WETHERSFIELD - A long-distance strike from Eagles soccer forward Lukas Szymecki snapped a scoreless deadlock in the first half of extra time, lifting Wethersfield over its South Windsor opponents at home--the last stop before a 2-1 Central Connecticut Conference Championship win against Glastonbury in Middletown.

       The Newington and South Windsor teams battled through two 40-minute halves of defensive resilience, missed chances and a seemingly endless goalkeeper duel between Eagles net minder Jimmy Slaton and Bobcats goalie Joshua Inkel. But when the two teams took the field for extra time--two mandatory 10-minute periods that would continue even in the event of one side scoring--the Eagles struck quickly.

       It happened with around 8 minutes left to play in the first period of extra time. Szymecki took the ball at midfield and shook one defender, then two. With time and room, he let the ball rip from outside the 18. In a game in which both keepers made their share of highlight reel saves, it was the odd one that found its way in. The shot was hard, high and curved a little bit to Inkel’s left before sneaking by him for the 1-0 Eagles lead.

       And it was one that came just inches from being erased. The Bobcats would come right back. Slaton denied a South Windsor striker from point-blank range by the tips of fingers. On the ensuing corner, a Bobcats striker retrieved the ricochet from a blocked shot just outside the box and took another crack at the goal, chipping the ball out of Slaton’s reach but just over the crossbar.

       Then, Wethersfield had to survive another 10 minutes. They got halfway through before the Bobcats gave them another scare. A low cross from the right wing found a runner crashing all alone, but the charging Slaton sprawled to deny the chance and keep the lead.

       The victory marked the tenth clean sheet for Slaton throughout a season in which, prior to the finals, Wethersfield had only conceded one goal in all of its winning matches.