Avon breaks through in second half to eliminate Stratford, 4-1

Avon’s Riley Strassner had a goal and two assists in Avon’s 4-1 win over Stratford in the Class L second round Wednesday at Fisher Meadows. Stratford’s Austin Burgess (19) tries to slow Strassner down.

AVON, Nov. 5 – It was halftime and the No. 11 Avon High boys soccer team was tied with pesky Stratford at Fisher Meadows Wednesday afternoon. Coach Dave Zlatin didn’t talk about tactics. He talked strategy.

“They made things difficult for us,” Zlatin said. “They were well organized defensively with a good sweeper back and a good goalie. I told them that they wanted to frustrate you. Every time you miss a shot and pound your fist into the ground in frustration, that is exactly what they are looking for.”

Stratford upset No. 6 Lyman Hall in overtime earlier this week. And they were just the sixth team to score a goal against the Falcons midway through the first half.

Avon came out in the second half and scored two goals in the first 10 minutes to seize control and earn a trip to the Class L quarterfinals with a 4-1 victory over the No. 26 seeded Red Devils. Avon’s leading scorer Riley Strassner had a goal and two assists in the game while Brendon Brown had two goals.

“We played much better than we did Monday (5-2 win over Masuk),” Zlatin said. “We knew we were a better team. We figured it would show up over time.”

Avon (14-1-3) will host No. 14 Guilford (11-3-4) on Friday at 2 p.m. at Fisher Meadows.

The Falcons took control early in the second half, scoring with just 35 seconds gone in the half. Strassner beat the defender covering him and moved to the corner of the field. Strassner played a nice ball across the goal crease that deflected off a Stratford defender and right to Brown.

“That was good hard work by Riley and Brown was in position to make the play,” Zlatin said. That snapped a 1-1 tie.

Avon’s Reed Stapleton (7) eludes Stratford goalie Brett Cody in Wednesday’s Class L tournament game at Fisher Meadows. The Falcons didn’t score on the play when the Red Devils cleared away Stapleton’s cross pass.

Excellent solid play led to a two-goal lead for the Falcons. Avon’s Jack St. Onge was bringing the ball down the right sideline when the ball caromed off a Stratford defender for a corner kick. St. Onge’s corner got through a crowd of players in front of the net and was redirected into the goal by Matt Fuge with 9:17 gone in the second half for a 3-1 lead. It was his 14th goal of the season.

Strassner put the icing on the cake with his team-leading 31st goal of the season. He came down the left sideline and drove along the endline to the left post and slipped it behind Stratford goalie Brett Cody with 18:37 remaining in the game.

“The goals will come. Once we got that second and third goal, the game got easier,” Zlatin said.

The Falcon defense, led by Stephen Dorney and goalie Danny Magrini (3 saves), played well.

NOTES: Avon did scrimmage Guilford before the season. But it will be the first time that the two teams play an actually game. … Guilford eliminated No. 30 New Canaan, 1-0 in overtime. … It was Avon’s first game against Stratford since the 1993 Class M tournament when the Falcons prevailed with a 7-1 decision in Avon.

Avon 4, Stratford 1
At Avon
Stratford (6-6-6)    1  0  — 1
Avon (14-1-3)        1  3  — 4
Goals: Brendan Brown (A) 2, Riley Strassner (A), Matt Fuge (A), Juan Erazo (S); Assists: Strassner (A) 2, St. Onge (A), Max Gorack (A); Saves: Danny Magrini (A) 3, Brett Cody (S) 9; Shots: Avon 19-4; Corners: Avon 7-0