WATERBURY — The CIAC Class L boys soccer championship will be a battle of South West Conference opponents as both No. 18 Brookfield and No. 8 Pomperaug won their respective semifinal matchups at Municipal Stadium on Wednesday.
The teams will play for the Class L title on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford.
Brookfield had its most dominant victory of the Class L tournament, defeating No. 19 Newington 5-2 after falling behind early.
Newington's Serhii Budivskyi scored with 25:49 remaining in the first half to take a 1-0 lead, but Brookfield responded with three goals in the final 17 minutes of the half.
Brady Bulakowski knotted the game at 1-1 with 16:10 left and was followed by Liam Bomba's goal with 13:57 to play in the half. Enes Qosa scored the third Brookfield goal with 5:35 on the clock.
"I am feeling pretty proud, this is a great accomplishment for them and we've got one more to go," Brookfield coach Doug Rivard said. "Our objective was to win the last 12 games of the season, and that would include three in the SWC and five in the state. We got through the regular season and we got to the SWC where Bethel deserved to beat us, so we had to focus on season number three. Credit to the boys."
At the midpoint of the second half Brookfield extended its lead further on a successful penalty kick by senior captain Stephen Gonda.
"It is an amazing experience, I have dreamed of this since I was a little kid watching the older boys play, now getting to experience this, living the dream is awesome," Gonda said. "All year we have had to fight through injuries and a coaching change. We have been through a lot, but it really shows the character of this team that we were able to fight back and we are doing so well right now."
Newington's Budivskyi scored his second goal of the game with 13 minutes left to cut the deficit back to two goals, but Brookfield put it away in the final minutes on another successful penalty kick by UConn commit Jack Ryan.
"I don't like the fact that we gave up two goals, that is not what we aspire to as a defensive unit," Rivard said. "But if you are going to give up two and get five, we can live with it for a day."
One minute set the tone in No. 8 Pomperaug's 4-2 victory over No. 13 Cheshire, thanks to two quick goals in succession by junior Genti Ismaili.
"He has been injured on and off this season, so this is probably the healthiest he has been all year," Pomperaug coach Joe Mancini said. "We put him up top because we thought he could put some pressure on him. If he got the ball, he could create for himself and it paid off. Usually he plays at the midfield."
With 21:32 to play in the first half, Ismaili knocked a volley out of the air and into the back of the net. Nearly 15 second later Ismaili broke away for a one-on-one chance against the Cheshire keeper and capitalized for a 2-0 lead that would never be relinquished.
"The first one I just saw the throw in and knew I had to attack the flick on and I got a little tap in," Ismaili said. "After that one I was hungry for another one, so I pressed their defender, won the ball and got my second. Nice easy finish."
Pomperaug extended its lead to 4-0 in the second half on goals by Jose Critelli with 32:20 to play and Kainoa Daniels with 14:29 before Cheshire scored a pair of late goals in the final minute and a half.
"We are pretty excited, we worked really hard all year starting in the summer," Mancini said of his Pomperaug team. "We don't give up. One game, one goal doesn't put us down, we just keep on fighting. That is just what these guys do."
Pomperaug will be heading to its second championship this year. After suffering a 3-0 loss against Bethel in the SWC tournament final, the Panthers avenged that loss by defeating the Bobcats in penalty kicks in the quarterfinal round.
"After that SWC loss we were angry and we were sad," Ismaili said. "We knew we had to beat Bethel, come back, revenge. We beat them and we won today so on to the final."
Player of the Game
Jack Ryan, Brookfield: The UConn commit scored Brookfield's final goal and paced the offense throughout.
Quotable
"All year we have had to fight through injuries and a coaching change. We have been through a lot, but it really shows the character of this team that we were able to fight back and we are doing so well right now." - Stephen Gonda, Brookfield.
Player of the Game
Genti Ismaili, Pomperaug: The junior scored Pomperaug's first two goals within 20 seconds of each other to give the Panthers an early lead.
Quotable
"(Ismaili) has been injured on and off this season, so this is probably the healthiest he has been all year. We put him up top because we thought he could put some pressure on him. If he got the ball, he could create for himself and it paid off. Usually he plays at the midfield." - Joe Mancini, Pomperaug.
CLASS L SEMIFINALS
(at Municipal Stadium) NEWINGTON 1 1 - 2 BROOKFIELD 3 2 - 5 Scoring: Brookfield Goals: Brady Bulakowski; Liam Bomba; Enes Quosa; Stephen Gonda; Jack Ryan; Newington Goals: Serhii Budivsyi 2 Brookfield Assists: Andrew Genovese. Records: B 8-3-6; N 8-6-2.
(at Municipal Stadium) CHESHIRE 0 2 - 2 POMPERAUG 2 2 - 4 Scoring: Pomperaug Goals: Genti Ismaili 2; Jose Critelli; Kainoa Daniels; Cheshire Goals: Dom Parete; Ryan Markarian Records: P 11-2-4; C 9-5-2