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NEW CANAAN, Conn. – The New Canaan High School boys soccer team had plenty of opportunities to pull out a win against a streaking Westhill team on Monday night. When the final buzzer sounded, the Rams were grateful they escaped with a tie.
Despite bombarding Westhill with 13 shots on the evening, New Canaan had to play from behind for much of the game. The Vikings’ Sebastian Rozo collected a rebound in front of the net and rocketed a shot that deflected off the fingertips of Rams goalie Scott Levene for a 1-0 lead.
New Canaan finally started to consistently crowd the box, creating the break it needed. Keith Griffin put the perfect touch on a pass through traffic to Jon-Luke Ferrandino, who was ready and waiting in front of the net. Ferrandino buried the equalizer with 27:48 to play, securing a point for the Rams.
“We really needed a point. We have a few tough games coming up this week and next week,” said Ferrandino of a schedule that includes Norwalk and Staples. “We get up for big games. Last year we had that huge run in the states and it seems the bigger the game, the better we play.”
New Canaan had several chances to take the lead with three corner kicks within five minutes of each other. Charlie Pickhard had a shot glance off the right post late in the game but the Rams had to settle for the single point.
Levene survived a scare when a ball trickled behind him with under five minutes to play. But it was kicked away at the last moment before Westhill could get off the potential go-ahead goal.
“I thought this was one of our best-played games of the season,” Ferrandino said. “I thought everyone worked hard. It would have been nice if we got a goal at the end, but all in all I thought we played a good game.”
With four games remaining in the regular season, New Canaan (7-1-4) is currently holding onto the fifth seed in the conference playoff race. The Rams host Trumbull on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. game.
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