SUFFIELD — David Sullivan has had All-State, All-New England, and All-American standouts come through his program in his long tenure as Suffield High's girls soccer coach. They've gone on to play collegiately in the Southeastern Conference, the Big Ten, the Big East, the Ivy League, and other places around the country.
He's the first to say that the players are the reason the Wildcats have won six state championships and are two wins away from a seventh. So when he talks glowingly about his junior forward Olivia Matthews, it's worth taking notice.
"She's probably the best all-around player I've ever had," Sullivan said. "That's a lot coming from the program with some of the players we've had.
"Olivia can do anything. I've known her most of her life. Any sport she wants to play she picks it up just like that. In middle school her sport was cross country. Her soccer skills ... Her freshman year she relied on speed. Her sophomore year she relied on speed. Her junior year she's relied on her technical skills. She's a complete soccer player, the most complete soccer player I've ever coached."
Top-seeded Suffield (18-0-0) takes on No. 5 Lewis Mills (15-3-1) in a CIAC Class M state tournament semifinal game Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Simsbury High.
Matthews, a three-time all-North Central Connecticut Conference selection and likely to be named All-State for a third time when those teams are announced, has enjoyed a career year in the Wildcats' unbeaten run. In their Class M second-round win over Haddam-Killingworth on Nov. 8, she broke the decade-old single-season record for goals of 37 held by 2014 graduate Brittany Champagne, who went on to enjoy an all-Ivy League career at Dartmouth. With two goals in the Nov. 10 win over Nonnewaug, she became the first Suffield player to reach 40 goals in a season.
"It's crazy," Matthews said with a smile. "I've gained confidence and learned to play to my abilities more. But it wouldn't have happened without my teammates and everything they've done for me and us working together."
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Matthews began playing soccer (also basketball and track) to follow in her older sister Carly's footsteps. Carly Matthews earned All-State honors at Suffield and is a defender at Endicott College. She was named to the all-Commonwealth Coast Conference second team as a junior this fall as the Gulls won the CCC tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in a decade.
The sisters both wear No. 12.
"I do a lot of things my older sister does," Olivia Matthews said.
As a sixth grader in the 2018 Connecticut Middle School girls cross country championships at Wickham Park, she was tops in her class and sixth overall. Among the runners she beat that day were twins Tess and Liv Sherry, who finished 3-4 respectively for Conard High of West Hartford at the the State Open this month.
Her endurance and speed — she is the reigning 400 and 1,600 meters NCCC champion in track — are keys to her success.
"Her first step, her first touch, and her instincts are just unbelievable," Sullivan said. "She's probably the fastest player I've had with the ball. She dribbles with the ball as fast as she runs. It's like the ball is attached to her foot and there's almost no stopping her.
"She's easy to motivate. She motivates herself and her teammates. She never stops. But she's not just a goal scorer. If we need an assist, she'll get an assist."
Her instincts as a basketball point guard may make her want to be more of a pass-first player and she never wants to miss an open teammate.
But in her first two seasons the Wildcats bowed out in the state tournament and Sullivan knew something had to change. He told Matthews to be more goal oriented with senior Kayleigh Mahannah becoming more of a playmaker. The combination, with Mahannah producing 30 assists, has been potent and Sullivan believes it's one of the best in the state.
"The biggest difference in Olivia this year from last is something I wanted to her to do — be more selfish," Sullivan said. "Her freshman and sophomore years she'd get the ball and she'd pass the ball. I told her, 'Your job is to score.' "
And she has, leading an offense that averages 4.7 goals per game and has scored at least two goals in every game.
It's not like she scores meaningless goals. She came up big in both of the Wildcats' one-goal games with two goals and an assist in a 3-2 win over Newington on Sept. 26 and a goal and an assist in a 2-1 victory at Canton Oct. 28.
"I'm able to adjust to what our team needs," Matthews said. "For a lot of people as you get older you have more knowledge of the game. You make better decisions and you learn how to play with your teammates better. Your soccer IQ grows over time."
One of her best efforts of the season was a four-goal performance in a win over Class S quarterfinalist Somers on Oct. 17. She's thrived even though she's the focal of an opponent's defense.
"I know what they're trying to do," Matthews said. "But I also know I have this great team behind me to support me. It's not just on me. There are any number of players on our team who can step up and do what's needed to get done. That takes the pressure off and I can just play."
Suffield will be making its first semifinal appearance since 2019 Tuesday and is looking to reach the final for the first time since playing for the Class L crown in 2015.
It will be the first postseason meeting between Suffield and Lewis Mills since the 2010 Class M final at Middletown High when the Wildcats used the goalkeeping of game Most Valuable Player Grace Presnick and a goal by Stephanie Guminiak with three seconds left to take a 1-0 win and capture their sixth and last state title.
For Matthews, who hopes to play Division I soccer in college and become a lawyer, seven would be a lucky number.
"I want to make sure we're positive, focused, and our energy is high," Matthews said. "I'm excited to get out there and try to win it."
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