With eye on CCC Central division title, Mills beats Farmington, 3-2

By STEVE BARLOW
Special to The Collinsville Press
FARMINGTON, Oct. 20, 2026 – Maybe Ian Mayes should get a tummy ache more often.

The senior striker for the Lewis Mills High boys soccer team had a hand – or rather a foot – in all three of the Spartans’ goals as they defeated Farmington, 3-2, on Tuesday night at Tunxis Mead Park. It was Mills’ first triumph over its neighbor since joining the Central Connecticut Conference in 2019.

And after booting in the game-winner less than 5 ½ minutes into the second half, Mayes had to take a five-minute breather from the contest to settle an upset stomach.

“I had these energy chews before the game,” he explained. “I ate too many, and they didn’t sit right.”

“He’s a big boy. He should be able to monitor his food intake. I monitor my 6-year-old. Maybe we’ll have to monitor him, too,” joked Lewis Mills coach Ben Kulas. “He did have two goals and an assist, so I guess the chews are working.”

The victory kept the Spartans (11-2-1, 6-0-1 CCC Central) in control of their own destiny as they try to win the CCC Central Division for the first time. They have a showdown game with Hall (7-3-4, 5-0-2 CCC Central) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Nassahegan Field in Burlington. Eleven is the most wins for Mills in seven seasons in the CCC.

Much of that is due to Mayes, who put the Spartans on the scoreboard just over two minutes into the game. On a throw-in from the left sideline, Dom Wroblewski heaved the ball over the defense. Mayes caught up to it for a breakaway and beat Farmington keeper Cam LeGault (five saves) with a shot to the lower right corner.

“It’s a heads-up play. (Wroblewski) sees I’m wide open, and he has a long throw so he’s going to get it there every time, and I finish it for him,” Mayes said.

Mills might have led, 2-0, at halftime, but Wroblewski boomed a penalty kick over the crossbar with 4 ½ minutes to play in the period.

The Spartans did go ahead by two goals shortly into the second half when Grady Mullen passed to Mayes, who made a run down the right side. He centered it to the trailing Mullen, who one-timed the ball into the net with 35:33 on the clock.

“I heard Grady screaming for the ball the whole way down,” Mayes said. “I played him a nice, easy ball and he finished a perfect shot.”

Less than a minute later, Ryan Catrino sent ahead a through ball that Mayes chased down as he battled to escape Farmington’s Zachary Kay. His shot sneaked past the left post for a 3-0 score.

“(Kay) pulled my jersey a little bit, but you just have to stick through it,” Mayes said. “I used my speed and my strength to battle him off and finish it.”

At that point, Mills appeared to be on cruise control. But Farmington (3-11, 3-4 CCC Central) had other ideas.

The River Hawks had banged shots off the post and crossbar earlier in the evening. They finally scored on Mills goalie William Bevivino (four saves) with 11:24 to play. Kay lofted a direct kick into the box, and Brennan Drozd headed the ball in for a 3-1 score.

With 5:08 on the clock, William Sams nailed a corner kick that Liam O’Neal headed into the nets for a 3-2 margin and some nerve-wracking final minutes for Mills.

“They’re not your average three-win team,” Kulas said. “They’re strong. Kudos to them. They were playing hard and going for it right to the end.”

“It (3-11) is not the record we thought we were going to have,” said Farmington coach Nick Boorman. “But as a coach, I couldn’t be more proud because these guys show up every day looking to get better. They’ve improved so much and have left so much on the field. We have inarguably the hardest schedule in the state. We’ve just been on the wrong end of games like this. But we love playing the best teams and being challenged by the best.”

Mills is 10-0-1 in its last 11 games and hasn’t lost since a 3-2 game with Avon on Sept. 15. After the Hall game, they finish the regular season Tuesday at Northwest Catholic. Farmington plays at Simsbury on Friday at 6 before the season finale vs. Avon back at Tunxis Mead on Monday night.

Lewis Mills 3, Farmington 2
At Farmington (Tunxis Meade)
Lewis Mills (11-2-1)       1  2  — 3
Farmington (3-11)          0  2  — 2
Goals: Ian Mayes (LM) 2, Grady Mullen (LM); Liam O’Neill (F), Brennan Drozd (F); Assists: Ian Mayes (LM), Ryan Catrino (LM), Dominik Wroblewski (LM); Saves: Williams Bevivino (LM) 8; Chris Duplessis  (F) 10

CCC Central boys soccer	Div.	Overall
Lewis Mills	6-0-1	11-2-1
Hall	5-0-2	7-3-4
Conard	6-1	9-2-3
Avon	3-2-2	9-2-3
Simsbury	3-2-2	4-5-5
Farmington	3-4	3-11
NW Catholic	2-4-1	5-6-3
Bristol Eastern	2-5	5-8-1
Bristol Central	1-6	4-10
Bloomfield	0-7	0-14
Tuesday’s results Lewis Mills 3, Farmington 2 Avon 8, Bristol Central 0 Hall 0, NW Catholic 0 Conard 10, Bloomfield 0