a lot of boxes on their to-do list and at times even looked like they were in mid-season form.
“We came back hungry,” said Naugy head coach Jose Sendra. “We came back hungry looking to clear the table. We left a lot on the table last year and we aim to finish what we started.”
Assistant coaches Mingo Branco, Jake Corbo and Jamie Verab have been working as hard as the players, putting the pieces together for another run at the title.
“I couldn’t do this without those guys,” added Sendra. “They have so much energy and drive.
They just pump up these kids in practice. Jamie is all over the place working these kids and we came into this season ready to go.”
That was evident at the onset of the season opener at Watertown. The sheer quickness at midfield with Jayse Danuszar, Ashwath Rajkumar and Ismael Mujica racing to the ball, and the overall physical presence of Mateo Aguilar, stopped Watertown in its tracks.
When the Warriors did see the light of day, Jordan Francis, Adrian Wichlinski and Haroun Sami formed a defensive wall out in front of goalkeeper Gabriel Laszkiewicz to limit those opportunities.
Antonio Guerreiro and Joao Godoy-Lourenco put pressure on Watertown, taking Naugy advances into the box. When the Warriors tried to offer some resistance it was the all-out pursuit from Barrington Parker that made all the difference.
The teams battled to a scoreless first half with numerous chances falling short or being knocked away. It didn’t take long for Naugy to strike once the second half began.
Danuszar steered a pass to Godoy-Lourenco in the box and the shot found the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage two minutes in. Kaleb Vaituzis took up a defensive position and Wichlinski used his height advantage to create a mismatch up front.
With 15 minutes to play, Guerreiro emerged from a pile up out in front and buried it to the back of the goal to open a 2-0 lead.
Alex Carbone and Aiden Petrie came on to give Naugy a fresh presence in the middle. That was enough to give Danuszar the opportunity to make a run at the goal with seven minutes to go. The keeper came up and stopped the initial shot but Danuszar never stopped his effort gathering the rebound and drove in a hustle goal for the final tally of the game.
“We had a lot of energy,” said Sendra. “These kids came into this season with a purpose. Yes, we did a lot of things right for a season opener, and there are still things we need to work on to get better at. We will take it just one game at a time.”
Naugy finished out the opening week of the season with two games, one against Kennedy on Sept. 6 at Municipal Stadium, and the other a Sept. 7 showdown with Newtown.
The Greyhounds were scheduled to play at Wilby on Monday. Naugy is back home to host Seymour on Thursday.
