Cromwell booters stun No. 1 seed Canton with 1-0 win in overtime

Canton’s Brad Balgach (11) tries to work his way torwad the goal in Thursday night’s Class S quarterfinal on the turf field. The Warriors lost to Cromwell in overtime. 1-0.

CANTON, Nov. 6, 2025 –For the Canton High athletic program, it wasn’t a good day for extra play on the turf.

In the afternoon, visiting Nonnewaug scored with 1:24 remaining in overtime to eliminate No. 3 seeded Canton, 1-0, in the Class S field hockey tournament.

Three hours later, visiting Cromwell scored just 25 seconds into the second overtime session to eliminate top-seeded Canton, 1-0, in the Class S boys soccer tournament.

The visiting teams and fans celebrated while the Warriors were stunned and left in tears on their home field.

Minutes after No. 8 Cromwell boys soccer team eliminated the Warriors, three players sat quietly on the aluminum bench along the sideline. One had a bag of ice on his foot, another had ice wrapped around his shoulder while one sat there with his head down.

“It was a good game to go to overtime. A one-goal game. Two quality teams,” said Canton coach Chris Weller. “It was unfortunate we didn’t win but at the end of the day, we had a great season. We really did. One game doesn’t define a season.”

Canton went 14-1-1, won their first nine games of the season and captured the NCCC league championship – their first outright title since 2002.

“It hurts at this point,” Weller admitted. “Sometimes that is the way it goes. Sometimes, soccer is a cruel game.”

Cromwell (14-4-3) won the game on a goal from Frankie Chirulo with just 25 seconds gone in the second overtime. Chirulo burst through two Canton defenders to corral a lofting pass from teammate Ben Burdick and then beat goalie Owen Weller with a shot toward the far post.

“He is one of those kids with sneaky quickness,” Cromwell coach Angelo Morello said of Chirulo. “He doesn’t have that striker burst but he has a rocket on both of his legs. We’ve been telling him all year to let it go (and shoot the ball). Let it fly and be unselfish as a striker.”

In high school soccer, teams play 20 minutes of overtime – no matter who scores. So, Canton still had 9:35 remaining to try and tie the game. The Warriors had a few chances to put a shot on net but both went wide.

Canton’s Quinn Aleksa (5), who frequently found himself double teated, carries the ball upfield in Thursfday night’s Class S quarterfinal loss to Cromwell.

Canton had several scoring opportunities through the game but most went wide of the net or sailed over the top of the goal.

“Everyone wants to defend. Everyone wants to win,” Cromwell midfielder Julian Tuminski said. “As a team we defend every well. If one man is beaten, a second man steps up.”

Canton thought they scored the first goal of the game with 31:17 left in the game when Brandon Morin took a pass in front of the net and put it into the net. But the goal was waived off when officials said that a pass from a teammate curved out of bounds before coming back to Morin.

Two minutes earlier, Cromwell goalie Matthew Kowalski made a point blank save off the foot of Canton’s James Canny but Canny was ruled offside on the pass to him.

No. 8 Cromwell advances to next week’s semifinals where they will face No. 5 Somers, who split a pair of games with the Warriors this season. Canton’s most recent trip to the semifinals came in 2021 when they advanced to the championship game before losing to Old Saybrook.

Cromwell 1, Canton 0, 2 OT
At Canton
Cromwell (14-4-3)            0  0  0  1  — 1
Canton (15-2-1)                 0  0  0  0  — 0
Goal: Frankie Chirulo (Crom); Assist: Benjamin Burdick (Crom); Saves: Matthew Kowalski (Crom) 4, Owen Weller (Can) 5