Conard Boys Soccer Season Was a Winning Experience

The Conard boys soccer team made it to the quarterfinals of the Class LL state tournament this year before losing 2-1 in double overtime to a talented Fairfield Prep team in Fairfield on Tuesday evening.

"It was a tremendous game. My team came out playing very well, and they fought. They left it all on the field," head coach Adam Linker said after the loss.

He said that Fairfield Prep was one of the better teams Conard faced this season, and one of the most skilled he had seen in the past few years. But win or lose, even before his players set foot on the pitch Tuesday night Linker knew that this had been a very special season for the team.

Conard ended the regular season seeded #11 in Class LL, and earned the right to play the first round game in West Hartford which hadn't happened for about 15 years. The team won its first round game, and that hadn't happened in 40 years.

The team captivated fans – students, parents, past players, parents of past players, and many others – in a way that had never happened before.

Conard sent three full buses full of students to Fairfield for Tuesday's game. When the buses arrived, the fans piled off en masse, sprinting around the field into the stands.

Many others made the hour trek in their own cars. Linker thought there were close to 300 Conard fans cheering for the team.

"We had more fans than Fairfield Prep," said Conard Principal Peter Cummings. "It's a reflection of the students really supporting one another when something great is happening to their friends," he said.

Cummings worked with West Hartford Schools Athletic Director Betty Remigino-Knapp to secure the buses once he saw the student interest. Students paid $5 each for the transportation, and student activity fees covered the rest so the cost would not be prohibitive.

But the real story about the 2012 boys team is the spirit with which they played together and the strong support from the entire Conard community.

"I've never had a team that has accomplished so much, a team with kids so well-respected. They are a great group of guys, very well-liked, great kids," Linker said. Past teams have had some core supporters of 15-20 fans, Linker said, but nothing ever like this.

There have been hundreds of fans at the rare night football games or Conard vs. Hall contests, but this year Linker thinks there were more than 500 at the Conard vs. Hall game.

Conard won that game 2-1, in a nail-biter that many said was one of the most exciting soccer games they had ever seen. The fans stormed the field.

In the first round playoff game Conard took on Danbury. The game was played last Saturday, and Linker thinks that between 750 and 1,000 fans were in attendance. It was another exciting match, with Conard starting off down two goals, battling to a 3-2 lead, allowing another goal, playing two scoreless overtimes, and finally earning a heart-stopping victory on penalty kicks.

Heading into states, Captain Chris Warren said he was a little nervous. "But I believed in my coaches and the team. I knew we had the talent and the desire to go far in states," Warren said.

There may have been more than 1,000 fans in the Conard stands for the second-round match against Guilford on Monday afternoon. The game started at 2 p.m., but classes let out at 2:15. Cummings allowed juniors and seniors to get out early, with permission of their teachers, because he knew the strength of their support for the team.

"Our team had fire, and we showed character, even in the games we lost. We acted as a team, and the fans appreciate the fact that we were in this to make Conard look good. I have never seen anything like the fan base we had and each and every one of us got fired up by our cheering, wild fans!" said Warren.

Conard earned a 4-1 victory on Monday, and it was a true team effort. Chris Warren, Andre Rodrigues, Tomas Miranda, and Sam Turco all scored. Leading scorer Matheus Souza, who assisted on Miranda's goal, was shut down by Guilford, but that didn't faze Conard.

"I have 15 seniors. We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of good things," Linker said after that game. Souza may have ended the season with 20 goals, but Turco had eight or nine and Miranda had six or seven. Also, Conard had a "real weapon" with Colin Wilkinson, whose throw-ins sailed as far as many corner kicks.

Linker may have been disappointed that Conard lost to Fairfield Prep in the quarterfinals, but he could not have been prouder of the team and the support they received from their fans who cheered until the very end.

"That speaks volumes. They captured alums, the community – they drew a fan base I hadn't seen before. I've been getting emails from strangers, saying thank you for the season," Linker said on Wednesday.

"My guys are amazing," Linker said. He pointed to many factors which made this team so exciting, and uniquely special – the presence of 15 seniors who brought a different level of maturity and seriousness to the team; many year-round players who contributed to an overall team effort; Souza's amazing talent being well-supported by others who got him the ball.

"Overall we had a very close group of players, top to bottom, who are tight knit in and out of school. They are very good friends and that creates a lot of positive energy," said Linker.

Warren, who has played with many of his fellow seniors for a decade, agreed that the team chemistry was special. "I grew up with them on and off the field and formed great friendships with them. Also, our team was incredibly close this year. The camaraderie between us grew day by day and since day one, we had an unbreakable bond."

"We were really proud of the team. This season really was the culmination of years of work and dedication to being the best they could be," Cummings said.

The team will graduate 15 seniors, losing a lot of experience, as well as "character, heart, and grit," said Linker. But many of the most talented players are underclassmen and will be returning. Plus, the JV team only lost one game all season and went 11 games before even a single goal was scored against them.

Warren's advice for next year's captains, who will be named later this fall: "Work really hard this off season, always be organized, and be prepared for anything. Also, always have the team hang out together so that another brotherhood will be formed. And remember to have fun!"

Linker said he gets on his soapbox all the time, but had something that just needed to be said about the 2012 team.

"It was so special to be a part of this. Those 15 [seniors] left it all out on the field. It was the culmination of youth soccer, starting in rec soccer when their shirts were dragging on the ground. Now they're wrapping it up together. For most, soccer is over in an organized fashion. There's an element that's so special about high school sports, captivating the spirit of the school, walking off the field together ... for all of high school sports it's kids playing together, not just as teammates but as friends."

Linker said his passion is not about the winning or losing, but about the memories – lifetime memories – that have been created.

"This season, these games, these crowds, all of this. These students mean so much to me."