By JOHN GORALSKIEDITOR Sal Penta can still remember stopping at midfield during his first preseason soccer practice in 2002 and watching the scene unfold in front of him like a choreographed dance. Players, drenched in sweat, were shuffling through drills. An assistant coach pointed to a group of defenders sprinting toward loose balls. Another one turned his attention toward a line of offensive players attacking the net only to meet the goalie in an all-out battle in front of the net. They looked like a hive of angry bees, swarming around the ball as if it posed a danger to the queen. A smile washed across the coach’s face. “Boy,” he said. “This is going to be a good year.” “You could tell from the talent, the dedication, and the way that those girls wanted to win,” said the former Lady Knight coach. “You knew it right away. You knew that those girls were going to be special.” Southington High School soccer was at a turning point at the start of the new millennium. After three decades of modest success, the Lady Knights were about to put Southington soccer on the state map. Sure, the school had seen its share of […]
By JOHN GORALSKIEDITOR Sal Penta can still remember stopping at midfield during his first preseason soccer practice in 2002 and watching the scene unfold in front of him like a choreographed dance. Players, drenched in sweat, were shuffling through drills. An assistant coach pointed to a group of defenders sprinting toward loose balls. Another one turned his attention toward a line of offensive players attacking the net only to meet the goalie in an all-out battle in front of the net. They looked like a hive of angry bees, swarming around the ball as if it posed a danger to the queen. A smile washed across the coach’s face. “Boy,” he said. “This is going to be a good year.” “You could tell from the talent, the dedication, and the way that those girls wanted to win,” said the former Lady Knight coach. “You knew it right away. You knew that those girls were going to be special.” Southington High School soccer was at a turning point at the start of the new millennium. After three decades of modest success, the Lady Knights were about to put Southington soccer on the state map. Sure, the school had seen its share of […]