It was a disappointing day for the Wildcats as first the boys and then the girls failed to clinch places in a further round of the state tournament. For the boys, this meant missing a spot in the semi-finals and the girls similarly missed out on the quarter finals.
The boys, ranked third, played first in Friday’s double-header against sixth-ranked Haddam-Killingworth, who they had beaten twice respectively in the regular season with 2-0 and 3-0 victories.
After a disappointing first half in which the ‘Cats fell behind by a penalty kick and then another goal, Old Lyme snapped back into shape and piled on the pressure in the second half. They dominated the field, controlling possession throughout the half, but failing to put away any of the numerous chances they created until 10 minutes before the final whistle.
But one goal was not enough and H-K now advances to the semi-final where they will meet East Hampton.
The fifth-ranked girls played a scoreless 80 minutes of regular time and then 20 more minutes of overtime against 12th-seeded East Hampton before the game moved to a penalty shoot-out.
The Wildcats experienced a devastating start when their first two players missed their shots, while the Bellringers scored on their first three attempts. Old Lyme then scored their third shot, but when East Hampton put away their fourth penalty, the game was over.
It was a disappointing end to an outstanding season for both teams, in which the girls won the Shoreline Championship and the boys were runners-up in the same conference.
East Hampton girls now meets Portland in the quarter final.