HARTFORD – Two years ago, Tolland center back Carson Merluzzo missed a penalty kick in the state boys soccer semifinal game. He told coach Mike Caccomo he hoped the team would make it back that far again.
Caccomo said not to worry, it would.
Earlier this year, Tolland played RHAM at Trinity Health Stadium. The players told Caccomo they would love to come back and play at the stadium for the Class M championship.
“Don’t worry,” Caccomo told them then. “You will.”
Saturday afternoon at halftime of the Class M championship game at Trinity Health Stadium, Caccomo was once again telling his players not to worry, even though the sixth-seeded Eagles trailed No. 24 Weston by a goal.
“We talked at halftime and said, ‘We’ll be OK,’” Caccomo said. “We knew we could get the job done; we’ve done it all year long. We’re not afraid of being down on the scoreboard; it’s only happened a couple of times.”
A little over 10 minutes into the second half, junior Reid Babcock scored for the Eagles to tie it. With 3:26 left in the game, senior Chris Adadjo streaked down the field, got hung up with a Weston defender and pushed the ball toward his younger brother Jon. Weston goalkeeper Jason Dize made the save but the ball got away from him as he lay on the ground and Jon got it back and sent a shot into the net to give Tolland a 2-1 lead and a few minutes later, its first state title since 2015.
Jon Adadjo scores for Tolland, Eagles up 2-1 3:26 left #ctbsoc pic.twitter.com/HR8QlrZdeC
— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) November 16, 2024
“The talk at halftime was not how we were playing bad, but how we could get it back,” said Jon Adadjo, who was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player. “We knew that we could.”
After years of disappointing losses in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Tolland (17-4-2) had finally made it to the championship game and was determined to make the most of it.
“We’ve been close for many years and I told them, ‘I’m tired of being close,’” Caccomo said. “We have to get over the hump and this is it. This is the best we can do right here.
“We’re made for this – this is a great group, amazing captains, amazing leaders – if you were going to beat us today, you’d have to kill us. And that wasn’t going to happen.”
Weston (9-6-7) went up 1-0 with 8:14 left in the first half on a goal by Luka Navaresse. Tolland goalkeeper Andrew Chater, who made five saves, kept the Eagles in it.
But after the halftime talk, Tolland came out fired up.
“We knew we could come back out and give that little one percent more to give us the win,” Chris Adadjo said. “We were pretty confident.
“This is the greatest way to end my season and my high school career.”