ROCKY HILL - Rocky Hill has a rich soccer history dating back to 1960 when legendary high school coach John McVicar took over the boys program and turned the Terriers into a perennial powerhouse. Over the next 35 years, McVicar amassed 446 victories and guided the team to 14 state finals, winning seven titles. The school’s primary sports field was named in his honor following his retirement.

       Enter Frantz Innocent.

       The former University of Connecticut All-American and 17-year coach at Eastern Connecticut State University is keeping the town’s storied tradition alive, leading Rocky Hill into the next phase of soccer supremacy.

       Innocent is currently prepping the Terriers for the impending Class M tournament and guided the team to a 3-1 victory over the visiting Newington Indians last Monday night on the before-mentioned McVicar Field.

       â€�"Anytime that you win a ballgame it’s a nice feeling, but also winning like we did tonight, coming from behind, is also nice,” Innocent said following the team’s sixth victory of the season. â€�"I told the boys that we need everybody to work hard and tonight we picked up the pace and were able to capitalize later on.”

       The home team trailed for most of the first half, but Richie Cassarino evened the score on a one-timer with 36 ticks left in the half. The last-minute goal shifted the momentum towards the home team, who controlled the ball and the tempo for a majority of the second half.

       â€�"Without a doubt,” the fourth-year head coached said about Cassarino’s goal being the turning point. â€�"We were building early, but we were unable to finish. For him to finish with such a beautiful strike made the whole team relax and we were able to play the way we needed to play for the rest of the night.”

       Anthony Pietrandrea scored to break the tie at the 17:45 mark of the second half. The go-ahead goal came after Ryan Fraleigh’s shot hit the top of the crossbar and ricocheted back to Pietrandrea who hammered the ball past Newington’s freshman goalie Jack DeGirolamo.

       The Terriers offense continued to heat up as the temperatures dipped near freezing and Nick Santos added an insurance-goal with less than 10 minutes to play.

       â€�"Overall we are playing as a team and the effort is coming from everybody on the team,” added Innocent. â€�"I told the team that it’s not only the guys that are stepping on the field, but it’s also about our bench getting into it. We’re realizing that and are working better as a team.”

       The unsung hero in the win was Devyn Rockefeller, who was flawless after allowing an early goal. The sophomore goaltender turned back the other three shots that were fired at him.

       The loss dropped Newington to 3-7-3, but it wasn’t all bad news for a visibly disappointed Indians team that left it all on the field.

       â€�"I told the team that it wasn’t for a lack of effort. We just didn’t execute when we had the opportunities and we have to keep our composure,” Newington head coach Jeffrey Brunetti said. â€�"We’re right there. I keep telling them that we are close to be really successful. We just have to play for each other, play hard and do our best.”

       Despite giving up three goals, DeGirolamo showed a lot of promise and made several difficult stops, saving nine shots in all.

       The young goalie was aided by Kevin Bilbraut, who made the play of the night when he hustled to stop a potential goal at the 29:22 mark of the second half. Santos had headed a ball over the top of DeGirolamo, who came out to challenge the shooter, but Bilbraut sprinted towards the rolling ball and made a brilliant sliding save before the ball crossed the goal line.

       Bilbraut also tallied the only goal of the night for the Indians, who have struggled finding the back of the net all season. They have relied heavily on solid defensive performances and their hustle.

       â€�"Collectively we play well, but sometimes mistakes have hurt us. We’ve had some breakdowns and we haven’t scored a ton of goals,” said Brunetti about the team’s struggles this season. â€�"We’ve been in games, but haven’t had as many wins as we could have. We have to keep our heads up and keep pushing. We need to put ourselves in a position to have a chance to win. We’ve done that all season long, aside from a couple of games.”

       Brunetti and his team kept their slim tournament hopes alive a few days following the loss, drawing even with Platt 1-1 last Thursday night.

       On the same night, the Terriers won their fourth-straight game, defeating New Britain, 3-2.