Submitted by Mike Shea, HK Girls Soccer Coach
(September 12, 2022) —The Haddam-Killingworth High School Girls soccer team bounced back from their season-opening loss to Coginchaug by playing a fantastic game against their conference rivals Portland to a 1-1 draw. The Cougars, down a couple of starting players, played a strong 80 minutes. Goalkeeper Vyv Laurenza had a solid performance, making seven saves, while her counterpart on Portland, Lauren Eckert, made eight saves. HK team captains Leah Chester and Caroline Conte were a force on the defensive line. The pair have played with each other as Cougars for four seasons now and have stepped up when they needed to. Freshman Payton Rich gets better and better and was a thorn to the Portland attack, stopping several advances.
After the first game of the season, HK knew they could do better and this game was a good game to show that. An encouraging part of the performance was that of the central midfielders Emmy Kehlenbach and Maggie Singer. They were forced to make tough decisions throughout the game, both with and without the ball. They both played the full 80 minutes, never showing signs of leveling off. After creating several opportunities, with ten minutes left in the first half, outside midfielder Seasea Ruimerman sent a perfect shot on goal as she approached the 18 yard mark, high and over keeper Lauren Eckert into the upper left corner of the goal. Camryn DiMauro had a solid game for Portland. She was the focus for Portland to get them back into the game.
With thirteen minutes left in the game, and a very congested goal area, DiMauro was able to get an extra touch to level the game. As the Cougars continued their press to counter, time ran out. This game showed what HK is capable of; they played a very strong 80 minutes of soccer today. Their next game is a non-conference game this Saturday, September 17, 2022, at Haddam-Killingworth High School at 10:00 a.m. versus North Branford/Hale Ray.
