Boys Soccer: Pomperaug 1 Bunnell 3

The stage was set for a thrilling encounter Tuesday night as the undefeated Pomperaug Panthers traveled to Stratford to take on the undefeated Bunnell Bulldogs and the game more than lived up to its expectations.

A penalty, four goals, and a frantic finish gave both sets of fans a rare treat, but only one team left as winners, and it was not the Panthers.

"I'm very disappointed," said midfielder Josh Abromaitis.

Pomperaug got off to a perfect start after they found themselves scoring a goal just one minute into the first half.

After a run in-between and around several Bunnell players midfielder Matt Murphy was brought down in the box, and the referee did not hesitate to point to the penalty spot.

Senior captain and defensive stalwart EJ Shannon stepped up to take the spot kick, and he took it with aplomb. The other Pomperaug players swarmed their captain, and the traveling fans could be forgiven for thinking the Panthers were getting ready to cruise to another victory.

However, the Bulldogs had yet to lose a game this season, and they weren't about to start.  The offensive abilities of the Bulldogs were on full display, but the Pomperaug defenders were equal to it.

The game quickly turned into an end-to-end encounter, both teams pressed forward in search of the crucial second goal. Brian Schaake was a steadying presence in goal for the Panthers and they went into the half still leading.

Pomperaug knew they weren't going to be able to sit back and defend their lead, and that a second goal would all but kill the game off.

"We had our moments," said Abromaitis. "[We] should have capitalized."

This lack of a killer instinct, evident last week against Weston, would come back to bite the Panthers.

In the second half both teams raised their intensity and what followed was 30 minutes of intense, passionate play. However, disaster struck 10 minutes from time when the referee awarded Bunnell a penalty for an infraction in the box against one of their attackers.

The Bulldogs star forward Zach Zurita stepped up to take the penalty, and he calmly stroked the ball home. It speaks volumes about the Pomperaug defense that they were able to keep Zurita, an all-SWC selection last season with 14 goals, off the scoresheet for so long.

It all went pear-shaped for Pomperaug after conceding the penalty, as they let in another two goals in the final 10 minutes.

Feeling that the win was within reach, the Bulldogs continued to press forward in search of  a winning goal. It came a few minutes later, and in controversial circumstances. The Pomperaug players believed one of their defenders had been fouled in the buildup, and that a freekick should have been awarded.

The referee did not agree however, and Bunnell exploited the lapse in concentration to score the second. Pomperaug were then forced to throw the kitchen sink at the Bulldogs defense and left themselves overexposed at the back.

Bunnell broke quickly on the counter-attack and scored their third goal, putting the game out of reach for the Panthers.

It was a disappointing result and performance for Pomperaug, but the Panthers were unwilling to point a finger at their defense.

"We won our [previous] games as a team, and we lost this [game] as a team," said Abromaitis.

After suffering their first loss of the season the team's record now stands at 5-1-1.

The Panthers next game is at home on Thursday, Oct. 7th versus Kolbe Cathedral at 3:45 p.m.